MAIN FEATURE
A rain garden capturing runoff and reducing pollution. Courtesy Stormwater Shepherds UK
so that they cannot reproduce or thrive properly.
“We know that we can reduce this pollution by installing treatment schemes and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) across our towns and cities. We know how to deliver raingardens and swales alongside roads and in car-parks so that they capture the pollutants and slow down the stormwater flow. And we have excellent UK-based manufacturers who offer
treatment devices that can capture the pollutants and collect them, ready to be taken away and treated at waste management facilities. The trick is to find the funding to pay for all this treatment. There is no obvious funding stream to pay for this stormwater management, and, unlike Germany and some US States, we have no Stormwater Utility Levy to create a fund for this work. So, local authorities and water companies are finding innovative ways of delivering
improvements in stormwater management, by incorporating this work into larger, funded projects. Storm overflow reduction projects can include the redirection of stormwater from roads and car-parks to raingardens or ponds. Local infrastructure projects like active- travel pathways and junction improvements can also include retro-fit SuDS, that deliver green spaces in urban centres and manage stormwater all at the same time. Repairs to sub-surface services such as gas and electricity networks can be reinstated with new swales or raingardens. And, with good planning, new developments can include stormwater management strategies on new sites, which can even include rainwater capture and reuse.
“So better stormwater management is essential and we know how to do it; all we have to do now is find the money to pay for it.”
highway outfall causing river pollution. Courtesy Stormwater Shepherds UK
10 | March 2025 |
draintraderltd.com
With the controversial Biodiversity Net Gain Law approaching its first anniversary, is it working or is wildlife still being damaged by all the pollution being swept into rivers, seas and other waterways? That’s a question for another time and another topic entirely. Meanwhile, is it simply money that’s holding us back from making the improvements we need to protect us from future extreme weather?
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