Flood Alert Issued for Patcham and Withdean Due to Rising Groundwater
This alert is no longer in effect.
Environment Agency issued it on April 6, 2026, 4 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this Environment Agency flood warning directly from Environment Agency's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
The Environment Agency has issued a flood alert for Brighton and Hove, warning of potential basement flooding in Patcham and Withdean as groundwater levels remain high.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Flood Alert
- Affected area
- Brighton and Hove
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- Environment Agency
Flood notices turn on location and timing. Treat the named area as this record's scope; do not assume nearby counties, parishes, or waterways were included.
Record status: historical. It was issued 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Brighton and Hove.
Alert Details
The Environment Agency has issued a flood alert (Severity Level 3) for groundwater flooding in the Patcham area. This alert was raised on February 23, 2026, following observations of high groundwater levels in the region.
Affected Areas
The primary geographic focus of this alert is Patcham and Withdean within the county of Brighton and Hove. Specific locations identified as being at risk based on previous flooding events include:
- Old London Road, Patcham
- Peacock Lane, Withdean
- Areas surrounding the Ladies Mile borehole
What You Should Do
Residents in the affected areas are advised to take the following precautions:
- Ensure that any basement water pumps are in good working order and ready for use.
- Monitor local weather reports and updates from the Environment Agency.
- Be prepared for the possibility of water entering basements or low-lying properties.
Expected Conditions
Groundwater levels at the Ladies Mile borehole are currently high and close to the surface, though they are slowly falling. While only isolated showers are forecast from Monday through Wednesday (February 25), a weather front is expected to bring widespread rainfall on Thursday, February 26. This is likely to cause groundwater levels to rise again starting Friday, February 27. Officials note that levels are not expected to rise significantly higher than previous peaks recorded this winter.
Timeline
The alert is currently active. While groundwater is expected to fall slightly over the next few days, a secondary rise is predicted to begin on Friday, February 27, and may continue through the following week. Groundwater flood impacts could persist until the middle of March. The Environment Agency is currently liaising with the Brighton and Hove City Council and will provide an updated message by 18:00 on February 27, 2026.
Original source: Environment Agency Official Notice ↗
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Common questions about this Environment Agency flood warning.