A Genuinely Innovative Answer to an Escalating Urban Water Management Challenge

For many older cities and towns, sustainable water management has been steadily rising up the agenda for years. Existing ageing infrastructure built for a different era and population, coupled with increased hardscape areas and roads for today’s living means that drainage infrastructure in some areas is at or above capacity. Heavy downpours result in the system being overwhelmed resulting in flooding and associated pollution and damage. The harsh reality is that options to increase the capacity of existing drainage pipe networks are very expensive and unsuitable in the face of climate change. What can be done, however, is develop sustainable and resilient SUDS systems that mimic natural drainage, allowing surface run off to be managed as close to the surface and as close to its source as practicable

‘Greener Grangetown’ does just that, by re-landscaping the urban realm with soft landscape and SUDS interventions. Greener Grangetown in Cardiff is a very interesting example of the successful retro installation of SUDS features into an existing urban streetscape.  The work was commissioned by City of Cardiff Council, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales and led by Arup – Arup’s water engineers and placemaking team designed solutions that integrated SUDS with public realm improvements, with GreenBlue advising on the tree pit installations, and assisting the GG team from concept through to completion. Click here to read more