RESIDENTS in Arnold say they are fed up with a lack of action to prevent flooding.
People living around Bentwell Avenue, Brook Gardens and Bonington Drive had their houses and gardens severely flooded in June by water overflowing from a culvert and a lagoon off Coppice Road.
The culvert and lagoon are designed to absorb any excess water from the Day Brook river.
Although this was the third time such large-scale flooding has occurred since 1998, residents say their pleas for action have not been acted on by Gedling Borough Council, Severn Trent Water or the Environment Agency, because it is unclear who is responsible.
John Dore, 54, of Bentwell Avenue, has had his garden flooded three times since 1998.
He said: "Everybody is fed up. Severn Trent and Gedling Borough Council are just dragging it out and fobbing us off.
"They think we will get bored and go away until it floods again. It can't be that hard to decide who owns the lagoon."
During the last flood in June, Mr Dore said, the water "came down as a torrent".
He added: "This water contained sewage. It will happen again over and over again, unless something is done about it."
Henry Wheeler, of Bentwell Avenue, said: "Nobody knows what's happening. We don't want to be left in the dark, we want the situation solved and an apology.
"Nobody is prepared to accept responsibility. Nothing ever gets done."
A Severn Trent spokesman said the floods happened because the culvert didn't have the capacity needed to handle this amount of excess water.
He said the flooding was due to a mixture of factors – surface water, public sewers and flooding from local watercourses.
"Hence the three agencies being involved," he added.
"And we are working together to achieve a solution.
"Flooding is a distressing and unpleasant experience and we entirely understand why residents are unhappy.
"There's a consensus something needs to be done, but it's not clear yet whose accountability it is.
"Discussions over the ownership of this culvert and the lagoon off Coppice Road have been going on since June.
"There are no quick solutions to it. 1998 was seen as an exceptional incident."
Gedling Borough councillor Richard Nicholson, portfolio holder for direct services, said the surface water systems affected by the flood in June are maintained by Severn Trent Water.
He added: "The lagoon, upstream of the area, is on land owned by the council. It is our responsibility to maintain these grounds, which include grass and hedge cutting and is carried out twice a year.
"Severn Trent Water is responsible for ensuring the channel, grills and culverts are maintained.
"We discuss all the flooding problems in our area with the Environment Agency, Severn Trent Water and Nottinghamshire County Council.
"Severn Trent Water has approached us to discuss the future ownership of this and a number of drainage systems within the borough, but at this time we cannot see there is sufficient evidence to warrant altering the current areas of ownership or responsibility."
A spokeswoman for the Environment Agency said it had been working with the council to ensure the Day Brook was clear of debris and blockages.
She added: "We also monitor the river during periods of heavy rain and alert local people if there is likely to be a problem of flooding in the area.
"We are carrying out a study to look at how the Day Brook and River Leen have responded during recent and past flood events.
"We will use this information to see if there is anything more we can do to help protect against flooding in the area."
To register with the Environment Agency's free flood warning service go to www.environment-agency.gov.uk or call 0845 988 1188.
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