SUDS Expertise Shared by Aggregate Industries
Following the launch of its comprehensive suite of Sustainable Drainage System (SUDS) products,
Aggregate Industries is now offering to share its expertise with
local authorities, engineers and architects via one-hour
sustainable drainage seminars around the country.
Urbanisation and the hard landscaping of previously undeveloped
surfaces can lead to an increase in surface water run-off as
rainfall cannot permeate through the surface and into the ground
below. This can, and does, lead to localised flooding and
pollution. In response to this problem, central Government, the
Environment Agency (EA) and the Scottish Environmental Protection
Agency (SEPA) amongst others are encouraging developers and
authorities to adopt SUDS principles and techniques.
The SUDS philosophy is about adopting sustainable ways of
managing and cleansing surface water run-off. It is central to
Government policy relating to the alleviation of flood risk and
transfer of pollution in surface water, and the widespread use of
these systems is being encouraged through local planning
guidance.
In an effort to clarify the concept of sustainable drainage,
Aggregate Industries is offering CPD seminars, which will both
describe the drivers leading to the adoption of SUDS and provide
details of the range of SUDS solutions currently available.
As an illustration of the choice of options for different
situations, Aggregate Industries has produced a CD-Rom featuring a
series of animations demonstrating its range of SUDS products in
various configurations. One example is Charcon Permavoid, modular
geo-cellular storage units that are only 150mm deep, which can be
linked to form the sub base within the pavement. The use of
Charcon’s unique Permavoid storage system with either Infilta
Block Paving or Bardon DrainAsphalt is particularly suitable
for brownfield developments as it ensures construction depths are
kept to a minimum.
Aggregate Industries’ SUDS Manager, Phil Tomlinson, said: “A key
SUDS
technique is source control. This involves dealing with rain water
at source as it collects and runs off roofs, roads and car parks.
As a leading supplier of pavements we have an important role to
play in SUDS,
and our systems can provide developers and authorities with an
effective SUDS solution for virtually any situation.”
The company can offer both attenuation and infiltration
SUDS, both of
which prevent flooding by providing water storage capacity within
the pavement itself. The attenuation option holds and then
discharges the water into water courses in a controlled manner or
provides storage of rainwater for re-use, whereas Infiltration SUDS
disperse the water by allowing it to gradually seep away into the
ground.
Aggregate Industries has developed modular SUDS, using different
combinations of products from Aggregate Industries companies,
including Charcon and Bardon Aggregates, to collect, cleanse and
store the water. Installation can be provided by Bardon
Contracting.
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