SUDS - SUSTAINABLE URBAN DRAINAGE SYSTEMS

SUDS consist of physical features and structures designed into a development to protect nearby watercourses from flooding and pollution. Ideally, SUDS will contribute amenity value to the development and provide new habitats in themselves.

In short they offer a means of mimicking pre-development drainage thus minimising the risk posed by the built-up environment to our aquatic ecosystems. The need for SUDS is strengthened further by the aspirations of the Water Framework Directive SUDS and they are no longer an option. Planning authorities and SEPA are insisting that developers, both big and small, install SUDS at every opportunity. They will continue to do so and it is likely that conditions will be increasingly onerous.

SUDS - Balancing the Objectives

Normally, SUDS will constitute a combination of basins, ponds, underground pipes, tanks, infiltration devices, permeable surfaces, swales, and filter drains. The best combination of structures and techniques will be site specific.

JIG and SUDS

Developers will be expected to consider SUDS at the concept stage of any new development proposal and arrange for the installation of a system that is in accordance with current best practice.

JIG fully supports the SUDS working party view that early consultation between all interested parties is fundamental and we facilitate this on behalf of clients. However, we also understand that the correct balance must be struck between development costs and the cost of additional environmental features and will negotiate for reasonable outcomes.

JIG primarily uses Microdrainage WinDes software and the CIRIA SUDS Manual to ensure proper SUDS selection.