Future property developments will be required to include ‘sustainable drainage’ methods to ensure rainwater does not get carried into the sewer network, under new plans published by the Government last week.
Provisions in the Flood and Water Management Bill will force local authorities to implement a range of alternative methods of dealing with water such as ponds on site, reed beds, permeable paving, soakaways and roadside ditches.
Developers would only be able to connect to the sewer network where no other workable method could be implemented. The measures are designed to help prevent the risk of flooding from surface water.
According to statistics supplied by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 1410 homes and businesses in London were affected by surface water flooding in 2007.
Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said: “As climate change takes hold we’ll see more severe weather in future, with heavier rainfall and potential flooding – and the weather in the last couple of weeks has shown that this risk is very real. Add this to the need to provide homes for a growing population in future and it’s clear that our homes and businesses need to be protected from the beginning from surface water flooding, which as we all know has had a devastating impact on London in recent years. Including sustainable drainage measures in all new developments will go some way to doing this.”
