Water Quantity: Attenuation of the Storm Peak

This chapter compares the two contrasting water management methods whose purpose is to provide flood resilience in cities. It compares the abilities of conventional drainage and sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) to address these issues, their benefits and weaknesses. Hard infrastructure flood management focuses on engineered solutions that reduce flooding of the surrounding area and, as a result, many UK streams in towns and cities have been either culverted or brick lined, which has generated a dependence on these structures during periods of high rainfall. As well as culverting, a number of hard abatement measures have been used both in the UK and internationally to manage high runoff; these are discussed. There are a variety of devices that can be used to control flow rates throughout a SuDS management train and some of these are introduced, including Hydro-brake, and weir.