Retrofit SuDS—cost estimates and decision-support tools

Abstract

Many urban water quality and flooding problems may potentially be addressed by disconnecting stormwater from the formal drainage system and installing source control sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) instead. This approach is referred to as SuDS retrofit. This paper focuses on the construction costs associated with a range of SuDS devices likely to be implemented in a retrofit context. Three distinct types of costs have been prepared. The costs of construction per device are provided as unit costs. This approach does not, however, enable devices to be compared in terms of an area served. For this reason, schemes have been designed and costed according to representative contributory areas, such as a residential roof or a small car park. These contributory area-based cost comparisons are embodied within a decision-making framework for retrofit SuDS. A case study highlights how secondary costs need to be combined with device unit costs accurately to cost the construction of a whole scheme. The evaluation indicates that infiltration basins represent the cheapest form of SuDS to construct, followed by soakaways, ponds, infiltration trenches and porous pavements. This ranking does not, however, take account of land purchase or sterilisation costs, potential conflicts with requirements for high-density developments or other life-cycle costs—these could alter this preference ranking significantly.