26th Standing Conference on Stormwater Control, Dunfermline

September 2004

Working Together - Implementing the DEX Drainage Master Plan

Craig W Berry, W A Fairhurst & Partners

Neil Campbell, Sir Frederick Snow & Partners

Hugh Ross, Ironside Farrar

Rab Hutton, Fife Council

Aim of this Presentation• Raise awareness of SuDS

• Describe the implementation process used at DEX

• Highlight key achievements.

• Present experience and lessons from other projects since DEX.

The SUDS Philosophy“Drainage techniques for urban development which do not

adversely affect the aquatic environment”

QUANTITY QUALITY

SUDS

AMENITY AND

WILDLIFE

Water Quality - River Pollutant Sources (UK)

Others6%

Wastewater34%

Urban Drainage

38%Industrial Waste10%

Agriculture12%

Surface Water Management Train

Prevention

Source Control

Site Controls

Regional Controls

Watercourse

Soakaway / InfiltrationSwalesFilter drains / Filter stripsPorous/permeable surfaceWater buttsBio-retention areas

Soakaway / InfiltrationSwalesFilter drains / Filter stripsPorous/permeable surfaceWater buttsBio-retention areas

Good Housekeeping, Management and Re-use

Good Housekeeping, Management and Re-use

Storage/attenuationDetention BasinsExtended DetentionInfiltration Basins

Storage/attenuationDetention BasinsExtended DetentionInfiltration Basins

Technique

End-of Pipe TreatmentRetention PondsWetlandsReedbeds

End-of Pipe TreatmentRetention PondsWetlandsReedbeds

Treatment Level

Source Control

Site Control

Regional Control

SuDS/River Linkage

River Restoration

‘Sustainable Urban Drainage is more than just a set of design

tools.

- It requires a change in design philosophy and attitude’

Why SuDS at DEX?• Local flooding and water quality issues

• Demand for residential and industrial growth.

• Conventional Drainage Solutions unsustainable and uneconomic

• Opportunities for cost effective design, and environmental gains

• SEPA and Planning initiatives

• Developers commitment to innovative solutions

Dunfermline Eastern Expansion (DEX)

• 900 acres Residential and Commercial Development,

• Features - Ponds, wetlands, swales, filter drains, detention basins, source control.

Working Together - The ‘DEX Team’

SEPASEPA

Scottish Water

Scottish Water

Local Community

Local Community

Fife CouncilEnvironmental,

Roads

Fife CouncilEnvironmental,

Roads

ContractorsContractors

Fairhurst(Civils Designer, SuDS, Ecology,

Hydrology)

Fairhurst(Civils Designer, SuDS, Ecology,

Hydrology)

Landscape Architect

Landscape Architect

Meedhurst Project

Managers

Meedhurst Project

Managers

Wilcon HomesWilcon Homes

Fife CouncilPlanners

Fife CouncilPlanners

Frederick Snow

Advisors

Frederick Snow

Advisors

Ironside FarrarIronside Farrar

Scottish EnterpriseScottish

Enterprise

The DEX Process

Key Elements• Design criteria review process• Establishing a collaborative environment• Identifying and acknowledging gaps in

knowledge• Challenging ‘untried’ innovative solutions• Learning from experience elsewhere (USA,

Sweden)• Developers commitment• Workshops

Strategic Surface Water Drainage Plan

DEX SuDS Strategy

• Limit discharge rates from development areas (2 year post development run-off)

• Promoting source control• Provide regional biological treatment

(ponds/wetlands)• Promote habitat enhancement and local

amenity value

Dunfermline Expansion Area

Retention Pond

Swales

Outlet

Basin

Duloch Park, Dunfermline

Duloch Park, Dunfermline

Retention Pond

Duloch Park, Dunfermline

Pond Cascades

Tesco Store - Permeable surfaces

Pond

Swales and filter drains

Extended Detention Basin

Wetlands

Retention Pond and River Restoration

Achievements• Establishment of criteria for sizing treatment

facilities• Unconventional drainage systems accepted.• Adoption & maintenance framework established.• Design standards established. • Environmental enhancement. • Public acceptance.• Monitoring & education programmes implemented.

Key to Success• Strategic View.

• Early Liaison and Stakeholder Workshops.

• Commitment and vision

• Collaborative Approach

• Measurable cost and environmental benefits.

Problems & Barriers

• Lack of integration between landscape strategy and SuDS features

• Maintenance issues• Preconceptions of SuDS - (just soakaways!)• SuDS are expensive• Public acceptance and safety concerns• Inappropriate and Inconsistent application

Key Initiatives and Drivers

• Scottish Planning Policy 7: Planning and Flooding (SPP7)

• SEPA Policy 15 & 41: SuDS & Flooding

• PAN 61: SuDS

• Water Framework Directive - Future Impacts?

• Water Environment and Water Services Act 2003

• Controlled Activities Regulations 2005?

Guidance Documents

Development of Design Guidance

• Maintenance Framework Agreement• Research e.g. CIRIA, Abertay • New UK Design Guidance 2005?• Impact of Scottish Water ‘SuDS for

Scotland’?

Other SuDS Features - Residential Swales

Roadside Swales

Permeable Surfaces and Below Ground Storage

Bioretention - ‘Rain Gardens ’

Benchmark Projects

• Notable major strategic projects:South East WedgeDunfermline Eastern ExpansionHeartlands Development,

PolkemmetDundee Western GatewayCraigmillar Urban Regeneration

Craigmillar and the South East Wedge

• Surface Water Management Plan • Holistic Approach• Focus on Environmental

Enhancement and Social Integration

• Promoting Sustainable Development

Craigmillar RegenerationNid

drie

Burn

Braid B

urn

Braid B

urn

Nid

drie

Bur

n

‘Green Corridors’

Sustainable Urban Drainage - Five points to success

• Holistic and integrated approach

• Minimise contamination and flooding

• Add value to the community

• Stakeholder awareness and involvement

• Early consideration to SuDS

“The kind of thinking that has got us into this situation is not the kind that will get us out of it.” - Albert Einstein

the Alternative Approach