A STUDY ON SUSTAINABLE DRAINAGE SYSTEM (SuDS) IN SCOTLANDS,

UNITED KINGDOM

NG PECK GEE (124091)

School of Housing, Building and Planning, University Sains Malaysia 11800 Penang.

peckgee_94@outlook.com

ABSTRACT

The report examines the drainage system in the United Kingdom (UK) and it found that there
is such many places has been developing a new and more sustainable drainage system called
as Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) in whole UK. Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS)
is an order of water management practices and facilities designed to the drain surface water in
a manner that will provide a more sustainable approach than what has been the conventional
practice of routing run-off through a pipe to a watercourse. The SuDS principles included: (1)
store the runoff and releasing it slowing [attenuation]; (2) allow the water to soak into the
ground [infiltration]; (3) transporting water slowly on the surface [Conveying]; (4) filtering
out pollutant; (5) allows sediments to settle out by controlling the flow of the water. The new
development process has reduced the pollution, including air pollution and water pollution
and followed by the water quality can be enhanced. It administrates the runoff volumes and
flow rates from the hard surfaces so that the impact of urbanisation on flooding can be
reduced so that a better place or even country can be created. Beside the effective cost, it can
protect the natural flow regimes in watercourses and supplies an attractive habitat for wildlife
in urban watercourses. For the usage of the Bioretention Basins and Rain Gardens, it prepares
the opportunities for the evapotranspiration from vegetation and surface water and the natural
groundwater or aquifer recharge can be appealed.

INTRODUCTION

Urbanisation occurs around the world and reduces the amount of rainfall of certain area of the
Earth. The traditional drainage system has not enough sustainable in urbanisation process and
it should be managed to prevent flooding. Hence, a new research has been carried out and the
new system called as Sustainable Drainage System has been developed. Sustainable Drainage
System (SuDS) is an order of water management practices and facilities designed to the drain
surface water in a manner that will provide a more sustainable approach than what has been
the conventional practice of routing run-off through a pipe to a watercourse, to reduce the
potential impact of new and existing developments with respect to surface water drainage
discharges. Besides, it is ideally used to replicate natural systems with the cost effective and
low environmental impact to drain away surface water run-off through collection, storage and
cleaning before released it back to the environment. SuDS system normally requires a
number of small, robust, cost effective structures that critical to the performance and
maintenance of the whole system. The image below shown the estimation of the impacts of
the climate change in overall United Kingdom.

(Source: UKCIP02 Climate Change Scenarios)

LITERATURE REVIEW

The first sustainable drainage system was Oxford services which are designed by Robert
Bray Associates, specialist SuDs consultants and it is designed to utilise a full management
train including source control in the United States. The development of SuDS aims to mimic
the way rainfall drain in natural systems within urban areas (or now for rural area also). The
main function of the SuDS is to provide effective surface water drainage, ensuring the
greatest degree of flood risk protection over the long term within and downstream of the
development and prevent pollution, with the conventional drainage. Besides, the SuDS
system is integrated with the landscape design to add amenity for the community as well as
bringing biodiversity value. Furthermore, the new development of this system is providing
environmental protection by treating the quality and the quantity of the surface water run-off.

The Principles of the SuDS:

(1) Stores the runoff and releasing it slowing [attenuation];

(2) Allows the water to soak into the ground [infiltration];

(3) Transports water slowly on the surface [Conveying];

(4) Filters out pollutant;

(5) Allows sediments to settle out by controlling the flow of the water

Designs and Features

Prevention Souce Control Site Control Regional Control

Good Manage the Deal with the Control of the

hoosekeping runoff at or runoff within runoff in
measures near its source or local to the amenity space
within where it falls as development SuDS features
development rains site before final
outfall

The central design concept of the SuDS is named as management train because it uses a
kind of drainage technique in series to incrementally reduce pollution, flow rates, volumes
and frequency.

The technique used in SuDS in Scotlands:

Source Control
Permeable Paving (eg: Pervious Concrete)
Stormwater detention
Stormwater infiltration
Evopotranspiration (eg: Green Roof)

Components SuDS Features:

Infiltration structures
It drains water into the ground directly including soakaways and infiltration trenches.
Filter Drains and Permeable Surface
Allowing rain to flow directly into a volume of voided material below ground,
providing cleaning and storage. Filter drains (gravel filled trench drain) are linear
trenches that drain water laterally from surfaces. Permeable paving intercepts rain
where it falls with water passing through the surface to voided stone.
Bioretention Basins / Rain Gardens
A permeable surface combines with the vegetation. Water filters through vegetation to
a drainage layer below the surface providing cleaning and storage for run-off from
green roofs and bioretention basin.
Swales
It is normally shallow and dry but wide based ditches.
 Basins / Ponds / Wetlands
Basins are the shallow landscape depression that is dry most of the time when it is not
raining while ponds and wetlands contain water all of the time and hold more water
when it rains.
Underground Storage
Managing surface water volumes, but treatment of polluted runoff is not included. It
is mainly used to avoid siltration problem.

There are some implementations which term as good housekeeping or best management
practices have been carried out, including mitigation of accidents that result in pollution
incidents; reduction of polluting activities; reduction of polluting materials; binding of oil
tanks and water harvesting. The effectiveness of SuDS has been developed rapidly in
Scotland, United States, to protect the water environment under the Water Environment
Water Services (WEWS). Based on the SNIFFER report [SR (02) 09], the uses of SuDS has
become a standard practice because it showed that more than 700 sites being listed and nearly
4 000 systems have been practiced in Scotland. For example, paving or building over the
land can result in flash flooding to reduce the sewer flooding problem. This happens when it
flows entering a sewer exceed its capacity and it overflows.

In Scotland, general requirements are stated in the Water Environment (Controlled Activities)
Regulation 2011 for the new development with the surface water drainage discharging to the
water environment that such discharges will pass through SuDS. All reasonable steps must be
taken to ensure the protection of the water environment. Hence, there is some legislation and
regulation has been introduced to the development of SuDS in Scotlands, including:

The Water Environment and Water Services (WEWS) (Scotland) Act 2003
SEPA regulatory process
Flood Risk Management Act 2009
Planning and development process
Scottish Planning Policy
Planning Advice Notes
Further legislation in Scotland

REFERENCES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_drainage_system

https://www.sepa.org.uk/regulations/water/diffuse-pollution/diffuse-pollution-in-the-urban-
environment/

http://www.sudswales.com/

http://www.susdrain.org/delivering-suds/using-suds/background/sustainable-drainage.html

http://www.anglianwater.co.uk/_assets/media/SUDS_LEAFLET_-_AW162.pdf