Use of Geosynthetics for Sustainable Drainage

Geosynthetics are generally classified according to their permeability, thus dividing them into permeable, non-permeable and geocomposite. In terms of application, geosynthetics are widely used in roads, railways, foundations, retaining walls, slopes, tunnels, channels, reservoirs, landfills, and they are, of course, used extensively in Sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) and in many kinds of drainage systems. There are many applications for geotextiles in SuDS, and many accounts relating to their use in pervious pavements systems (PPS) and filter drains (FD). The main aims of geotextiles in SuDS are to serve as a separation layer between the base and sub-base aggregates, in the case of PPS, and as a filter layer for the surface runoff for both PPS and FD. The chapter shows that geotextiles are a versatile tool that can be integrated into the SuDS approach and that can contribute to the environmental protection of downstream environments.