The Use of Retrofit SUDS to Achieve Urban Water Quality Improvement

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) are a range of measures aimed at controlling surface water runoff (and consequent flooding and pollution problems) from urban catchments. The term retrofit is employed when SUDS-type approaches are intended to replace and/or augment an existing (combined or separate) drainage system in a developed catchment. The UK's existing engineering design guidelines offer no discussion on the potential for retrofit approaches. This paper introduces a framework that aims to simplify the retrofit SUDS selection and design process. The practical application of this framework is illustrated in relation to case study catchments in Northern England. Finally, the issues and opportunities associated with developing a more generic retrofit SUDS selection and design tool are presented and discussed.