SuDS


  • What is a bioretention system and how does it help control stormwater runoff?

    Bioretention is a stormwater management practice that harnesses natural processes to treat and manage stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces such as rooftops, driveways, and parking lots. If you live in a city, you may have seen many of these types of systems. By utilizing a combination of vegetation, soil, and beneficial microorganisms, bioretention systems capture,…


  • Do you need a Rainwater Management Plan? This Irish manual provides excellent guidance.

    Anthony McCloy is the managing director of McCloy Consulting and regularly speaks at conferences and seminars, provides university lectures, delivers national SuDS training workshops and has recently contributed to Ireland’s Rainwater Management Plans: Guidance for Local Authorities. Does your municipality need an RMP – a Rainwater Management Plan? In the UK, there are lots of…


  • How does cellular storage work for stormwater control?

    Certain stormwater controls are designed in ways that effectively divert water away from a site – but not cellular storage systems. Sometimes also called geocellular systems, geocellular attenuation tanks, or soakaway tanks, these Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS – aka LIDs/BMPs/WSUDs) capture stormwater in large underground containers that act as a reservoir for stormwater, temporarily storing…


  • The benefits of porous pavement in drainage design

    Sometimes called permeable pavement, porous pavement is an innovative and environmentally friendly approach to managing stormwater runoff in urban areas. As cities have grown, the sheer number of impermeable surfaces like roads, parking lots, and sidewalks has only increased, leaving traditional drainage systems struggling to cope with the volume of runoff. It leads to increased…


  • What is a swale – and how do they manage stormwater?

    Swales are essential components in modern drainage design and play a significant role in managing stormwater runoff, rainwater runoff, and promoting sustainable drainage practices. These shallow, vegetated channels are designed to slow down, capture, and filter stormwater by controlling the flow of water through the swale, reducing the risk of flooding and improving water quality.…


  • What is an infiltration trench and how does it work?

    As the world’s drainage challenges grow, designers are constantly looking for new ways to handle stormwater. Commonly known as stormwater controls (SWCs), a subset of sustainable drainage systems, known as SuDS (LIDs/BMPs/WSUDs), have grown popular globally. SuDS work with nature, rather than against, and can be seen as more sustainable means of handling stormwater inflow…


  • VHB simplified and streamlined their workflows by adopting InfoDrainage

    VHB was looking for an integrated drainage solution for their land development projects, so they partnered with Autodesk to try out new modeling software. VHB engineers shared their experience using InfoDrainage with Senior Product Manager Samer Muhandes at Autodesk University in their excellent presentation Navigating Stormwater: How VHB Overcame Drainage Challenges Using InfoDrainage. We’re excerpting…


  • New batch of Water Drops: Using LIDs/SUDs, soakwell/drywell design, culvert analysis

    It’s been a dry fall in Colorado where I live (and indeed across the US). It’s also been a bit dry on the Water Drop workflow video front in the last month as many of us were meeting customers and industry regulars at Autodesk University. But you can consider this mini-drought over because we now…


  • AMP8 opportunities: Biodiversity Net Gain requirements will give SuDS a big boost

    One of the most important things UK water regulator Ofwat wants to see water companies use AMP8 funding to achieve is elevating the importance of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). We wrote about it in our latest white paper ‘AMP8’s unprecedented opportunities’, part of which we’re excerpting here. A change that makes society better is one…


  • AMP8 opportunities: Solving the UK’s CSO problems with hydraulic modelling

    The recent AMP8 funding cycle is perhaps the best chance for water providers to secure funding for changing the way they monitor and solve for CSOs. We’ve written about it in our new white paper, AMP8’s unprecedented opportunities, a portion of which we’re excerpting here on the One Water Blog. How software can help manage…