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; […]
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” […]
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 […]
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 […]
What is a Sponge City? The traditional idea of managing surface water runoff in an urban environment is to funnel that water away from cities as fast as possible. Recently, however, city planners and governments are realising that this design concept is flawed as it means that they are, to all intents and purposes, throwing […]
Aberdeen’s new International Business Park, built next to the City’s International Airport, is delivering a best-practice Sustainable Drainage (SuDS) scheme using filtration and bioretention technologies from Hydro International to meet strict planning and pollutant removal criteria. A wide-variety of SuDS components have been included for the 31,000 m2 first phase of the development to meet the […]
The Committee On Climate Change – set up to advise the UK Government – says a process should be put in place for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of planning policy in achieving a high uptake of SuDS in new development within 2 years. This is just one of a number of key recommendations made […]
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has urged the Government to “act with caution” when making spending cuts in areas such as flood risk management, that could impact on the resilience of the UK and its infrastructure networks. In its submission to the Treasury ahead of the July Budget, the ICE warned that proposed public spending cuts threaten many […]
The Government should undertake an investment programme to retrofit towns and cities to make them more resilient to flooding according to an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) report. The report also calls upon an incoming government to appoint a Cabinet champion to protect against flooding and drought. In Living with Water, the Commission of Inquiry of the […]
CIWEM’s Annual Conference aims to challenge and inspire the water and environment community by bringing together experts in their field to cover a range of topics from; Water Management, Climate Change and Sustainability, to Catchment Management and Flood Risk Management.
The Government has published its response to the consultation to deliver SuDS via the planning system and made clear its expectation that Sustainable Drainage Systems will be provided in major new developments “wherever this is appropriate” with changes to take effect from 6 April 2015. A statement to Parliament by the Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities […]
The strength of response to the Government’s consultation on Delivering Sustainable Drainage Systems has given politicians and policymakers much to consider before finalising the introduction of a new system in Spring 2015.
A pioneering vision document has been launched by AECOM, in close collaboration with local government, academic and public and private sector stakeholders, identifying a more sustainable response to urban and rural water management throughout South West England. The landmark document has come from the findings of a workshop initiated by AECOM and hosted by South West Water. […]
The Government set out how it will spend £2.3 billion of investment committed to flood defences as part of the National Infrastructure Plan 2014, launched at the Institution of Civil Engineers ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. The plan commits £2.3 billion of capital investment to over 1,400 flood defence projects over a six-year programme of investment. As a result, the […]
This 2014 event celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Urban Drainage Group with a return to their former home the Hilton Hotel, Blackpool UK.
Experts from the University of Exeter are pioneering a new computer platform in which water engineers can simulate how existing and prospective new water systems will cope with issues, threats and risk such as land management and flooding. The researchers say that virtual worlds, similar to those experienced by game-players of Minecraft and SimCity, could […]
The Government has opened a consultation proposing an alternative approach to the delivery of Sustainable Drainage Systems through changes to the planning system, rather than through the approval regime originally proposed under Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. In a written ministerial statement Environment Secretary Liz Truss said the Government is determined to deliver the […]
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is consulting on the next stages of Scotland’s plans for sustainable management of rivers, lochs, estuaries, coastal waters and groundwater. Two six month consultations have been launched aiming to engage local authorities, stakeholder groups and water users to help protect and improve the quality of the water environment within […]
Defra has issued its January 2014 newsletter which confirms timings and outlines the next steps before implementation for SuDS regulations in England and Wales, and explores a snapshot of some of the work currently being undertaken by local authorities. Click below to view the newsletter. Defra Sustainable Drainage Newsletter January 2014
8-9 April 2014 – Venue: The Royal Geographical Society, London.
The conference programme will have one stream of offered and invited papers, plus inspiring keynote speakers, covering the practical reality of sustainably delivering water and environmental management.
As the first phase of Edinburgh City Council’s 21st Century Homes project for much-needed affordable housing, the Gracemount development is showcasing sustainable construction. A major feature of the drainage solution is Hydro International’s high performance Hydro-Brake Optimum® to control surface water which saved the developers over 30% in storage construction costs. “We had been reviewing […]
East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham 13th November to 15th November 2013 Comprising a programme spanning 3 days of platform presentations, a keynote speech, workshops, and research forum, the conference is aimed at presenting, exchanging& discussing the latest knowledge and research from within the industry both globally and locally. Tony Wray, CEO Severn Trent Water will […]
East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham Wednesday, 13th November to Friday, 15th November 2013 Comprising a programme spanning 3 days of platform presentations, a keynote speech, workshops, and research forum, the conference is aimed at presenting, exchanging& discussing the latest knowledge and research from within the industry both globally and locally. Tony Wray, CEO Severn Trent […]
A unique new industry tool has been launched to help users explore the options for designing and building a surface water ‘Treatment Train’ as part of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in anticipation of growing water quality regulations. The free-to-use Treatment Selection Tool, available at www.hydro-int.com/stormtrain/tool , has been developed by Hydro International in response to […]
A consultation on a PAS for the specification of underground utility detection, verification and location is currently open and comments are invited. Cardno, on behalf of BSI would like to invite you and/or your organization to comment on the following draft. The closing date for consultation is Friday 26 July 2013. PAS 128, Specification for […]
Defra have clearly indicated that schedule 3 will be implemented in April 2014 and as promised there will be six months notice. The language initially used was “we will” however the language has started to change to “we aim”. Within the Defra’s response to the EFRA Parliamentary Group the phrase “…” was used six times, […]
Saturday’s hugely successful SuDS Fair at Upton Meadows demonstrated the power of community engagement and the true value of SuDS to residents as a public amenity. Congratulations to the Prince’s Foundation and the University of Northampton for hosting an event which put the local people at the heart of the SuDS experience. With everything from […]
One of the first UK installations of the innovative new Hydro Biofilter™ biofiltration system has brought attractive landscaping and stringent stormwater quality control to a sensitive location in Barry, South Wales. Vale of Glamorgan council decided to install three Hydro Biofilter™ units from Hydro International at the Business Service Centre (BSC) car park to meet […]
CONGRATULATIONS to all involved in the Wigan Flood Alleviation Scheme which fought off stiff competition to win the Large Project Award at the North West Civil Engineering Awards 2013. According to the ICE’s North West branch report the £11.2 million scheme “stood out for several reasons: It was well optioneered; it was a non-mechanical sustainable […]
Hydro International has launched The Hydro StormTrainTM Series, a comprehensive toolbox of surface water treatment devices in anticipation of the growing need to remove silts, sediments and other pollutants from stormwater runoff. Through The Hydro StormTrainTM Series, Hydro is providing an unrivalled range of performance-verified and internationally-recognised technologies for surface water treatment to meet current […]