The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) will be hosting a webinar on Tuesday 30th April 2024 (12:00pm - 1:30pm)

Webinar info:

One of the greatest challenges for surface water management is the legacy of drainage networks that struggle to cope with the increase in surface water volumes due to increased urbanisation and climate change. During heavy storms drainage systems can become overloaded, and a lack of capacity in the drainage network can negatively impact on development opportunities.

SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) are surface water management measures which mimic natural hydrological processes, offering benefits in flood risk management, water quality, biodiversity, and public amenity.

Whilst SuDS have become a natural design component of new housing developments, the retrofitting of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) are sometimes considered more difficult or costly to implement and manage in the longer term. This can lead designers and decision makers to select surface water management solutions that are reliable, but not always the optimum solution for our natural environment, or our ambition to decarbonise our civil infrastructure.

This webinar will present three case studies, with examples from differing regulatory and funding frameworks in Wales, England, and Scotland, where SuDS retrofit schemes have been effectively designed, agreed, and implemented. It will highlight the benefits they have brought for the community, its effectiveness in surface water management, the steps taken to achieve success, plus it will highlight some of the challenges faced along the way and how they were overcome.