Conventional human settlement formation creates hard surfaces which impede the natural absorption of rainfall into the ground. Water collected from these hard surfaces has to be conveyed to some end destination where it is discharged. This has a number of negative consequences namely:
The construction, operation and management of a significantly large storm water collection and disposal system
Risk of flash flooding if the system is blocked or is inadequately designed
Potential for malfunctioning under extreme rainfall events
Potential downstream flooding
Potential pollution dispersal
Potential contamination of groundwater sources
Groundwater reservoirs are not replenished
Waste of a scarce resource
No amenity value
A sustainable drainage system (SuDS) however, is designed to reduce the potential impact of new and existing developments with respect to surface water drainage discharges (Shama 2008:1). The aim of a sustainable drainage system is to “replicate natural systems along with the policy and technological interventions”(Shama 2008:2) – hence its classification as Green Infrastructure (GI).
Reference:
Van Wyk, L.V. 2015. Sustainable drainage system. The Sustainable Infrastructure Handbook SA Volume 2: The Essential Guide, pp 32-40.
Van Wyk, L. V. (2015). Sustainable drainage system., Worklist;16589 http://hdl.handle.net/10204/9870
Van Wyk, Llewellyn V. "Sustainable drainage system" In WORKLIST;16589, n.p.: n.p. 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/9870.
Copyright: 2015 Alive2Green. Due to copyright restrictions, the attached PDF file only contains the abstract of the full text item. For access to the full text item, kindly consult the publisher's website.