The Welsh Government has launched an open consultation on the implementation of Schedule 3 of the Flood & Water Management Act 2010.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) has published its Post-legislative scrutiny: Flood and Water Management 2010 report. In its report, the Environment Food, and Rural Affairs Committee criticises the Government’s sub-standard sustainable drainage (SuDS) approaches. Read the report summary Read the conclusions and recommendations Read the full report: Post-legislative scrutiny: Flood and Water […]
The Post-legislative scrutiny: Flood and Water Management Act 2010 report recently published by the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) has set out a list of recommendations for the next Government. Some of these recommendations I wholeheartedly agree with, while some have left me with a feeling of déjà vu over what is and what […]
The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) today published a new report into sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). The report—A Place For SuDS—urges the government to reduce flood risk by making effective flow control,storage and treatment of stormwater a condition of all new developments in the UK. […]
Lack of a clear framework for the maintenance and performance of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) is seen by professionals as a key barrier to effective delivery and adoption, a national survey has found. The results of the research, conducted by Engineering Nature’s Way, the knowledge-sharing initiative for SuDS, also revealed that most (79%) of respondents […]
Could a greater acceptance of proprietary systems as part of a broad SuDS toolbox facilitate more widespread adoption of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) across the UK? The results of the Engineering Nature’s Way SuDS: The State of the Nation Survey 2016 are published and reflect the views of professionals’ actively engaged in delivery of SuDS. […]
The results of our SuDS: The State of the Nation 2016 survey are in. We’ve been overwhelmed by the response, and in particular the depth of professional insights provided by hundreds of respondents. We’ve been left in no doubt about the strength of feeling – indeed passion – generated by the SuDS debate among those […]
Read the key findings from the SuDS: The State of the Nation 2016 survey The SuDS: The State of the Nation 2016 survey sought the views of professionals working with SuDS at the ‘grass roots’. As the Government prepares for a review next year of the effectiveness of delivering SuDS through the planning system in […]
The recommendations of the parliamentary Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee for a major upheaval of flood risk management in the UK are, perhaps, unlikely to be accepted with enthusiasm by a Government with many other current preoccupations. Yet the recommendations (EFRA MPs Demand Major Flood Reforms) do send a clear message: flood risk […]
Upstream storage is a vastly underestimated tool for catchment-wide flood prevention that is already well proven. The White Cart Flood Prevention Scheme, for example, is an upland storage solution that has now been operating successfully for more than six years with the cooperation of the farming community. It forms an important part of the wider […]
Have we put the cart before the horse when it comes to ensuring quality in the construction of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)? Encouraging greater uptake, even compulsory use, of SuDS in new developments in the UK has led policymakers to put a great deal of effort into promoting best practice in design, but much less, […]
This British Water Conference is aimed at developers, designers, architects and BREEAM consultants, to take the most cost-effective approach to meeting the surface-water management requirements for new developments. Why Attend? This event will help further educate, inform and assist attendees by providing a clearer understanding of SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) consideration at all project stages; […]
Who is best placed to own Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in the UK? Until we put this enduringly thorny problem to bed, will we ever be able to settle on effective and workable regulations? Maintenance, and who should manage and pay for it, has often been something of an afterthought in our enthusiasm to make […]
Engineers took a pragmatic approach to designing surface water drainage at Taylor Wimpey’s new Parc-y-Strade housing development on the outskirts of Llanelli, South Wales. Using Hydro-Brake® vortex flow control technology to engineer distributed surface water storage and attenuation across the low-lying, flat site, the development infrastructure satisfies Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) principles. The high-density development […]
If you asked a developer, a planning officer and a consulting engineer for a definition of SuDS, do you think you would get the same answer? I have a suspicion that their answers might well be significantly different. In a recent parliamentary inquiry into future flood resilience, it was suggested that we have a problem […]
NEW sustainable drainage system (SuDS) questions are to be added to the standard conveyancing searches undertaken by solicitors in England & Wales on behalf of their clients. From 4 July 2016, the Con29 enquiry form which relates to water and drainage issues of a property search will ask whether the property is served by a […]
A new briefing note by the Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology (POST) collates current expert opinion to provide a valuable policy review on Adapting Urban Areas to Flooding. The note stresses that “there is no single solution that can manage all flood risk”. Instead “a portfolio of engineered and natural solutions can be implemented” […]
Do we really need another review of SuDS policy? We’ve had plenty already and, going right back to the recommendations of the Pitt Review, the case for SuDS is well proven; they are cost effective, practical, multi-functional and bring biodiversity and amenity. However, this statutory SuDS review will be different: the UK Government will investigate […]
The Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) has proposed a Ten Point Plan to the Government to ‘reboot’ flood policy in the light of the National Flood Resilience Review. In a new report, Turning the Tide, the EIC sets out new policy recommendations for flood policy reform. The Environmental Industries Commission’s members include a wide range of […]
A new long-term water strategy for Northern Ireland has been launched, setting out a range of initiatives to deliver the Northern Ireland Executive’s long-term goal of a sustainable water sector in the region.
THE HOUSE of Lords became the rather polite battleground last week for an attempt to revive abandoned proposals to establish a separate local authority approval system for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in England and remove developers’ automatic right to connect to the public sewer. Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act (FMWA) […]
Download the report detailing the results of the 2012 SuDS: The State of the Nation Survey. You may also wish to read the Special Report on the Round Table debate on the results of the Survey.
Engineering Nature’s Way, the knowledge-sharing initiative for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), is launching a national survey of professionals working with SuDS at the ‘grass roots’ to assess confidence levels in progress being made towards best practice implementation across the UK. Important new regulations and technical guidance has been published during the past 12 months for […]
This British Water event will be focused on SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) solutions to the challenges faced by London Planners and Flood Officers. This event will offer SuDS experts the chance to provide direct solutions to these problems. Who should attend? London Authorities are looking to hear from those who can offer innovative solutions and share successful […]
Having been born and bred in Wales, as well as currently living there, I can be forgiven for a little favouritism for the Welsh way of doing things. The new interim non-statutory SuDS standards for Wales are certainly different from their English and Scottish counterparts – and I believe they are worth studying, even for […]
Scotland has led the way in the design and implementation of SuDS. With the publication of new guidance by the SuDS Working Party in Scotland, the Scots are once again setting high standards for best practice in water and drainage infrastructure development. The Water Assessment and Drainage Assessment Guide is a clear and helpful document […]
At 964 pages, the updated CIRIA C753 : The SuDS Manual has increased in size by 50% compared to its predecessor C697 and is a formidable document to get to grips with. More than 800 engineers tuned into the first of in our series of webinars to introduce the manual and outline its key points. […]
In this, the second of the series of free webinars, we will outline the approaches to water quantity in accordance with the new SuDS Manual and present some worked examples of putting these approaches into place. Sign up for the Free Webinar Water Quantity Design in Accordance with the SuDS Manual (C753) Thursday, 25th […]
In this, the first of a series of free webinars, Hydro International’s regional technical managers will introduce the new SuDS Manual and highlight some of the key differences with the previous version (C697) and look at some of the regional variations in the application of surface water management strategies. Introducing the New SuDS Manual […]
An expert industry task group set up consider how the UK’s water infrastructure can become more resilient has concluded there should be national wastewater and sewerage strategy, and that each water company should have a wastewater, sewerage and drainage plan, linked to SuDS. The recommendations of the Resilience Task and Finish Group will feed into […]