RAINWATER MANAGEMENT
SUDS: A MERCHANT PERSPECTIVE With new regulations for the water sector recently coming into force and new
government investment planned for innovative drainage projects in England, there’s never been a more important time for merchants to be aware of the benefits of SUDS.
green spaces. “The inclusion of ponds and soakaways with attenuation storage tanks installed underground, enable biodiversity and ecology in the local area to be drastically improved,” Lambley points out. “These systems can help to foster an environment on the surface that encourages specific wildlife to flourish, including birds, insects and even pondlife, whilst a robust stormwater management system sits below it. This approach can also increase the attractiveness of a particular area to residents, helping to boost mental wellbeing and providing a more aesthetically pleasing space for physical activity.”
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his year has seen unprecedented hot temperatures as well as one of the wettest Februarys on record. With our climate becoming more quixotic every year, there’s an increasing reliance on s Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). As these systems become more common, it’s important that everyone in the supply chain gets to grips with the new regulations and solutions to help make the right choices for projects. That’s according to Wavin’s Martin Lambley, product manager for stormwater management. “SuDS are specialised drainage systems that effectively manage surface water drainage in the same way that nature would. They help to reduce the risk of surface flooding and act as an alternative solution to traditional stormwater management methods which are no longer considered as effective,” he explains. “This is because they rely on the channeling of large volumes of rainwater into rivers and waterways, which can cause banks to burst. Instead, with the use of SuDS, rainwater is dispersed back into the natural environment through filtration, at a steady and controlled rate, reducing the risk of flooding.” Traditionally, SuDS have been split into two distinct categories – ‘soft’ and ‘hard’. However, Lambley says that more recent understanding is that the most effective solution to stormwater
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The inclusion of ponds and soakaways with attenuation storage tanks installed underground, enable biodiversity and ecology in the local area to be drastically improved.
management is through combining aspects of both systems to create one holistic and practical solution. “By mixing components from soft SuDS, such as grassy areas and ponds, with components from hard SuDS, such as attenuation tanks below ground for storage, an intelligently designed SuDS system is created. This makes it possible to maximise the amount of surface water managed within a development, which is particularly beneficial to urban areas and places where flash flooding is possible,” he says. The benefits of SuDS go further than just managing stormwater, though. When SuDS components on developments are working collectively, there is more opportunity to create
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In some cases, natural SuDS components such as trees, green roofs and swales can remove certain pollutants from the surrounding air through absorption or particulate filtering, including nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide. This is particularly effective in larger developments, urban projects and systems that are implemented in stages, and they can help to improve plant quality through cleaner air. In terms of water quality, an effective SuDS solution is able to lower water flow rates and increase natural filtration, which controls and separates surface water runoff and sewage. This can in turn reduce the transportation of polluted water to the local environment, helping to improve natural bodies – such as lakes, rivers, and streams.
Retrofitting SuDS
Despite the wealth of benefits, there is currently much debate around whether the installation of SuDS solely into new developments is enough to tackle the issue of climate change, as these areas only account for a small percentage of the UK. Smaller SuDS systems, like attenuation tanks, can also be retrofitted in certain existing developments and infrastructure. This improves flood resilience, which is especially effective in urban spaces, where green space for natural filtration is limited. It’s also becoming more commonly understood that retrofitting SuDS can be an even more cost-effective option in the long run, as it can avoid costly bills from flood damage.
New Ofwat adoption codes for SuDS were
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net September 2020
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