Sustainable Drainage Systems

Drainage system that reduces surface water runoff, reduces drainage rates to watercourses and act as a buffer to retain water and decrease flow rates in extreme weather conditions. The aim is to allow water to gradually drain and soakaway event at a steady and more controlled way than if water was shed directly from the surface or straight through drainage pipes to outfalls and watercourses, which would otherwise result in short-term overload of the system and subsequent flooding to businesses and households.

A range of features can be used as SuDS, including ponds, soakaways, infiltration trenches, attenuation tanks, green roofs, swales, bio-swales, wetlands, detention basins, and permeable hard surfaces (in contrast to non-permeable ones).