The misery of a flooded house
More than 6 million homes are now at risk of flooding in the UK
FloodSax protecting a home from filthy floodwater
FloodSax sandless sandbags soaking up water in a major supermarket
Why Channel 4’s controversial series Dirty Business about the water industry should spark a similar TV programme about the unacceptable risk of flooding
The hard-hitting Channel 4 series Dirty Business has exposed the huge scandal of how some water companies have been polluting rivers, streams and the sea.
But a pressure group dedicated to supporting flood victims feels there is also great concern over the way successive governments have failed to properly grasp the threat of flooding and prevent it nationwide.
Louis Ramirez, managing director at Flooded People UK, says: “The Channel 4 drama about the mismanagement of waste water as a result of privatisation, Dirty Business, hit home for everyone. Many saw parallels with their experience.
“Many flooded people have written to us about Dirty Business because they have lived, and continue to live, through something that feels very similar. The harsh reality is that UK flood management is not nearly as different from the content of this drama as it should be.’’
And he envisages the kind of documentary scenario about the government continuing to allow homes to be built in areas vulnerable to flooding … and then trying to explain it away.
Louis adds: “If you had to make a series like Dirty Business about flooding how would you do it?
“I’d start in an office of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government where, in a meeting, the minister and some aides would be deciding to make it easier to build in flood risk areas in the middle of a climate crisis.
“Someone in the room would explain that all would be fine as the developers would have to prove their plans are safe.
“You could then cut to a flood action group running an investigation and realising that thousands of homes have gone up in their area without anyone checking anything. You would see them getting bounced around from risk management authority to risk management authority being offered ever more implausible explanations and persevering.
“You would see various officials and companies explaining with a large smile that we shouldn’t try to stop flooding but to live with it. They would be told, ‘we can’t build our way out of this’ and that their role is to turn nervous energy into something positive. (That is a real quote).
“I really could go on but I imagine you get the point.”
Environmental Defence Systems Ltd, which devised and manufactures the original alternative sandbag, FloodSax, is a big supporter of flood action groups.
Director Lucy Bailey said: “The pressure needs be kept on with the Government and other authorities about the ever present risk of flooding which is set to get worse and worse due to climate change.
“Groups like Flooded People UK do a great job raising these concerns and, with millions of homes now at risk of flooding across Britain, it’s something that potentially has an impact on millions of lives.’’
One in 6 homes are now at risk of flooding with that number due to rise to one in 4 by 2050.
Between 2022 and 2024 around one in nine new homes in England were constructed in areas at risk of flooding.
According to the latest Environment Agency data, more than 6.3 million homes in England are currently at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or surface water. This figure includes approximately 1.82 million properties at high risk of flooding with the threat of surface water flooding having increased by 43% to 4.6 million in recent assessments.
Flooded People UK is a non-profit, grassroots organisation launched in early 2025 to support individuals and communities affected by flooding across the UK. It serves as a network for sharing experiences, providing peer-to-peer support and campaigning for better flood policies and management. They aim to put affected residents at the heart of change.
For more on Flooded People UK go to their website at https://www.floodedpeople.org.uk/