Photo: Sleeper141 at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Flood risk in West Bergholt: under 0.1% of homes from rivers or the sea, 0.9% from surface water
On the Environment Agency’s maps, which allow for flood defences, “high or medium” means at least a 1 in 100 chance of flooding from rivers or the sea in any year. For hazard risk, West Bergholt grades B: #29 of 81 in Essex.
What West Bergholt faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Rivers and the sea
Surface water
The River Colne
Radon
West Bergholt grades B for hazard risk
Flood risk from rivers and the sea, against all UK towns.
The share of homes at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea, ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more: fewer homes at risk is better. Towns with none at high or medium risk are ordered by their share at low risk, so they don’t all share one score. Surface water and radon aren’t graded: they are described below.
Where the water goes in West Bergholt
Turn layers on and off. Blue is the risk from rivers and the sea; pink is where heavy rain collects. Both allow for flood defences.
The river and sea risk follows the town’s rivers. Surface-water risk is spread across the town, in dips, underpasses and along small streams, which is why more homes are exposed to it.
Under 0.1% of West Bergholt’s homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea
The Environment Agency’s national map, allowing for defences. A further under 0.1% are at low risk.
Share of each UK town’s homes at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea. 35% of UK towns have none; West Bergholt has more than 41% of towns.
| # | Town | People | High or med. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tangmere West Sussex | 4,000 | 0% | |
| 2 | Shirland and Stonebroom Derbyshire | 3,988 | 0% | |
| 3 | Bowerhill Wiltshire | 3,976 | 0% | |
| … | ||||
| 362 | Underwood Gwent | 2,134 | under 0.1% | |
| 363 | Hatfield Peverel Essex | 3,622 | under 0.1% | |
| 364 | West Bergholt Essex | 3,175 | under 0.1% | |
| 365 | Gamesley Derbyshire | 3,124 | under 0.1% | |
| 366 | Great Leighs Essex | 2,968 | under 0.1% | |
| … | ||||
| 846 | Chapel St Leonards Lincolnshire | 3,435 | 66% | |
| 847 | Gilberdyke East Riding of Yorkshire | 3,028 | 70% | |
UK towns of 2,000 to 4,000 people.
The Environment Agency’s Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea (NaFRA2, June 2026) counts each postcode’s homes by band; the shares weight those postcodes by Census 2021 households. The EA counts include homes built since 2021.
0.9% of West Bergholt’s homes are at high or medium risk from surface water
Surface water is rain that falls faster than drains and the ground can take it. It is mapped separately from rivers and the sea, and it is not in the Hazard risk Grade.
About 0.3% of homes are at high risk of surface-water flooding (a 1 in 30 chance or more each year) and 0.6% at medium risk: roughly 10 households. A further 2.2% face a low risk from surface water. That is more than 10% of UK towns.
Our estimate: every address in the town (ONS NSUL) read on the Environment Agency’s Risk of Flooding from Surface Water map (NaFRA2, 2025), each postcode’s share weighted by its Census 2021 households. Neither agency publishes a count of homes for surface water, so treat it as a guide; one street can differ from the next.
The River Colne at Lexden: highest 2.38 m, in October 2001
The highest level each winter (October to September) at the Environment Agency’s Lexden gauge (Beacon End), since 1990. The river normally runs between 0.10 m and 1.54 m here.
- 5 February 20011.80 m
- 14 February 20011.80 m
- 1 November 20001.76 m
- 23 December 20021.76 m
- 31 December 20021.74 m
- 9 November 20001.70 m
The River Colne has topped its normal range on 28 days since 1990, most in the winters of 2000–01 and 2002–03. By its highest day, the winter of 2024–25 was the 30th-highest of the 33.
Environment Agency Hydrology API, Lexden (station E22761), daily maximum level; the record and normal range from the EA’s stage scale. Live river levels are on GOV.UK’s Check for flooding.
1 flood warning or alert is in force near West Bergholt
The Environment Agency has no flood warning or alert area that reaches into West Bergholt’s built-up area.
Environment Agency Historic Flood Warnings (first issues only, not updates; “flood watch” counted as an alert before 2011) and the real-time flood-monitoring API. Sign up for free warnings on GOV.UK or call Floodline, 0345 988 1188.
West Bergholt is in the lowest radon band
Radon is a natural radioactive gas from the ground; long exposure raises the risk of lung cancer. The atlas gives the chance that a home in each 1 km square is above the UK action level (200 Bq/m³).
Every 1 km square over West Bergholt is in the lowest band: fewer than 1 in 100 homes are expected to be above the action level.
BGS/UKHSA Indicative Atlas of Radon in Great Britain, version 3. Check an address at UKradon.org.
Flood risk in the places around West Bergholt
Share of homes at high or medium and at low risk from rivers and the sea. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | High or medium | Low | Hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Bergholt | 3,175 | under 0.1% | under 0.1% | B |
| Great Horkesley | 2,232 | 0.6% | 0.1% | C+ |
| Eight Ash Green | 1,769 | 0.4% | 0.5% | C+ |
| Colchester | 130,259 | 0.6% | 1.2% | C+ |
| Copford | 1,794 | 0% | 0% | A |
| Berechurch | 7,702 | 0% | 0% | A |
| Marks Tey | 1,817 | 0% | 0% | A |
| Layer-de-la-Haye | 1,338 | 0% | 0% | A |
Get ready for what West Bergholt faces
Free warnings, what to do in a cloudburst, and what to check before you move.
- Sign up free for Environment Agency flood warnings by text, call or email.
- Floodline: 0345 988 1188, 24 hours.
- Surface water rises in minutes, often with no warning issued: stay out of underpasses and dips.
- Keep the gullies and drains outside your home clear of leaves.
- Report a blocked road drain to the council.
- Never walk or drive through floodwater: 30 cm of moving water can float a car.
- Move valuables, papers and medicines upstairs.
- Turn off gas, electricity and water if you’re told to.
- Check the address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service: it gives rivers and sea and surface water separately.
- Ask whether the home has flooded or had a flood insurance claim; the TA6 property form asks the seller.
- Homes built before 2009 can get flood cover through Flood Re, the government-backed scheme; newer homes can’t.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Defences are counted. Both agencies’ maps allow for flood defences and the chance they are overtopped or fail, so a town behind a defence scheme can show few homes at high risk and many at low risk.
- Surface water is our estimate. Neither agency publishes a count of homes at risk from surface water, so we read each address on the map. A flat on a hill and a basement in a dip can share a postcode.
- One town, many streets. Risk is street by street. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service before you buy or rent.
Questions about flooding and hazards in West Bergholt
Does West Bergholt flood?
Under 0.1% of homes are at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea on the Environment Agency’s maps, which allow for flood defences. About 0.9% of homes are at high or medium risk from surface water, when heavy rain overwhelms the drains. West Bergholt grades B for hazard risk against UK towns.
Is West Bergholt at risk of surface water flooding?
About 0.3% of homes are at high risk and 0.6% at medium risk from surface water, against under 0.1% at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea. Surface water floods come with little warning, and the agencies don’t issue warnings for them.
Is radon a problem in West Bergholt?
Not by the atlas: every 1 km square over West Bergholt is in the lowest band, where fewer than 1 in 100 homes are expected to be above the action level.
Are there flood warnings in West Bergholt now?
Yes: flood alert for The Essex coast from Clacton to and including, St Peters Flat and the Colne and Blackwater estuaries, as of 12 November 2026, 14:23. Follow the Environment Agency’s advice on GOV.UK’s Check for flooding service.
Contains Environment Agency information © Environment Agency and/or database right 2026. Contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2026.
Sources: Environment Agency Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea, postcodes in areas at risk (June 2026); Natural Resources Wales Flood Risk Assessment Wales (May 2026); ONS Census 2021 households by postcode · Environment Agency Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (NaFRA2, 2025) and Natural Resources Wales Flood Risk Assessment Wales surface water and small watercourses, read at every address (ONS National Statistics UPRN Lookup, September 2026) and weighted by Census 2021 households by postcode · Environment Agency Hydrology API (daily maximum river level) and flood-monitoring stage scales · Environment Agency real-time flood-monitoring API · BGS/UKHSA Indicative Atlas of Radon in Great Britain, version 3, by 1 km square · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.