Creating a Sustainable Urban Drainage System

In urban environments, the natural soakaways for rain provided by gardens, grass and trees are increasingly being replaced by hard standings. The result is local drainage systems having to cope with increased volumes of water, often overflowing and flooding.

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) re-introduce natural soakaways for rain water that would otherwise head straight down the drain. Areas of hard standing are replaced often by gardens, where the water is held in the soil, used by the plants and any excess is slowly released back into the natural aquafers.

The project has created a decorative planting area to allow excess surface water to soak away and stop it feeding into the main waste water drainage system. This has reduced the banding category for the water rates and saved money on the annual water rates. It now forms a demonstration site for companies wishing to invest in this type of development in the future and form part of the Major of Great Manchester’s wider environmental programme across the North West.