The guidance aims to make it easier for all concerned to gain acceptance for sustainable drainage systems and stemmed from the limited amount of information available to stakeholders on the use of proprietary SUDS technology.

It covers the four main principles areas of proprietary SUDS solutions including infiltration, flow control, storage and treatment – each of which can be included in one of the three headings of the SUDS triangle of quality, quantity and amenity.

Alex Stephenson of Hydro International told edie news that the document was intended to complement the guidance that already exists on the wide range of ‘soft’ SUDS solutions such as swales, ponds and infiltration trenches.

“It will provide information and guidance to all stakeholders including owners, developers, regulators, consultants, contractors and planners and should ensure that the needs of the environment are considered during development, whether they are large or small, residential, industrial or commercial,” he said.

In addition, British Water also formally launched a code of practice for flows and loads for small wastewater treatment systems. Produced by the British Water Package Sewage Treatment Plant Focus Group the code provides a new table of loadings which allows the total daily load fed into a sewage treatment plant to be calculated.

The flow and load figures given represent current best practice within the UK. However, these may change with time and British Water welcomes data to improve the content of this document.

By David Hopkins

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