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In light of the recent floods, many commercial and domestic property owners are increasingly recognising, or being made to recognise through planning guidelines, the importance of taking preventative measures against possible flood scenarios and the need for efficient urban drainage solutions regardless of whether this volume of water should fall again in the future.

We have, for too long, relied on traditional hard landscaped paving and conventional drainage systems with little thought given to more sustainable methods for managing surface water run off.  Today, however, the issue can’t be ignored and, as more of the country is developed and an ever greater area is covered by roads, pavements, roofs and other buildings, including flood plains, two problems have come to prominence. The first is the increased load we place on our already struggling drainage network and the second is the risk posed to watercourses by pollutants washed from traditionally-drained impermeable surfaces, many of which carry vehicular traffic that deposit hydro carbons, heavy metals etc.

We can no longer rest on our seemingly dry laurels - our attention must turn to more widespread specification and use of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS), while these systems have been around for many years in the USA, Sweden, France and even Scotland, uptake in England and Wales has been slow. 

As one of the most effective ways of reducing flood risk and pollution, SUDS have three main aims: to reduce the volume of water flowing from a site, to manage the rate of water flow so that sudden influxes are avoided and, where possible, to clean it along the way. 

The reluctance to specify and utilise SUDS seems to stem from the fact that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. However, developers and local authorities are being actively encouraged to adopt SUDS by central and local Government, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Environment Agency (EA). In compliance with the guidelines, Charcon’s parent company Aggregate Industries has developed a comprehensive range of independently validated SUDS solutions to control surface water run off at source and satisfy the requirements of relevant environmental authorities, from design and supply through to installation.

Alongside this, as one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of hard landscaping and construction systems, Charcon has developed a range of bespoke systems and solutions to meet future water management requirements. Charcon’s SUDS portfolio contains two main elements; water entry and water storage.

Charcon’s water storage options can be used to meet project specific ground and site conditions. Charcon Permavoid is a high-strength, highly-voided sub-base replacement system.

Charcon Permavoid units can be linked together to form the crucial water retaining layer, or reservoir, within a SUDS pavement, and the relatively shallow depth required for installation has the added benefit of reducing the volume of excavated material and the subsequent cost of its disposal to landfill - especially important on brownfield sites when contaminated land is involved.

Whilst legislation in England and Wales does not currently insist on the implementation of SUDS, it’s clear that SUDS are slowly but surely being increasingly specified. Planners, local authorities and even individual householders have to realise the integral role they play in minimising future flood and pollution risks by managing water more effectively.