PUBLIC SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY
IT’S HIGH TIME TO GET REAL ABOUT SURFACE WATER MANAGEMENT MEASURES, EXPERTS WARN
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et more unacceptable delays to the implementation of long-awaited legislation to make Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) compulsory
for new developments in England and Wales have been exacerbated by an overly-idealistic interpretation of SuDS as natural above-ground drainage features, experts have warned. “It’s time to get real about the principles and practice we need for surface water drainage not just for new development but also for much-needed improvements to the existing surface water drainage infrastructure. This will be essential not only to combat flooding, but also to tackle pollution of our rivers and watercourses,” says Alex Stephenson, chair of the British Water Sustainable Water Management (SuWM) Focus Group and Director of Hydro International’s UK Stormwater division.
Despite another period of devastating
flooding, Defra has confirmed that plans to make SuDS compulsory for developments over one property in April 2014 have been delayed again to take account of the outcomes of consultations with industry stakeholders. A new date for implementation has yet to be confirmed. The new regulations as part of the Flood and Water Management Act will make sustainable drainage systems subject to approval by new local authority SuDS Approving Bodies, who will then be responsible for adopting and maintaining the SuDS. “Housebuilders and developers are worried about the costly loss of land required to build space-hungry above-ground ‘natural’ features such as ponds, wetlands and swales. There are also questions surrounding the proper funding for local authorities to maintain SuDS effectively.
PUBLIC SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY • VOLUME 4 ISSUE 2 “It’s not that housebuilders are anti-
SuDS – many have been installing good SuDS schemes for the past 10 years or more and these issues are not new to our industry. The question is, why are they the focus of attention now?
“I believe a significant contributory factor is a tendency to interpret SuDS too rigidly as ‘natural’ or above ground drainage features and this is what threatens to hold back progress. “It’s time to go back to the first principles of what we are trying to achieve in sustainable surface water control as well as treatment of pollutants from runoff, in particular from highways. The key principle of SuDS is to mimic natural drainage paths and processes and to deal with rainwater as close as possible to where it falls – by infiltration where possible. By doing so, the unsustainable outcome of directing surface water into the over-burdened sewer network is avoided.
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