According to research conducted by Engineering Nature’s Way, the knowledge-sharing initiative for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), who invited more than 16,000 consulting engineers, housebuilders, developers, local authority professionals and Environment Agency staff to answer the survey’s 13 questions and provide additional comments, a lack of a clear framework for the maintenance and performance of SuDS is a key barrier to effective delivery and adoption.

The results of the national survey also found that a whopping 79% of respondents working with SuDS on a day-to-day basis believe the UK Government is not fully committed to long-term delivery; 72% believe it has committed insufficient funding for satisfactory flood resilience.

The survey, SuDS: The State of the Nation 2016, elicited the views of professionals working with SuDS at grassroots level, and generated in excess of 360 detailed responses from local authority professionals, consulting engineers, and developers across the UK.

A healthy 69% of respondents are of the opinion that uncertainty around the maintenance and through-life performance of SuDS components presents a barrier to adoption. According to around 73% of respondents, more standard technical guidance is needed on long-term maintenance.

“The survey provided an unprecedented level of personal insights from professionals working ‘at the coal face’ with SuDS, with over 1000 additional comments offered,” explains Phil Collins, European Sales Director of Hydro International.

“Strong concerns were expressed about the lack of a clear national framework for maintenance and adoption, together with uncertainty over which authorities or organisations should be liable for SuDS components over their lifecycle. Comments suggested a lack of confidence amongst some authorities about taking over ownership of SuDS from developers.

There were also worries about the lack of arrangements in place for inspection of SuDS post-construction and for monitoring their ongoing performance, as well as for enforcement if SuDS features are not maintained as designed. Some people felt that a clearer national policy is needed to place a duty on public authorities, including water companies, to adopt SuDS.”