And To stimulate co-operation and partnership with Charnwood Borough Council in maintaining an effective watercourse system to reduce the risk of flooding to property And To introduce the laws and procedures which affect you and to provide information about where help and advice is available. A watercourse is defined as any channel through which water flows and can be open or enclosed underground as a culvert. Watercourses may be classified as either main rivers or ordinary watercourses.
Watercourses occur naturally, they serve to drain the land and assist in supporting flora and fauna.
Historically watercourses have taken surface water run off from buildings and roads, as well as fields and parks. In the process of development many have been culverted or changed in other ways. In normal conditions the watercourse may be a dry channel in the ground. In storm conditions it may become a raging torrent. Where a watercourse is sited between two or more property boundaries each owner may be equally responsible.