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Severn Trent Water has reached a milestone in delivering the UK’s largest sustainable urban drainage (SuDS) scheme.
The £76 million project in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, has progressed with the completion of the first rain garden, which is situated in the town centre.
The company is installing SuDS across the town to make the town resilient to the risk of flooding, which is increasing because of climate change, population growth and urban development.
The project, which is due to complete in 2025, will hold more than 50 million litres of surface water in the SuDS.
The SuDS will provide flooding resilience and retain surface water, which will reduce the activation of storm overflows. It will hold back water from entering the combined sewer network, thus enabling the waste network to cope better during heavy rainfall and reducing CSOs being triggered.
Government approved plans to make SuDS mandatory in all developments as a way to minimise risks from surface water flooding and prevent sewer networks from being overwhelmed.
The company will add more SuDS including permeable paving in other parts of the Nottinghamshire town. This is the largest installation of its kind in the UK including around 20,000 green interventions.
Adam Boucher, green recovery lead at Severn Trent added the scheme offers nature benefits to the town and will visually enhance the area.
“While the rain garden has a very real purpose of reducing flooding and protecting businesses from flooding, it will improve how the area looks and boost the biodiversity in the area and make Mansfield a nicer place for people to spend time,” he said.
Matt Sutton, regional director at Galliford Try, which partnered with the water company, said: “Adopting sustainable resourcing and consumption practices and taking measures to mitigate carbon production and climate change to protect our environment and biodiversity, as well as spreading the message of how important local ecosystems are to our environment and making a positive impact in communities where we operate is all part of our business offering.”
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