Now is the perfect time to tidy up outdoor spaces to prepare for the wet winter months – especially all the watercourses that help to keep excess rainwater off our roads in West Sussex.
Keeping the network of ditches, streams, culverts, brooks and rivers throughout West Sussex free of debris helps to stop excess rainwater from flooding roads and pavements.
The term used to describe someone who is responsible for a watercourse is a riparian owner, which comes with a legal obligation to make sure any watercourses running through, under or beside a property are well maintained.
The riparian responsibility can sometimes be shared between neighbours and there is a guide to riparian ownership on the West Sussex County Council website.
Cllr Joy Dennis, West Sussex County Council’s executive member for highways and transport, said:
“West Sussex County Council ensures all the watercourses it is responsible for can flow freely, but it cannot access any on private land. The council can only reach 10% of ditches to maintain them, a small proportion of the miles of watercourses in the county, for example.
“A blocked ditch downstream can cause water to back up so that another ditch further upstream overflows onto a road.
“To get us ready for the changing weather, and to help keep our road network open, we’re making sure our highways are winter-ready with a maintenance programme underway and salt grit being delivered to fill salt boxes around the county.
“If you have a garden or land with a brook, stream, ditch, culvert or any other kind of watercourse running through, underneath or beside it, please make sure it can flow freely.
“As well as providing havens for wildlife, watercourses capture excess rainwater when the ground becomes saturated that would otherwise flood footpaths, pavements and roads.
“Just taking a few minutes every few weeks this autumn and winter to clear away fallen leaves and other debris from a watercourse will significantly benefit our whole community.”
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