Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/1016624
www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | XXXX 20XX | 11 The Works T here's a consensus in the water industry and beyond that sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) have a valuable role to play in reducing flood risk, lightening the burden of excess surface water in sewers and in making urban development more sustainable amid the challenges of population growth and climate change. Yet whether they are being implemented for new build properties or retrofitted to existing urban areas, sustainable drainage techniques require co-ordination and collaborative work between stakeholders such local authorities, developers, water companies and other local stakeholders. And once the hurdle of planning, designing and installing surface water management has been overcome, there is also the vexed www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | SEPTEMBER 2018 | 11 question of who carries out, and pays for, the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of SuDS features – a question which has held back the potential of sustainable drainage in the past. It's been three years since the requirement to consider SuDS was enshrined into the planning system for larger new developments in England, when it was incorporated into the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Meanwhile, the recent inclusion of SuDS in Sewers for Adoption 8 – an industry code which sets out the standards that must be followed for water companies to adopt wastewater and drainage assets – has raised hopes that questions over the upkeep of SuDS will be largely resolved when it comes into force in mid-2019. With some water companies also set to commit significant sums of money into retrofit SuDS projects in their 2020-25 business plans, will the next few years see a boom in sustainable drainage – and if so, will water companies be leading the charge? As the new Sewers for Adoption code makes it easier for water companies to assume responsibility for sustainable drainage, will AMP7 see water companies put their weight behind SuDS? By James Brockett SuDS: coming to the surface SuDS features in Hammersmith & Fulham, London "The question of who carries out, and pays for, the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of SuDS has held back the potential of sustainable drainage in the past." GOAL 7 SEWER FLOODING