9.5.4 Surface Water Drainage and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS)

SUDS is a series of management practices and control structures that aim to mimic natural drainage. SUDS reduces flood risk, improves water quality and provides amenity through the use of permeable paving, swales, green roofs, rain water harvesting, detention basins, ponds and wetlands.

SUDS can achieve multiple objectives such as removing pollutants from urban run-off at source, controlling surface water run-off from developments and ensuring flood risk does not increase further downstream. Furthermore, SUDS offers the opportunity to combine water management with green space, which can increase amenity and biodiversity.

Dublin City Council will carry out on-going maintenance and monitoring of the sustainable drainage systems within the public domain.

SUDS also forms an integral part of green infrastructure as set out in Chapter 10.