Benefits of SuDS

 There is a growing acceptance that we need a more sustainable approach to managing surface water. Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) mimic natural drainage processes to reduce the effect on the quality and quantity of runoff from developments and provide amenity and biodiversity benefits. SuDS can also deliver additional benefits (some of which are in table 1). When planning, or specifying SuDS, early consideration of the potential multiple benefits and opportunities will help deliver cost effective SuDS scheme with the best results.

Delivering multi-beneficial SuDS will excite and engage a number of stakeholders, it may also help meet their drivers too which could be used as part of a business case to partnership fund SuDS delivery and maintenance.

CIRIA has produced Benefits of SuDS Tool (BeST) to assist with the assessment of SuDS easier. It provides a very robust and structured approach to evaluating the benefits list in the table, often based on the drainage performance.

• Flood risk management
• Water quality management
• Biodiversity & ecology
• Amenity
• Air quality
• Building temperature
• Carbon reduction & sequestration
• Crime
• Economic growth
• Education
• Enabling development
• Flexible infrastructure/climate change adaptation
• Groundwater recharge
• Health & wellbeing
• Pumping wastewater
• Rainwater harvesting
• Recreation
• Tourism
• Traffic calming
• Treating wastewater
• SuDS performance and monitoring