Love your community? Become a Volunteer Flood Warden, this Volunteers Week
Volunteer Flood Wardens like Ben make a huge difference in their communities when it comes to flooding, helping people to stay safe and informed.
Ben said: “The key thing for Flood Wardens is to engage with the local community and talk to residents to make sure they’re aware of the flood risks where they live.
“For instance, if you live near a brook or there’s a natural water course running through the village, do you know what to do if it floods? Do you know when to put out your flood prevention measures?”
‘Communities need someone they can go to for support’
Flood Wardens act as a local point of flood information in their community.
Ben said: “One of the biggest problems I find when talking to people across Leicestershire is that they don’t report flood issues, often because they don’t know who to report it to.
Because there is no single organisation responsible for flooding, and because there are different types of flooding, communities need someone they can go to for support – and that is often the Flood Warden. That’s why we need more people to come forward and volunteer.
Flood Wardens also help to share official flood warnings and advice issued by organisations like the Environment Agency and Leicestershire County Council.
‘It doesn’t matter if you can only give two or three hours a week’
Being a Flood Warden doesn’t have to be a big commitment.
Ben added: “The public look to the emergency services for help but they’re often under resourced - so we need someone to be the eyes and ears of the local community, and to coordinate and raise awareness of flooding issues.
“Flooding is not going away. It’s going to become more regular. If communities can prepare and look after themselves and be more resilient – for instance, by creating Community Response Plans that include flooding as a risk - that will allow the emergency services to focus on those who really need the help.
“It doesn’t matter if you can only give two or three hours a week. Some Flood Wardens choose to be more visible and carry out regular patrols of the drains and water courses but others are based at home, collecting data, reporting issues from residents and reposting warnings.
“The key thing is that we’re there in the community for people to go to.
“If you love your community, that’s all you need to be a Flood Warden.”
Find out more about becoming a Flood Warden and register for our next online information session.