Flood wardens
Flood wardens are local volunteers who play a vital role in supporting their community before, during, and after a flood.
Flood Wardens use their knowledge of the area and their community connections to support neighbours and act as an essential link to the Emergency Services during a flood. They are local community members including residents, parish council representatives, and existing volunteers.
Working closely with Parish Councils across West Northamptonshire, our growing network of dedicated Flood Wardens is making a real difference in helping communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from flooding.
Duties
Flood warden duties include:
- monitoring watercourses and reporting blockages
- raising awareness of the flood risk to the community
- being a vital link between the community and those responding to floods
- ensuring the community sign up for flood and weather alerts
- assisting the Parish Council with the Community Emergency Plan
Being a flood warden is a way of giving back to the community and giving local residents reassurance that the community is prepared for a Flood Event. It is also a great way of meeting people and learning about the flood issues in your local area.
Training and PPE
Training is free and provided by West Northamptonshire Council.
Representatives from other agencies such as the Environment Agency, Kier and the Fire Service could be in attendance. The initial training is a full day and in person.
The next training session is booked for Thursday 26 March 2026. To register your interest in the training, please email [email protected].
On completion of the training, Flood Wardens will be issued with PPE. This is essential equipment which will aid the Flood Warden in carrying out their duties.
An annual refresher course is in development. This will be a short online session that flood wardens can view at their convenience. Details will be sent to registered Flood Wardens when their refresher is due.
Volunteering
If you or someone in your community would like to become a flood warden, please complete our online form.
If your Parish does not currently have a flood warden scheme in place, we will work with them to see if we can put this in place.
Flood warden events
To provide ongoing support to Flood Wardens we will be putting on quarterly networking events. These will be a great opportunity to discuss the Flood Warden role, successes and challenges as well as meeting other local Flood Wardens to share learning and experience. Representatives from our partners may also be in attendance.
Our latest event was our Flood Warden Coffee afternoon. This was held at Hunsbury Library on 12 November. We had over 25 attendees, some experienced Flood Wardens and others keen to find out about volunteering. West Northamptonshire Council Representatives from the Emergency Planning Team, Flood and Water Team and the RAIN Project team also attended.
Our voluntary partners British Red Cross and the Northampton Emergency Welfare group were in attendance. It was a great event which provided information on how we all work together to prepare, respond and recover from flooding. It also provided an opportunity for Flood Wardens to network and find out what others are doing in their local community.
Our next Flood Warden Coffee Afternoon is due to take place in May. We are working on finalising a date and location.
All flood wardens are welcome. If you would like to find out about becoming a flood warden you are also welcome to join.
Flood warden newsletters
Our flood warden newsletters are sent out on a bi-monthly basis.
Last updated 02 February 2026