Current CIRIA proposals

Proposal 2441 - Guidance on retrofitting surface water management infrastructure

As the flooding experienced in June/July 2007 has demonstrated the UK has a legacy of urban areas where the risk from flooding needs to be more effectively managed. Exacerbating these challenges is the need to also reduce the impacts to water quality from diffuse pollution and combined sewer overflows within existing developments.

A variety of guidance documents exist on the implementation of surface water management and particularly sustainable drainage in new developments. This proposed guidance on retrofitting surface water management will further develop and enhance (UK and overseas) research and initiatives and will provide generic good practice guidance to address the challenges of improving existing infrastructure. The guidance will include a framework for the planning, design and delivery of retrofit solutions and will support current UK policy.

Proposal 2343 - Sustainable drainage: Guidance for planners

Regulation and policy (e.g. PPS25 Development and flood risk) increasingly require local authority planners to facilitate the sustainable management of surface water and implement sustainable drainage systems (SUDS). The proposed document will complement recent guidance on SUDS, Integrated Urban Drainage Management and the PPS25 Practice Guide to produce a non-technical guidance document for spatial planners, and urban designers. It will aim to provide clarity on the principles of sustainable drainage to assist the inclusion of SUDS and better surface water management in the planning process and ensure successful and appropriate surface water management plans (SWMPs) are specified by planners and implemented by developers