Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | SEPTEMBER 2018 | 13 • SHARED BENEFITS OF SUDS T he question over who pays for the implementation and upkeep of SuDS should not be too difficult to settle because it really comes down to the benefits that different stakeholders are receiving from the project – although there are a few technicalities to be overcome, according to Jeremy Jones, Associate Director at Atkins. "If you've got a fairly large SuDS feature like a detention basin, which is on land that the water company can access and it's keeping water out of the sewer system, my experience is that the more enlightened water companies would have no problem with taking that on and maintaining it," says Jones. "There are legislative difficulties in owning and maintaining some types of SuDS, for example, if it's on a highway like a bioretention strip, there are statutory powers that make it impossible for the water company to own that. But it's not impossible for the water company to come to an agreement with the local authority that contributes to its upkeep, if in fact they are benefiting from it, and in some areas we are seeing companies come to those agreements." Many retrofit schemes have benefits for the wider community, creating a more pleasant environment and even raising house prices for people who live there, says Jones. Atkins has recently worked with Anglian Water to map out a host of SuDS opportunities in its region and calculate which have the greatest benefits for multiple stakeholders: the best schemes have then attracted funding. An example was an Atkins-designed SuDS scheme at a school in Newmarket, where the benefit to the school itself, the water company and the local community were all clear to see. "The added benefit of a scheme like that is much wider, because those children really become acquainted with the value of water, how it's used and how it can be managed differently," Jones explains. "They take that information back to their parents and the outreach then grows much wider. When I first started working with sustainable drainage techniques there was a very low understanding of it, but through the introduction of SuDS into schools, you start to see a much bigger awareness within the general public as a whole." Jones says that SfA8 is a useful step forward, but that whoever ends up owning and maintaining the SuDS – whether it is the local authority, the water company or somebody else – he feels that a corner has now been turned and that SuDS will soon be considered as the norm rather than an exception. "What we are starting to see is a greater number of people being educated and trained to understand SuDS and how they can be operated and maintained. Looking back ten years, there was a certain amount of reticence because people really didn't understand these issues. That's now being overcome and people understand how SuDS can be operated and maintained within the whole asset management process of your organisation – whatever organisation it is that you are talking about. People are becoming better acquainted with SuDS, and understanding their use, and I think we are on the cusp of seeing a change as we speak." It is also worth noting that the more attractive and community-focused a SuDs scheme is – with green features such as rain gardens – the more a local community will feel attached to it, and the more likely it is that local people or organisations will want to maintain these features on a voluntary basis. SuDS planters at All Saints' CE Primary School in Suffolk (Atkins/Anglian Water)