Advice for people living alongside a watercourse

Badly maintained rivers and watercourses can cause flooding. They are also a danger to health and wildlife. Here are some simple steps to follow to ensure this does not happen.

Do

• Keep growth of waterside vegetation under control and leave some cover for wildlife

• Keep watercourses free of debris – woody debris can be good for wildlife but rubbish is not

• Take garden waste or unwanted plants to the tip, or compost them away from water

Don’t

• Leave unsecured garden furniture near the river – leave nothing on the bank that could be carried away with flooding

• Allow oils or detergents to spill

• Dump general waste or rubbish in or near the water

• Dump garden waste or unwanted plants in or near the river

If you want to feed the ducks

Please give them naturally healthy food such as duck food form pet shops. Cake, bread and biscuits can cause malnutrition and sickness in wildfowl. However they do not need feeding at all and will survive perfectly well eating natural vegetation and insects.

If you want to use herbicide

Then please read this factsheet.

Who to contact for assistance

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY– 0800 80 70 60 If you spot someone dumping rubbish in your river or in the event of river flooding for larger water courses

ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL 01983 821000 If you spot someone dumping rubbish or a flood danger in the Island’s smaller water courses

SOUTHERN WATER – 0845 278 0845 In the event of foul water or foul sewage flooding

SOUTHERN WATER – 0800 820 899 In the event of water leakage

ISLAND ROADS – 01983 822440 In the event of highway flooding and for advice regarding sandbags

EMERGENCY SERVICES – 999 In the event of inundation

Click here to download our printable Riverwatch Leaflet

Or for more detailed information click here to download your Riparian Rights.

Or to read the Environment Agency Living on the Edge advice