Campaign groups and locals have raised concerns over the state of sewers and drains in Ealing following flash flooding in London last Monday (15 July 2025). The heavy downpour saw floods on Greenford Avenue in Hanwell and firefighters clearing flood water and unblocking drains in Old Hanwell.
A video taken by a resident and sent to EALING.NEWS showed traffic driving through deep floods on Greenford Avenue.
The impact of the flooding saw firefighters from London Fire Brigade clearing flood water from streets in Old Hanwell.
Residents also faced having to sweep away polluted water that was pouring down roads and into gardens and homes.
Ben Morris, trustee of the Brent River Park charity and founder of the Clean Up the River Brent campaign (CURB), took photos and videos of sewer overflows on Uxbridge Road and Churchfield Road. He said: “This was shocking evidence of urban rainwater mismanagement. It is clear that our infrastructure can’t cope with these heavy downpours. Climate change is making these severe flooding incidents ever more frequent.”
Mr Morris added: “Dealing with this needs co-ordinated action from a number of agencies. We call on Ealing Council, Brent Council, the Environment Agency, Thames Water and the Greater London Authority to work together to sort this out before it’s too late.”
Hanwell resident Robert Wendt added his concerns about how often it is happening. He said: “This is fifth time since I moved here in mid-October 2023 that the sewer has backed up into my drains, and the third time that it has overflowed the open drains outside my kitchen and bathroom and flooded my back garden. Attempts to get Thames Water and Ealing Council to deal with this issue have failed because each says the other is responsible.”
He added: “Thames Water say that the sewer works well in ‘’normal” conditions and that surface water drainage is the Council’s responsibility. But 5 times in 9 months isn’t exceptional; it is now normal and it’s only going to get worse.”
Brent River Park charity Trustee Steven Toft commented: “This is happening more and more often. People are very concerned and are understandably becoming quite frustrated and angry about the lack of any co-ordinated response. It also shows the importance of the Brent River Park’s floodplain. Without our park soaking up water, the flood risk would be so much worse. For this reason, we are opposed to the addition of any hard-standing in the Brent River Park and would like to see the council turn more of it back into green space.”
Mr Toft added: “Climate change is negatively impacting how we live in London. We encourage Ealing and other London Boroughs to adopt the Sponge City principles that have proved so successful elsewhere. To echo Ben’s comments, we are keen to work with the various responsible agencies on a joined up response to this problem.”
Speaking to EALING.NEWS, Neil Reynolds, chair of Ealing Green Party said: “One of the many shameful legacies of the Conservative government is the failure to ensure our rivers and seas have been kept clean. In Ealing the River Brent suffers from Thames Water’s shocking record in dumping sewage, and Ealing Council and the Environment Agency failing to properly monitor the building industry in connecting new properties to the sewage system.”
Mr Reynolds added: “Labour has no excuse now they are in government. The people of Ealing rightly expect meaningful action and results.”
 which saw floods on Greenford Avenue in Hanwell and firefighters clearing flood water and unblocking drains in Old Hanwell.){kind=link}