Under the Flood and Water Management Act (2010) the Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) will become the approval bodies for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). However this part of the Act has not yet been implemented.
SuDS are an approach to managing rainwater and surface water that replicates natural drainage, the key objectives being to manage flow rate and volume of runoff to reduce risk of flooding and water pollution, and are sympathetic to the environmental setting and can improve biodiversity. They can include:
When this part of the Act is brought in, applications for SuDS approval will be required for all construction work which has drainage implications. Approval must be given before the developer can begin construction.
Proposed drainage systems will have to meet new national standards for sustainable drainage, which will be published by Government, in order to be approved, and fees will apply in a similar way to planning applications.
The SuDS Approving Body will also be responsible for adopting and maintaining SuDS which serve more than one property, once approved. Highways authorities will be responsible for maintaining SuDS in public roads to National Standards. Sustainable drainage systems on private property, whether they are private or adopted, must be identified by the approval body as features that affect flood risk, and all approved sustainable drainage systems will be recorded on the flood risk register
National Standards will set out the criteria by which the form of drainage appropriate to any particular site or development can be determined, as well as requirements for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of SuDS.
For information on Highways SuDS please visit our Highways webpages
For further information on Sustainable Drainage Systems in Hampshire: