Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems - latest guidance
In February 2018, the ICE SuDS Task Group produced a set of detailed, easy-to-follow visual route maps, sponsored by surface water drainage experts ACO Technologies.
All plans and designs for new housing or commercial developments should address the issue of sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) from the earliest stages. This enables the best SuDS to be delivered to mitigate flooding risk, avoid overloading the drainage network and provide water quality, biodiversity and public amenity benefits.
However, regulations and custom and practice vary across the UK nations and between different local authorities, making the processes of SuDS delivery sometimes confusing.
The purpose of these new route maps is to provide an overview of the main stages of delivering SuDS, with numerous relevant hyperlinks at the appropriate point.
This will help both existing SuDS practitioners and built environment professionals new to SuDS to understand the main processes and available resources.
Although not a fixed legal requirement in England and Northern Ireland, SuDS are a legal obligation in Scotland and soon will be in Wales.
Water UK, the water industry body, is also developing more rigorous standards.
Who should read the new guidance?:
The ICE/ACO route maps cover key delivery stages: from pre-planning, design and construction, to adoption and maintenance. There are also numerous links to further detailed information online.
Specifically:
- Architects.
- Planners.
- Developers.
- Construction contractors.
- Water engineers.
- Chartered environmentalists.
To find out more and download the guidance, see here.
This article was originally published here on 14th February 2018 by ICE. It was written by Anna Plodowski.
--The Institution of Civil Engineers
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Do you take the lead in a circular construction economy?
Help us develop and expand this wiki as a resource for academia and industry alike.
Warm Homes Plan Workforce Taskforce
Risks of undermining UK’s energy transition due to lack of electrotechnical industry representation, says ECA.
Cost Optimal Domestic Electrification CODE
Modelling retrofits only on costs that directly impact the consumer: upfront cost of equipment, energy costs and maintenance costs.
The Warm Homes Plan details released
What's new and what is not, with industry reactions.
Could AI and VR cause an increase the value of heritage?
The Orange book: 2026 Amendment 4 to BS 7671:2018
ECA welcomes IET and BSI content sign off.
How neural technologies could transform the design future
Enhancing legacy parametric engines, offering novel ways to explore solutions and generate geometry.
Key AI related terms to be aware of
With explanations from the UK government and other bodies.
From QS to further education teacher
Applying real world skills with the next generation.
A guide on how children can use LEGO to mirror real engineering processes.
Data infrastructure for next-generation materials science
Research Data Express to automate data processing and create AI-ready datasets for materials research.
Wired for the Future with ECA; powering skills and progress
ECA South Wales Business Day 2025, a day to remember.
AI for the conservation professional
A level of sophistication previously reserved for science fiction.
Biomass harvested in cycles of less than ten years.
An interview with the new CIAT President
Usman Yaqub BSc (Hons) PCIAT MFPWS.
Cost benefit model report of building safety regime in Wales
Proposed policy option costs for design and construction stage of the new building safety regime in Wales.
Do you receive our free biweekly newsletter?
If not you can sign up to receive it in your mailbox here.