Protecting Your Home from Flooding in Lincolnshire: A Practical Guide to Property Flood Resilience

If you live in Lincolnshire, you probably don't need anyone to tell you that flooding is a real concern. Whether you're near the River Witham in Lincoln, close to the Fens around Boston, or in one of the many villages dotted along our drainage channels and becks, the risk of water finding its way into your home is something many of us have to think about.

The good news is that there's a lot you can do to protect your property. This guide covers the practical steps you can take, the products that actually work, and how to go about getting your home properly defended against flood water.

Why Lincolnshire Faces Higher Flood Risk

Lincolnshire has a unique geography that makes it particularly vulnerable to flooding. Understanding why helps you make better decisions about how to protect your home.

Low-lying land and the Fens

Much of the county sits at or below sea level. The Fens, stretching from Boston down towards Spalding and across to the Wash, were reclaimed marshland. The drainage system that keeps this land dry relies on a network of pumping stations, sluices, and drainage channels that have been managed for centuries. When heavy rain overwhelms this system, or when maintenance can't keep pace with the weather, water has nowhere to go but across the land and into properties.

River systems under pressure

The River Witham runs for 130 kilometres through the county, passing through Grantham, Lincoln, and Boston before reaching the Wash. Towns and villages along its length, including Woodhall Spa, Sleaford, and Bardney, all sit within flood risk zones. The River Trent affects the western edge of the county around Gainsborough, while the River Welland brings risk to areas around Stamford and Spalding.

Tidal locking at Boston

Boston faces a particular challenge. The town sits at the point where the River Witham meets the tidal waters of the Haven. During high tides, the Grand Sluice cannot release river water into the sea, causing levels to back up. When this coincides with heavy rainfall upstream, the combination can be serious. The Boston Barrier, completed in 2020, has helped, but properties in the town still need individual protection.

Recent flooding events

Storm Babet in October 2023, Storm Henk in January 2024, and further flooding in January 2025 have all affected properties across the county. These weren't freak events. They're part of a pattern that climate experts expect to continue and intensify. If your property hasn't flooded yet, that doesn't mean it won't.

What is Property Flood Resilience?

Property Flood Resilience, often shortened to PFR, is the term used for measures you can add to your home to reduce flood damage. The approach works on two levels: keeping water out where possible (resistance), and reducing damage when water does get in (resilience).

For most homeowners, the priority is resistance. This means fitting products that physically stop water entering through doors, airbricks, and other openings. The goal is to hold back flood water long enough for levels to drop, or to buy time until help arrives.

The limits of flood defence

No flood defence system offers a 100% guarantee. Very deep or prolonged flooding can overwhelm even the best defences. But properly installed flood barriers and doors can protect against the vast majority of flood events, which typically involve water depths of under a metre and durations of a few hours.

The Environment Agency classifies flood events by the depth of water. Most residential flooding falls into the 0-600mm range. This is exactly the range where property-level defences work best.

Flood Defence Products That Actually Work

There are dozens of products on the market claiming to protect your home from flooding. Some work brilliantly. Others are little more than expensive sandbags. Here's what to look for.

Demountable flood barriers

These are aluminium barriers that slot into permanently fixed channels on either side of a doorway or opening. When flood warnings come through, you deploy the barrier by dropping the panels into place and tightening them to create a watertight seal.

The Nautilus range of flood barriers, which we supply and fit at GDCG, uses individual panels of 200mm or 400mm height. These can be combined to create barriers up to 1.2 metres high. The panels are constructed from watertight aluminium with EPDM rubber seals, and the system complies with BSI Standard PAS1188 for demountable flood defence barriers.

Why demountable barriers work well for most homes:

• They're unobtrusive when not in use, with just slim channels visible at the sides of your door
• You can deploy them yourself in minutes when warnings are issued
• They can be stored compactly and checked easily
• They don't require any power supply
• They can span wide openings including garage doors and patio doors

Flood doors

For some properties, a flood door makes more sense than a barrier. These are replacement doors, built to look like a normal front or back door, but with integral flood resistance. They seal automatically when water pressure builds against them.

Flood doors are particularly useful for properties where elderly or less mobile residents might struggle to deploy barriers quickly, or where the main entrance is the primary flood risk point.

Airbrick covers and automatic airbricks

Standard airbricks are a major weak point. They're designed to let air flow through your walls for ventilation, but they'll let flood water in just as easily. There are two solutions:

Airbrick covers are removable caps that you fit over your airbricks when flooding threatens. They're cheap and effective, but you need to remember to fit them.

Automatic airbricks replace your existing airbricks with versions that seal themselves when water reaches them. A float mechanism closes the vent, blocking water entry without any action needed from you. When water levels drop, they open again automatically.

For most properties, automatic airbricks are worth the extra cost. They work even if you're away from home when flooding hits.

Non-return valves

If your drains back up during a flood, contaminated water can enter your home through toilets, sinks, and floor drains. Non-return valves fit into your drainage system and allow water to flow out normally, but block any reverse flow.

This is particularly important in areas served by combined sewers, where storm water and foul water share the same pipes. During heavy rain, these systems can become overwhelmed, and the results of backflow are deeply unpleasant.

Sump pumps

Even with good perimeter defences, some water may seep through floors or walls during prolonged flooding. A sump pump sits in a small pit (the sump) at the lowest point of your property and automatically pumps out any water that collects there.

Sump pumps are especially valuable for properties with cellars or basements, or where ground water levels rise during wet weather.

Getting Your Property Assessed

Before spending money on flood defences, you need to understand exactly where water could enter your home. Every property is different, and the right solution depends on your specific vulnerabilities.

A proper flood survey will identify:

• All potential water entry points (doors, airbricks, utility entries, cracks)
• The likely depth of flooding based on your location and flood history
• Which products are appropriate for each vulnerability
• Any structural issues that need addressing
• An estimated cost for a complete protection scheme

At GDCG, we carry out these surveys as the first step in any flood defence project. There's no point fitting a barrier to your front door if water is going to come straight through your airbricks, and there's no value in over-specifying defences for a risk that doesn't exist.

You can get a sense of your flood risk using our free flood risk tool, which uses Environment Agency data to show flood zones and historical events for your postcode.

Flood Defence Grants in Lincolnshire

If your property has been flooded, you may be eligible for grant funding to help pay for flood defences.

Lincolnshire County Council's January 2025 PFR Grant

Following severe flooding across the county in January 2025, Lincolnshire County Council has created a £1 million grant fund to support residents in making their homes more resilient. This is separate from earlier schemes related to Storm Babet and Storm Henk.

Storm Babet and Storm Henk grants

Properties that flooded during Storm Babet (October 2023) or Storm Henk (January 2024) may still be eligible for the Defra Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant. This provides up to £5,000 per property, including a contribution towards the cost of a survey. Deadlines vary, so check with Lincolnshire County Council for current eligibility.

How grants work

Grant funding typically covers a portion of the cost of approved flood resilience measures. You'll usually need to:

1. Provide evidence that your property was flooded during the qualifying event
2. Have a professional survey carried out
3. Get approval for the proposed measures before work starts
4. Use an installer with appropriate qualifications (CIWEM PFR Foundation training is often required)

We can help you navigate the grant process and ensure your money is spent on measures that will actually protect your home. There's no point claiming a grant only to have it spent on substandard products or poor installation.

Choosing an Installer

Flood defence products are only as good as their installation. A barrier that's been fitted with gaps in the seals, or channels that aren't properly secured to your walls, won't do its job when water arrives.

What to look for:

• Experience with the specific products being installed
• Proper training and certification (ask about PAS1188 compliance)
• Local presence and availability for ongoing support
• Willingness to explain exactly what they're fitting and why
• References from previous customers in your area

Why local matters

Flood defences aren't something you fit and forget. Seals need checking, mechanisms need testing, and you need to know your barriers are ready when the Environment Agency issues a warning. If your installer is based three hundred miles away, getting that support becomes difficult.

At GDCG, we've been serving Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire for years. We're not a fly-by-night operation that's jumped on flood defence as a quick earner. We're a local business with a range of services, and we'll be here when you need us. Our customers have chosen us even when cheaper quotes were available, because they value the relationship and the peace of mind that comes with it.

When you're lying in bed listening to heavy rain, knowing you can pick up the phone and speak to someone local who knows your property and your barriers makes a real difference.

What to Do When Flood Warnings Are Issued

Having flood defences fitted is only part of the picture. You also need a plan for when warnings come through.

Sign up for flood warnings

The Environment Agency operates a free flood warning service. You can receive alerts by phone, text, or email when flooding is expected in your area. Sign up at gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings.

Know your barriers

Practice deploying your flood barriers before you need them for real. Make sure everyone in your household knows where they're stored and how to fit them. Time yourself, and work out how long you need from warning to protected.

Keep a flood kit ready

Have the essentials gathered in one place: torch, battery radio, important documents, phone chargers, medications, and some cash. If you need to evacuate, you want to be able to grab one bag and go.

Check your defences regularly

Seals can perish, channels can get blocked with debris, and mechanisms can stiffen up if they're not used. An annual check, ideally before winter, ensures everything is ready when you need it.

Taking the Next Step

If you're concerned about flood risk to your property, the first step is understanding your specific vulnerabilities. Our flood risk assessment tool gives you a starting point, using official Environment Agency data for your postcode.

For a proper assessment of your property and advice on the right protection measures, get in touch with us. We're always happy to have a chat about your situation, answer questions, and if appropriate, arrange a survey. There's no hard sell. We'd rather you made an informed decision than a rushed one.

Flooding is stressful enough without worrying whether your defences will hold. Getting it right, with the right products installed by people who know what they're doing, gives you something that's hard to put a price on: peace of mind.

GDCG supplies and installs flood barriers and flood defence systems across Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire. We're a local company offering local service, and we're here to help protect your home. Contact us for a free initial conversation about your flood protection needs.