Introduction to Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)

The unit provides an introduction to the important principles and objectives underpinning SuDS, including a description of their role in alleviating flood risk, in building resilience and in improving water quality. It also deals with the importance of SuDS in promoting biodiversity, habitat creation and enhancing amenity value. The short course also examines the implications of the current national standards for sustainable drainage and the impact of these on working practices.

The course outlines the underlying principles of SuDS design and goes on to consider ways in which SuDS can be integrated into existing drainage systems, including the management of flows and volumes. It also covers the catchment-based approach to sustainable drainage and the use of catchment sensitive farming, permeable surfaces, filter strips, swales, basins, ponds and wetlands (including reedbeds) to achieve this. There is an overview of the current UK legislative and regulatory framework relating to SuDS, together with a heavy reliance on a series of case studies demonstrating the application of SuDS in various environments.

Resources Required
Participants are advised to download a copy of the SuDS Manual – v6 (C753) 2015 in advance of this training to support their learning experience.

Other additional resources are directly linked from within the eLearning environment. Links to company websites showing proprietary or branded equipment are provided to show examples of plant or equipment and do not imply any endorsement by the course facilitator or by ICE.

Participants are encouraged to access other suggested supporting texts in order to develop and extend their knowledge and understanding of SuDS.

Learning Strategy
Detailed introductory information and links are provided for each section. This may be followed by a request to carry out one or two tasks - perhaps some further reading, maybe visiting and reviewing some web-based resources, or a suggestion to make some personal notes about a particular topic to consolidate learning and understanding. Alternatively, the participant may be asked to assess a linked document and consider their conclusions or to critically evaluate a piece of published text.

Total Learning Hours
Approximately 12 hours in total, consisting of 6 hours contact time within the eLearning environment and 6 hours of associated reading time.

Assessment
Self-assessment tasks and quizzes.

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes:

• Explain the importance of, and the principles underpinning, sustainable drainage systems
• Describe and critically discuss the importance of SuDS in attenuating flood risk
• Review and analyse the application of SuDS through examples and case studies

This course will be of benefit to a wide range of people in roles related to the environmental sector, including:

• Local and highway authority planners and engineers
• Consulting engineers
• Water undertakers
• Developers
• Architects
• Regulators and manufacturers
• Suppliers
• Constructors
• Contractors

Online
Product code: L07891