SUDS

Sustainable Drainage Systems is the name given to a number of measures aimed at reducing the amount of surface water runoff generated after precipitation. Our increasingly urban environment has been designed to remove water from surfaces quickly but this has shifted the problem from the surface to downstream into our sewers and rivers and is responsible for much of the ‘flash flooding’ we have experienced in recent years.

S.U.D.s comprises a number of components such as preventative measures to prevent leaks, the creation of green roofs, filter drains, ponds and wetlands and others. One of the important components is the provision of pervious surfaces which allow rainwater to drain through them into the underlying construction or soil.

Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 requires construction work with drainage implications to have its drainage systems for managing surface runoff (including rainwater, snow and other precipitation) approved before construction may begin. A S.U.D.s Approving Body (SAB) will be established in unitary or county local authorities to approve and, where appropriate, adopt SuDS. The Act requires the Minister to publish National Standards on the design, construction, operation and maintenance of S.U.D.s. In order for drainage applications to be approved, the SAB must ensure that the applicant has designed the S.U.D.s in accordance with the National Standards. Once approved, the SAB must adopt and maintain those S.U.D.s that are functioning properly and serve more than one property.

Clearly, any future building or construction work must demonstrate compliance with S.U.D.s through the incorporation of S.U.D.s components into the design. In terms of the sheer area concerned, the provision of pervious surfaces must be viewed as a key component of any design measures used. SUDwell™ paving system is a resin bound aggregate surfacing system which can be used as a component of a S.U.D.s compliant resin bound system. SUDwell™ Resin Bound Permeable system provides the surface course of a paved area and is free-draining. Of course, for the full paving construction to be considered as S.U.D.s compliant, all the components of the construction must be S.U.D.s compliant. It is only as good as its weakest link. However, such materials are now available in pervious sub-base and asphalt products.