Wigan Council Introduces Real-Time Flood Reporting Tool to Strengthen Community Response

Wigan Council has introduced an innovative flood reporting system that enables residents to submit live, location-based updates during severe weather.

The platform is designed to give the council immediate insight into flooding across the borough, helping improve emergency response, recovery efforts, and future planning.

The initiative was developed collaboratively by Wigan Council, KaarbonTech, and Hello Lamp Post after significant flooding over the New Year period forced nearly 1,000 people from their homes and put major strain on local infrastructure. During that event, emergency teams were unable to access every affected area, revealing a critical gap in real-time information from communities.

Laura Morrison, Flood Risk Engineering Manager at Wigan Council, highlighted the impact of the new system. She explained that it allows residents to play a direct role in reporting incidents, giving the council a level of visibility that was previously unavailable. She also noted that the project transforms a challenging experience into a long-term solution that strengthens resilience and supports vulnerable communities.

The platform works by turning residents into a network of on-the-ground observers. Users can instantly log flooding incidents, upload images, and receive advice. This information feeds directly into council systems, allowing teams to respond more efficiently, prioritise urgent cases, and collect evidence for official flood investigations, including Section 19 reports. It also supports better-informed decisions around future infrastructure investment.

Conor Holgate of KaarbonTech emphasised the value of community input, noting that during large-scale weather events, councils cannot be present everywhere at once. By integrating public reports into live operational systems, authorities gain a more accurate and detailed understanding of conditions as they develop.

The project has already attracted national attention, earning a place on the shortlist for the Department for Transport’s 2025 Special Recognition Award for Best Use of Technology. Moving forward, Wigan Council plans to share its experience with other local authorities to encourage wider adoption of similar community-driven approaches to flood management.