Briefing: Keeping up with the Suds revolution and legislative evolution

The past ten years has seen progressive integration of sustainable drainage systems into the fabric of development and planning policy across the UK. With increasing urbanisation, exceptional flood events and the potential changes in our climate behaviour, there is a need for careful management of surface water and consideration of its quantity, quality and a symbiotic need to combine this with amenity and biodiversity within a hardening, simplified environment. From the implementation of the water framework directive, through to the recent implementation of the Flood and Water Management Act, sustainable drainage systems have evolved from a conceptual, novel idea to a design of principal importance for most new developments. This paper reviews the progression of sustainable drainage systems from a little-applied soft drainage technique to an essential feature of flood risk assessments and planning policy through responsive and strategic legislative development that also lead to new roles for all flood management authorities.