Sustainable Drainage Systems Review

The government has today confirmed plans to ensure new sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) are adopted under Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The plans are confirmed in a new review of sustainable drainage systems published today (10 January 2023) by Defra, which details how Ministers now intend to develop new rules that will come into effect from 2024.

Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 sets out a framework for the rollout of drainage systems, a sustainable drainage system approving body, and national standards on design, construction, operation, and maintenance. It also makes the right to connect surface water runoff to public sewers conditional upon a drainage system being approved before any construction work can start.

A consultation to collect views on the new proposals will launch later this year as the government seeks to finalise the new rules ahead of their implementation throughout 2024. ASA will be responding the consultation to represent the views of our membership and we strongly encourage you to feed into our requests for your thoughts in addition to any response your individual local authority provides.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainable-drainage-systems-review