VIEWPOINT


TAKEN AT THE FLOOD


Andrew Taylor, Technical Sales Manager WMS, at Burdens’ Water Management Solutions on the importance of attenuation solutions in the face of climate change.


THE GOVERNMENT HAS promised to build 300,000 new build homes a year by the mid-2020s to help solve the UK’s chronic housing shortage. However, data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government shows that the number of houses built on high-flood-risk land is rising. In fact, around five million people in England and Wales currently live in flood-risk areas, with one in six homes in England being at risk.


With this said, the annual flood damage costs are now in the region of £1.1 billion across England. With climate change being a significant issue, flood management and the control of stormwater are becoming an increasing issue for builders and developers as the construction sector continues to boom. Attenuation is the process of holding back peak drainage flow from a location during storm conditions. The principle is to store the water for a duration of time before releasing it back to drainage systems at a slower, controlled rate.


There are a variety of options


available on how to form this structure; however, several things must be taken into consideration before these are designed. These include ground conditions, storage requirements, loading capabilities, accessibility requirements for maintenance or jetting, and whether it is to be adopted by the local water authority.


As development and infrastructure remove natural water-permeable land and exchange it for new developments impermeable to water, this creates much faster surface water run-off, putting pressure on water courses. This results in downstream flooding, pollution, and damage to the environment.


Attenuation tasks can combat this issue whilst providing a high storage volume, compared to structures filled with aggregates giving them the flexibility to be installed below roads, car parks, residential areas, and open public/ recreational spaces.


One of the systems Burdens currently use is Geocellular storage systems, more commonly


referred to as crates. They are light modular plastic units that can be used efficiently for attenuation. The storage structure is formed by


assembling the required number of individual units and wrapping them in a geomembrane and/ or geotextile protection fleece. Plastic Geocellular systems are a widely accepted method of creating attenuation systems throughout the UK. They have been installed in a variety of applications for several years from landscaped/pedestrian areas, up to light and heavy-duty trafficked areas.


Burdens used Geocellular storage systems with Lovell Homes at their Drummond Park site in Wiltshire. The team proposed the ACO StormBrixx SD system — a unique and patented plastic geocellular stormwater management system with compact stacking ability for easier logistics. The tank is designed for where installation depth and access requirements are vital to the project. Not only did this tank save the site money and space but it also had a host


of sustainable benefits. Thanks to the ACO StormBrixx SD system, the team were able to reduce the number of artic lorries loads to the site, reduce forklift truck unloading time, save five days’ worth of deliveries, and reduce storage on-site by 60%. Water management system design can often be a complex task. Success in combining products and processes requires a thorough understanding of how these different elements work together.


However, the expert team at Burdens can work closely with customers through the entire process to ensure accurate and cost-effective product selection is made, and correct installation and maintenance are achieved. Through developments such as the ACO StormBrixx SD system, as the need for new developments and housing further increases, Burdens is helping the construction industry combat climate change one step at a time, helping to reduce the number of homes affected by flooding across the UK. BMJ


December 2022 www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net


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