UK government mandates future sustainable drainage in all new developments
After years of resistance, the UK government announced it will be mandating sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) in all new housing developments.
The Flood and Water Management Act was passed into law in 2010, but government failed to implement a pivotal component of it, known as Schedule 3, which prescribed SuDS in new housing developments.
Ministers feared the standards it prescribed would hold back the pace of housing delivery. After mounting pressure, the government have finally committed to implementing the Schedule into legislation.
In the decade since the Act was passed, the pressures on our climate and natural environment have increased.. The risk of flooding and sewage pollution in our rivers and seas has increased, meanwhile over 1.5 million home have been built without proper consideration for our changing climate.
SuDS use ponds, planters, green roofs, tanks, soak aways, tree pits, permeable paving and other structures to manage surface water sustainably. Implementing Schedule 3 will ensure the practical delivery of SuDS and improve their consistency across England. Consistent SuDS deployment can provide many benefits including managing flood risk, cleaning and filtering contaminated water, helping recharge water resources and increasing natural habitats in urban areas.
Susdrain - Upton
For developers, this means it will be considered during the masterplan design, whereas often it has been an afterthought. When SuDs are incorporated into plans from the outset, they can be cheaper to build and manage.
Crucially, Schedule 3 will remove builders’ automatic right to connect new developments to existing drainage networks. Instead, connection is conditional, requiring a SuDS-first approach to ensure new developments don’t overwhelm sewers already at capacity.
The next step in the deployment of Schedule 3 is a consultation later this year. It will be important to set regular standards which support the delivery of SuDS and the range of benefits that are possible, especially avoiding a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
What does this mean for Enabling Water Smart Communities (EWSC)?
It means that the programme is at the forefront of discovering tangible ways SuDS and integrated water management (IWM) can be deployed consistently in communities. SuDS is not a one size fits all approach and EWSC is exploring solutions which work with nature; supporting communities and the environment to thrive.
