1. Site 4: Sustainable Urban Drainage
System (SUDS) Area When rainwater falls onto RPL’s roads and buildings it
enters the surface water drainage systems around the
site.
Water running off these impervious surfaces tends to
pick up gasoline, motor oil, heavy metals, trash and
other pollutants from roadways and parking lots, as
well as fertilisers and pesticides from lawns.
SUDS systems provide more drainage in order to
avoid flooding and hold this surface water in a natural
environment such as wetlands which purify the water..
This is then slowly released into local watercourse in
order to prevent contamination.
SUDS use cost effective solutions to
replicate natural systems with low
environmental impact to drain away
dirty and surface water run-off
What is SUDS?
Why use SUDS?
Previous drainage system
where contaminated
surface water could freely
run into the Wesley Brook
water course and
Priorslee Balancing lake
SUDS depiction. Natural
system where surface
water creates pond onsite
and provides habitat for
many insects, amphibians
and small mammals.
Benefiting Biodiversity
Not only does SUDS benefit a business through better
drainage but it also increases site biodiversity.
Wetlands are one of the most diverse productive
ecosystems on the earth. The constant flow of water
attracts an array of species of amphibians and reptiles,
insects, plants and mammals.
through collection, storage, and cleaning
before allowing it to be released slowly back
into the environment, such as into water
courses. This is to counter the effects of
conventional drainage systems that often allow
for flooding, pollution of the environment – with
the resultant harm to wildlife – and
contamination of water sources used to
provide drinking water. SUDS solutions are
easy to manage, requiring little or no energy
input (except from environmental sources such
as sunlight, etc.), resilient to use, and being
environmentally as well as aesthetically
attractive. Examples of this type of system are
reed beds and other wetland habitats that
collect, store, and filter dirty water along with
providing a habitat for wildlife.
Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS)
are a natural approach to managing drainage
in and around properties and other
developments.
SUDS work by slowing and holding back the
water that runs off from a site, allowing natural
processes to break down pollutants.
Ashlee Savage R1785