How to Deal with Flood Water Contamination Safely

And How Enzyme Solutions Can Help Clean Contaminated Land Naturally

Flooding is one of the most disruptive natural disasters that can affect communities, farms, businesses, and households. When heavy rain, burst rivers, or storm surges bring water onto land, the effects can last long after the water itself has drained away. The mud, sludge, and debris left behind often contain invisible but hazardous contaminants that can endanger human health, harm animals, damage soil, and delay recovery for months.

The good news is that there are safe, environmentally responsible ways to deal with flood water contamination — and one of the most promising is enzyme-based bioremediation. At Bioglobe, we specialise in creating tailor-made organic enzyme solutions that can neutralise pollutants, break down harmful organic matter, and restore contaminated soil back to a healthy, usable state.

This article will explore the issue in detail and show you how enzyme technology works, why it is different from harsh chemical disinfectants, and how it can help protect both people and the environment after flooding events.

The Problem: What Flood Water Leaves Behind

When water rises, it doesn’t just bring moisture — it carries a mixture of whatever it has picked up along the way. Floodwaters are almost always contaminated. They may look like muddy rainwater, but they are more accurately described as toxic soup, combining:

• Sewage and waste water from overwhelmed drains, septic tanks, and sewer systems.
• Human and animal waste, carrying harmful pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella, and noroviruses.
• Hydrocarbons including petrol, diesel, lubricants, and oils from flooded vehicles, workshops, and industrial sites.
• Fertilisers, pesticides, and agricultural runoff swept from fields.
• Industrial chemicals, solvents, or heavy metals, depending on the area.
• Organic debris such as food waste, plant matter, and animal carcasses, which quickly begin to rot and produce unpleasant odours.

Floodwater contamination is unpredictable, because every location is different. In rural areas, floodwaters may be heavy with agricultural waste and slurry. In cities, it can contain oil, fuel, raw sewage, and a cocktail of industrial pollutants. The water eventually drains away, but what it leaves behind is soaked into soil, clinging to vegetation, trapped in cellars, and sticking to surfaces.

Even when the land looks dry, dangerous pathogens and pollutants can remain in place for weeks or months. If not addressed, this contamination can make the land unsafe to walk on, farm, or build upon — and can create lingering health risks.

The Consequences: Why Contamination Matters

Leaving floodwater contamination untreated is not just unpleasant — it can be dangerous. The consequences can be grouped into several categories:

1. Human Health Risks

Flood-affected soil, water, and surfaces are often teeming with harmful microorganisms. These may include bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Clostridium, as well as viruses, parasites, and fungi. Direct contact can cause skin rashes, stomach infections, respiratory problems, and more serious illnesses.

People cleaning up after a flood are particularly vulnerable. Simply walking through contaminated soil or touching flood-damaged items can spread germs. Children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are especially at risk.

2. Soil and Ecosystem Damage

Flood contaminants can upset the natural balance of soil. Hydrocarbons and chemicals can kill beneficial bacteria and fungi that plants rely on. Excess nitrogen from fertilisers can cause harmful algal blooms or soil acidification. Sewage can lead to foul odours and deoxygenation, suffocating soil life.

This means that even if the land looks dry, it might not support healthy plant growth. Farmers can lose crops, gardeners may find their soil infertile, and natural habitats can take years to recover without intervention.

3. Long-Term Pollution

Some of the substances deposited by floods are not easily washed away by rain. Hydrocarbons and synthetic chemicals can bind tightly to soil particles and remain there for years. They can also leach down into groundwater, posing a risk to wells and drinking water sources.

Without treatment, contaminated land can become legally classified as “brownfield,” meaning it cannot be built on or used safely without remediation — which can be costly and time-consuming.

4. Financial and Emotional Costs

Flood recovery is expensive. Families may be forced out of their homes, farmers may lose entire harvests, and businesses can suffer months of lost income. The longer contamination is left untreated, the harder it becomes to restore normality.

On top of this, there is the emotional impact — nobody wants to live with the fear that their garden, paddock, or farmland may be hazardous to touch or grow food on.

The Solution: Safe, Organic Enzyme Bioremediation

This is where Bioglobe’s organic enzyme solutions come in. Instead of relying on harsh chemicals that can sterilise soil and harm wildlife, we use nature’s own tools — specialised proteins called enzymes — to break down pollutants into harmless components.

Here is how our approach works step by step:

Step 1: Analyse the Contamination

No two flood events are the same. The first step is always to understand what pollutants are present. At Bioglobe’s laboratory, we can analyse samples of soil, sediment, and floodwater to determine:

• The presence of sewage and organic matter.
• Levels of hydrocarbons such as diesel, petrol, or oils.
• Chemical pollutants like pesticides or solvents.
• Microbial load and potential pathogenic risk.

This information allows us to design a bespoke enzyme formula that is precisely matched to the contamination profile.

Step 2: Tailor the Enzyme Solution

Once we know what needs to be broken down, we create an optimised blend of enzymes. For example:

• Proteases to break down proteins found in sewage and animal waste.
• Lipases to target fats, oils, and greases.
• Amylases to decompose starches and plant residues.
• Oxidases and peroxidases to break down hydrocarbons and complex chemicals.

Because these enzymes are naturally occurring biological catalysts, they work efficiently under mild conditions without adding toxins to the environment.

Step 3: Apply the Solution Safely

Our enzyme mixes can be applied as liquid sprays, soil drenches, or even through slow-release carriers. This means we can treat entire fields, gardens, paddocks, or smaller urban plots safely and evenly.

Unlike bleach or disinfectants, enzyme treatments do not leave harmful residues. They simply carry out their job and then biodegrade naturally into harmless amino acids and peptides.

Step 4: Support Natural Regeneration

By breaking down pollutants into water, carbon dioxide, and nutrients, enzymes actually feed the soil and encourage beneficial microbes to return. This means that the land is not just decontaminated — it is actively restored.

Healthy soil life helps prevent secondary problems such as bad odours, anaerobic conditions, or poor drainage. The ecosystem gets back on track much more quickly.

Step 5: Monitor and Verify

We always recommend follow-up testing to make sure the land is truly safe. This gives peace of mind before replanting crops, grazing animals, or re-opening public spaces.

Why Choose Enzyme Solutions Over Chemicals

Many people assume that strong disinfectants or industrial chemicals are the best way to kill germs after flooding. In reality, this approach can be harmful:

• Chemicals are non-selective, killing both harmful and beneficial microbes, leaving soil sterile and lifeless.
• They can introduce new toxins that persist in the environment.
• They often fail to break down hydrocarbons or complex pollutants fully, leaving residues behind.
• They may create hazardous by-products when mixed with organic matter.

Enzyme-based remediation is different. It is selective, sustainable, and safe. Rather than simply disinfecting the surface, enzymes catalyse the actual breakdown of contaminants at the molecular level. This means a deeper, more thorough clean with no collateral damage to the ecosystem.

Practical Benefits for Homeowners, Farmers, and Communities

Enzyme bioremediation is suitable for:

• Domestic gardens affected by floodwater and sewage backflow.
• Agricultural fields where crops or soil have been contaminated.
• Public parks and green spaces that need to be made safe quickly.
• Industrial yards and workshops where oils and fuels have mixed with floodwater.
• Animal enclosures and paddocks where livestock health could be at risk.

Because the treatment is gentle, it can often be done without digging up large areas of soil or removing topsoil, saving both time and money.

Taking Action Quickly

The best time to remediate flood contamination is as soon as the ground is safe to work on. Prompt action prevents pollutants from seeping deeper into the soil or evaporating into the air. It also reduces odours and makes homes and land habitable again sooner.

Bioglobe works closely with landowners to assess the contamination and develop a treatment plan that is safe, effective, and environmentally responsible.

FAQs

What is the safest way to clean up after a flood?
The safest approach is to wear protective gear, remove debris, pump away standing water, and then test soil and water for contamination. Once you know what is present, use a targeted, gentle remediation method such as enzyme treatment rather than harsh chemicals.

Can I treat soil contaminated with sewage?
Yes, sewage-contaminated soil can be treated effectively using a combination of protease and lipase enzymes. These break down the organic matter into harmless by-products, leaving the soil clean and odour-free.

Will enzymes kill harmful bacteria?
Enzymes do not act like chemical disinfectants. Instead of poisoning bacteria, they break down the organic matter that pathogens feed on, reducing their survival. This allows the natural soil ecosystem to rebalance and suppress harmful bacteria naturally.

Can I use enzymes indoors after flooding?
Yes, enzyme solutions can be applied indoors, but it is important to ensure good ventilation and professional handling. They can safely treat contaminated flooring, basements, or underfloor spaces without leaving toxic residues.

How long until it is safe to plant or walk on treated soil?
In most cases, soil treated with enzymes can be walked on within a few days. Planting can resume once follow-up tests show that contamination levels have fallen to safe thresholds, usually within a few weeks.

Bioglobe offer Organic Enzyme pollution remediation for major oil-spills, oceans and coastal waters, marinas and inland water, sewage and nitrate remediation and agriculture and brown-field sites, throughout the UK and Europe.

We have created our own Enzyme based bioremediation in our own laboratory in Cyprus and we are able to create bespoke variants for maximum efficacy.

Our team are able to identify the pollution, we then assess the problem, conduct site tests and send samples to our lab where we can create a bespoke variant, we then conduct a pilot test and proceed from there.

Our Enzyme solutions are available around the world, remediation pollution organically without any harm to the ecosystem.

For further information:
BioGlobe LTD (UK),
Phone: +44(0) 116 4736303| Email: info@bioglobe.co.uk