28/02/08
There were no surprises about what was included in the Defra strategy: unexpected, however, was just how much was there, especially on the surface water management front.
Perhaps that was not after all such a surprise, given the plethora of recent reviews, and it surely is time that the confused responsibilities and lack of integrated solutions for surface water drainage be resolved.
Water UK fully supports Defra’s intentions and what’s planned: the proposals closely reflect the water industry’s statement to the recent EFRA Committee inquiry on flooding. The main concerns, especially with climate change, are the increase of surface water run-off and flooding.
As Defra points out, “below ground piped systems can never be built large enough to cope with the most extreme rainfall events”.
Of course the devil is in the detail, but green roofs, sustainable urban drainage systems – SUDS, permeable paving and slowing water down are all along the right lines.
Defra has also initiated work releasing the consultation on surface water management. This will pick up the issues around ownership, maintenance and funding of SUDS that have prevented their wider uptake, and of the automatic right to connect surface water drains to the public sewer. On both issues the industry has been lobbying for change for several years.
Contact: Phill Mills
