The new publication intends to bridge the knowledge gap between SuDS design and SuDS installation
CIRIA, the construction industry research and information association, has released new guidance to support professionals with the construction and design of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS).
CIRIA’s latest publication, Guidance on the Construction of SuDS (C768), aims to support and provide greater confidence to those designing, specifying and constructing SuDS by helping them to understand and avoid the common pitfalls experienced during construction.
The guide complements CIRIA’s 2015 SuDS Manual (C753). It provides clear, practical advice, diagrams, case studies, checklists and photographs to illustrate challenges faced on site and describe ways of overcoming them. This is supported by practical steer on installation methods and how to incorporate SuDS construction into the correct stages of a works programme.
The guide is essential reading for site-based staff who are working with or delivering SuDS. But it also contains useful information for other stakeholders within the supply chain, including designers, planners and regulators.
‘SuDS are increasingly appearing in the design of many new and existing developments,’ said Martin Lambley, Product Manager at Wavin UK, one of the publication’s collaborative funders. ‘However, the knowledge in SuDS design does not yet fully exist in SuDS installation. Wavin supports this document as we believe it will help bridge this knowledge gap, creating awareness of what is being installed and therefore a better understanding of why it should be installed correctly.’
Co-author Sue Illman, of Illman Young Landscape Design, added: ‘Understanding how to build SuDS is probably the best way to learn how to design them properly.’ A Fellow and Past President of the Landscape Institute, Sue shared some of the knowledge in the new guidance with delegates at a recent LI CPD day in Birmingham.
CIRIA hosted a launch event for the Guidance on the Construction of SuDS at Marshall’s Design Space in London on 1 November. The publication is now free to download at www.ciria.org.
