JUNE 2020
INTELLIGENCE
SuDS standards Martin Lambley, Product Manager for stormwater management at Wavin, highlights the fundamentals of Sustainble Urban Drainage Systems
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ew Design and Construction Guidance for the water sector was released in April 2020. For the first time, it set out standards for sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), redefining the types of assets that water companies will be required to adopt and maintain and that contractors will have to install. There’s never been a more crucial time for building engineers to understand what SuDS are and the benefits they bring to a development and the built environment. SuDS are specialist drainage systems that help to reduce the risk of surface flooding. The concept is not new to the industry – SuDS have been around since the early 1990s – however, as sustainable development is becoming more of a prominent focus, SuDS are only now starting to be taken seriously. Traditionally, stormwater has been managed through natural infiltration where water gathers on existing vegetated
IMAGES: IMARK COVENTRY, ALAMY
BUILDING ENGINEER
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18/05/2020 15:14
