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Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS)

Introduction to SUDS

These pages provide information about Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDS) related work, research,likely future activities and the roles of different stakeholders. A national stakeholder group has been established since 1997, the Sustainable Urban Drainage Scottish Working Party, SUDSWP; www.sepa.org.uk/SUDSWP The SUDSWP website provides introductory information about SUDS.  In SEPA, SUDS-related work is coordinated by Neil McLean in the Central Advisory Unit of the Directorate of Environmental Protection and Improvement:

Neil McLean (SUDS Co-ordinator and SUDSWP secretary)
With support from Brian D'Arcy (Senior Diffuse Pollution Specialist, Central Advisory Unit, SEPA).
General enquiries to: diffuse.pollution@sepa.org.uk

Stakeholders

SEPA is the statutory agency responsible for protecting the water environment in Scotland, under the WEWS Act. On that basis SEPA requires the use of effective, appropriate SUDS features in new developments.

Scottish Water is also empowered under the WEWS Act in relation to SUDS; if systems are designed to appropriate standards (see Sewers for Scotland 2nd edition from Scottish Water or WRc as authors of the guidance http://www.wrcplc.co.uk/sfs/

Developers, SEPA and Scottish Water are encouraged to discuss proposed developments at an early stage, even before approaching the planning authority. Government planning advice is available in Planning Advice Notes (PANs guidance ) and Scottish Planning Policy releases (SPPs) from the Scottish Government www.scotland.gov.uk

Legislation

The Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003, (the WEWS Act) and subsequent regulations, notably The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (referred to as CAR below), are the statutory basis for SUDS in Scotland. The CAR provisions came into force on 1 April 2006 (updated in 2007) and protect the water environment via General Binding Rules, GBRs.

Contolled activity in GBR 10: Discharge of water run-off from a surface water drainage system to the water environment from buildings, roads, yards or any other built developments, or construction sites for such developments, or construction sites for such developments, and, if desired, the construction and maintenance of any water outfall in or near to inland surface water which forms, or
will form, part of that system.

Rules for GBR 10:

  • (a) all reasonable steps shall be taken to ensure that the discharge shall not result in pollution of the water environment;
  • (b) the discharge shall not contain any trade effluent or sewage, and shall not result in visible discolouration, iridescence, foaming or growth of sewage fungus in
    the water environment;
  • (c) the discharge shall not result in the destabilisation of the banks or bed of the receiving surface water;
  • (d) the discharge shall not contain any water run-off from any built developments, the construction of which is completed after 1st April 2007, or from construction sites operated after 1st April 2007, unless–
    • (i) during construction those developments are drained by a SUD system or equivalent systems equipped to avoid pollution of the water environment;
    • (ii) following construction those developments are drained by a SUDsystem equipped to avoid pollution of the water environment;
    • (iii) the run-off is from a development that is a single dwelling and its curtilage; or
    • (iv) the discharge is to coastal water;
  • (e) the discharge shall not contain any water run-off from–
    • (i) fuel delivery areas and areas where vehicles, plant and equipment are refuelled;
    • (ii) vehicle loading or unloading bays where potentially polluting matter is handled; or
    • (iii) oil and chemical storage, handling and delivery areas; constructed after 1st April 2007;
  • (f) all facilities with which the surface water drainage system is equipped to avoid pollution, including oil interceptors, silt traps and SUD system attenuation, settlement and treatment facilities, shall be maintained in a good state of repair;
  • (g) all reasonable steps shall be taken to ensure that any matter liable to block, obstruct, or otherwise impair the ability of the surface water drainage system to avoid pollution of the water environment is prevented from entering the drainage system; and
  • (h) the construction or maintenance of the outfall shall not result in pollution of the water environment.

Activity controlled under GBR 11:Discharge into a surface water drainage system.

GBR 11 rules:

  • (a) oil, paint, paint thinners, pesticides, detergents, disinfectants or other pollutants shall not be disposed of into a surface water drainage system or onto any surface that drains into a surface water drainage system;
  • (b) any matter liable to block, obstruct, or otherwise impair the ability of the surface water drainage system to avoid pollution of the water environment shall not be disposed of into a surface water drainage system or onto a surface that drains into a surface water drainage system;
  • (c) sewage or trade effluent shall not be discharged into any surface water drainage system; and
  • (d) on construction sites any area of exposed soil from which water drains into a surface water drainage system, and the period of time during which such water drains, shall be the minimum reasonably necessary to facilitate the construction works being undertaken at that site.

Further guidance is available in RM08 in SEPA’s Water manual and the SEPA practical guide to CAR

Training

Training courses on SUDS technology and the management of urban diffuse pollution, are provided by SEPA for SEPA staff. Courses are also developed and run in partnership with other organisations, as required. Enquiries to diffuse.pollution@sepa.org.uk

SUDS research

SEPA encourages research into the effectiveness and development of SUDS technology. Small projects are run by SEPA, and larger ones in various partnership ventures, e.g. with Scottish Government, SNIFFER, and universities.

SUDSNet

A Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems Network (SUDSNet) has been established with the collaboration of the Urban Water Technology Centre based at Abertay University, Dundee and Coventry University. The aim of the network is to promote research and best practice within the field of SUDS and is funded by EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Science Research Council).

This is to further the work of the Scottish Universities SUDS Monitoring group that has been extended to a national basis to incorporate other academic institutions, developers, consultants and others involved in the SUDS industry. http://sudsnet.abertay.ac.uk/index.html

Development and Guidance

Ponds Pools and Lochans provides advice on creation and management of ponds including specific advice on SUDS. http://www.sepa.org.uk/guidance/hei/guidance.htm#ponds

SUDS for streets is the subject of a national guidance manual for Scottish local authorities, a collaborative publication between SUDSWP and SCOTS (Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland). Completion 2009.

CIRIA publishes guidance for the construction industry and a number of useful technical reports and manuals are available from CIRIA. The national design manual for SUDS is The SUDS Manual (C697, February 2007) This superceded the earlier CIRIA SUDS manual published 2000.

SUDS in Scotland - the Scottish SUDS database

The findings of a major survey into the use of sustainable urban drainage are summarised in the SNIFFER report 'SUDS in Scotland - the Scottish SUDS database'. The survey established that the use of SUDS has become standard practice in Scotland, with over 700 sites being listed and nearly 4000 systems having been implemented. (www.sniffer.org.uk report SR(02)09).