Since the start of the year more than 1 billion litres of rain has fallen on Hampshire. And since last November more than 2 billion litres has fallen - enough water to make a mug of tea for every human on the planet.
We're not close to the deluges experienced in the winter of 2013–14 but he prolonged bad weather is certainly having an impact.
The ground is saturated and there is nowhere for rain to soak away to. For us, the problem is infiltration into our sewer network. The pressure of water forces its way into pipe joints and puts additional demand on our network leading to flooding.
In response to this, specialist teams are working tirelessly to help deal with the exceptional rainfall we’ve had already in February.
Some 60 tankers have been deployed to help take away the vast amounts of extra water in our systems. In some places we're also deploying heavy jets to push the silt that comes with the flood water out of the pipes. This work is designed to keep toilets flushing and the environment protected.
Flooding is a complex issue that involves a number of other stakeholders, including local councils Hampshire County Council and the Environment Agency. We're working with all of them to support local resilience.
Our priority is to keep our sewers flowing and manage the flows they are built to carry, such as waste from toilets, sinks, showers and washing machines, as well as rainwater from roofs and driveways. Sewers were never designed to cope with millions of litres of rainwater - that's not what they're for.
Please see our flooding pages for helpful information and what we do when faced with high groundwater levels. And you can also find out more to see who’s responsible for what.
For further flood prevention guidance, please visit Hampshire County Council.