Around 1,400 properties have suffered sewer flooding in the past six years. Counter's Creek, one of London's historic 'Lost Rivers', is the main sewer for the affected area. Counter’s Creek is a combined sewer, carrying rainwater and sewage. It can't cope with the demands of modern-day London because of increasing development in the capital.
 

Over the next five years, Thames Water will install more than 600 FLIPs (Flooding Local Improvement Projects), pumping systems which force sewage out into the sewer in the road when it would otherwise back up into customers' basements.
 

Bob Collington, director of operational management for Thames Water, said: “We're desperate to end the misery of sewer flooding, which is a truly horrible experience. We have yet to get the approval of our economic regulator Ofwat for building a larger Counter's Creek sewer system, but the £25 million of funding we've been allowed by Ofwat for the next five years will enable us to provide a short-term fix for the worst-affected properties while we design the long-term solution.”