The release of the Independent Water Commission’s Final Report—bolstered by fresh legislation and tougher national standards—heralds a new era for SuDS with water companies and developers poised to adopt them on an unprecedented scale, says Alex Stephenson, director of SuDSPlanter
Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) provide benefits way beyond conventional surface water management. They enhance urban biodiversity, improve water quality through natural filtration processes, and contribute to the development of resilient, sustainable urban environments.
The Water Commission’s report, released in July, made recommendations for legislative reform to embed SuDS more widely in drainage planning to reduce storm overflows, manage flood risk and create healthier urban environments.
New standards for SuDS
This would require more coordination between developers, planners, and water companies, and would be in line with the recently changed Water (Special Measures) Act, which has been in force since 23 June 2025, requiring English and Welsh water companies to consider nature-based solutions in their statutory plans.
Furthermore, the government has released new standards for SuDS in England, the first update to national standards in a decade, targeting designers, property developers, and local authorities, providing non-statutory guidance advising on the design of SuDS in new developments.
Water companies are realising the benefits of SuDS
From an operational perspective, SuDS are critical for water companies as they mitigate combined sewer overflow (CSO) events by intercepting and diverting stormwater flows from overloaded sewer networks.
Furthermore, engineered SuDS solutions—such as bioretention systems and rainwater harvesting planters—offer enhanced drought resilience by capturing and storing runoff for controlled release during dry periods.
Under the new legislation, performance data, established through instant drainage modelling, will be essential for water companies writing their drainage plans, which must now consider sustainable drainage.
Many water companies are already realising the benefits, having begun to invest in SuDS during AMP7 and earlier.
Maintaining SuDS and climate-resilient communities of the future
The new national standards also include a section on maintenance – poorly maintained SuDS can fail to deliver their intended benefits, writes Stephenson. Those managing SuDS installation projects – particularly on third-party land – should consider maintenance agreements that include confirmation of who will be responsible for maintaining the asset in the future.
In closing, Stephenson writes: Of course, SuDS are only part of a wider strategy for sustainable management of wastewater – they do not address domestic waste or grey water, which require separate solutions – but the increasing prominence of SuDS, through these policies, is a positive step forward in creating climate-resilient communities.
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