Smart SUDS: recognising the multiple-benefit potential of sustainable surface water management systems

Abstract

How can we make sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) smart? SUDS help us to manage surface water runoff from urban environments but they are capable of delivering much more. This paper looks beyond the water quantity and quality improvement functions of SUDS and investigates the multiple benefits that can be gained by implementing smart SUDS solutions. This work provides a new perspective, using methodologies not normally associated with SUDS research, to determine multiple benefits. The outputs of the work can potentially assist decision-makers, designer and planners in recognising the potential for multiple benefits that can be delivered by SUDS. The ecosystem services (ES) associated with a large redevelopment in Dundee, Scotland, UK, are identified and a public perception study together with public participatory geographical information system (PPGIS) methods was used to confirm the goods and benefits of the SUDS. The paper presents findings on the public perception of SUDS as they provide cultural benefits such as recreation, aesthetics and biodiversity. The results show that greenspace is important when choosing a location, and willingness to pay for greenspace is high in this area. This paper concludes that SUDS provide multi-functional benefits in relation to the ES, thereby justifying the cachet of being termed Smart SUDS.

Valuing Multiple Benefits, and the Public Perception of SUDS Ponds

“…Furthermore, the willingness to pay for habitat benefits could be in relation to the perception that living within walking distance to a pond, and nearby green areas, provides better social conditions (for example health benefits, [8]). This supports previous work (e.g., [11,16]) where biodiversity was favoured at well-maintained ponds, and provision of suitable open space is part of this argument.…”

“…The response rate of 17.5% was calculated using guidelines from the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) [31], and this was lower than [16] (27%) but exceeded other surveys, such as [11] (8%). It is in line (17%) with an urban flooding Contingent Valuation study [32].…”

“…For example, the cost benefit analysis is dependent on having accurate maintenance cost data (which is variable from site to site, e.g., [9,10]). Other approaches include Public Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS), which has been used to define the multiple benefits from SUDS by involving the local community in the assessment process [11]. The participatory approach is positive as it is important to involve local communities in the development and post-development phases; as the early interaction allows future residents to engage with the planning process, and then comment on the effectiveness of the SUDS once they have been constructed.…”

Spatial evaluation of the multiple benefits of sustainable drainage systems

“…Ashley et al, 2013;Benedict and McMahon, 2012;Ellis, 2013;Jose et al, 2015;USEPA, 2013). Ciria (2013) suggest that the range of benefits can be considered in terms of the following.…”

Evaluating the multiple benefits of a sustainable drainage scheme in Newcastle, UK

“…The specific benefits that may accrue to different beneficiaries need to first be identified, communicated and accepted by all stakeholders involved. While many multiple benefits have been reported in the literature Ellis, 2013;Jose et al, 2015), they are often valued notionally and so difficult to include in funding proposals and thus implement widely (Ashley et al, 2015;O'Donnell et al, 2017;Thorne et al, 2015). To address this need, new tools and methodologies have been developed to evaluate BGI and SuDS, for example lifecycle assessment (Casal-Campos et al, 2015), geographic information system (GIS) evaluation (Hoang et al, 2016;Morgan and Fenner, 2017;Norton et al, 2015) and spreadsheet monetisation (CIRIA, 2015).…”