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Why Does Rain Stop Play at Wimbledon? The Science of Grass Court Drainage

Every Wimbledon has the same ritual. A few spots of rain, the umpire calls a halt, and within seconds the ground staff are sprinting the covers across the grass. It looks like an overreaction on a warm July afternoon. It…
Posted on 8th July, 2026
, in SuDS 
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How Football Pitch Drainage Works: Lessons from the 2026 World Cup

Watch a World Cup match in a downpour and the ball still runs true. There are no puddles on the halfway line, no spray kicking up at every pass. That is not luck. Football pitch drainage is a piece of…
Posted on 7th July, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Climate Whiplash: What New UK River Research Means for Flood and Drought Risk

Climate whiplash, the abrupt swing between flood and drought as the climate warms, is set to become more common across the UK, according to major new research led by the University of East Anglia's Tyndall Centre. The study modelled almost…
Posted on 19th June, 2026
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The Four Pillars of SuDS Explained: Quantity, Quality, Amenity & Biodiversity

The four pillars of SuDS are water quantity, water quality, amenity and biodiversity — the four objectives a well-designed sustainable drainage system is meant to deliver at the same time. They come from the CIRIA SuDS Manual (C753) and now…
Posted on 16th June, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Permeable Paving for Planning Applications: When It Works and When It Doesn’t

Permeable paving is one of the most common SuDS features used in drainage strategies for planning applications, and on the right site it is one of the most useful. It lets rainfall pass through the surface into a stone sub-base…
Posted on 15th June, 2026
, in LLFA 
, in SuDS 
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When Is Infiltration Testing Required for Planning?

Infiltration testing is required when your drainage design relies on getting surface water into the ground and the planning authority wants evidence the ground will take it. In practice that means soakaways, infiltration trenches or permeable paving over an infiltrating…
Posted on 11th June, 2026
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Residual Flood Risk Explained: How It’s Assessed and Managed

Residual flood risk is the risk left over after defences, drainage and mitigation have done what they can. No scheme removes risk entirely. A defended site still floods if a barrier is overtopped, if a defence breaches, or if a…
Posted on 9th June, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Water Table and Groundwater Flood Maps in the UK: How to Check a Site

There is no single official water table map for the UK, and no national groundwater flood map either. Rivers and the sea have both. Groundwater has neither. What exists instead is a scatter of separate datasets, each built for a…
Posted on 2nd June, 2026
, in BGS 
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EA River Modelling Technical Standards (2026): What Flood Risk Assessments Must Demonstrate

Hydraulic modelling sits behind almost every detailed flood risk assessment, and the Environment Agency sets the standard for how those models are built and reviewed. The EA's river modelling technical standards define what a credible model looks like and what…
Posted on 8th May, 2026
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Does the Jubilee River Increase Downstream Flood Risk?

The Jubilee River is an 11.6 kilometre flood relief channel on the River Thames, opened in 2002 to lower flood levels in Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton. Because it moves a large volume of water from one part of the river…
Posted on 12th February, 2026
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River Thames Scheme delays raise questions over flood defence delivery

Recent political intervention and growing local frustration over the River Thames Scheme have brought long-running questions about flood defence delivery sharply back into focus. What began as a technically ambitious response to well-understood flood risk is increasingly becoming a case…
Posted on 9th February, 2026
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How Increasing Rainfall Is Changing Flood Risk in the UK

Flooding across the UK is becoming more frequent, more widespread and easier to trigger, and increasing rainfall is the reason. The shift is driven less by wilder storms than by a wetter atmosphere and wetter autumns and winters, which together…
Posted on 5th February, 2026
, in SuDS 
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The CIRIA SuDS Manual (C753): What It Is and How to Use It in 2026

The CIRIA SuDS Manual (C753) is the UK's principal design guide for sustainable drainage systems: 968 pages covering how SuDS should be planned, designed, built, operated and maintained. CIRIA published it in November 2015 to replace the original 2007 manual,…
Posted on 26th January, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Does Flood Risk Affect House Prices? How Much, and for How Long

Flood risk is priced into the UK housing market, and in June 2026 the shape of that pricing changed. Research published in Nature's Communications Earth & Environment tracked 27 million property sales across England over 28 years and found that…
Posted on 16th January, 2026
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Guildford Flood Alleviation Scheme: flood risk, defences and what happens next

The Guildford Flood Alleviation Scheme is a long-term project by the Environment Agency, Guildford Borough Council and Surrey County Council to reduce flood risk to Guildford town centre from the River Wey. It proposes more than two kilometres of new…
Posted on 14th January, 2026
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Construction Stage Flood Risk and the Lessons from Attleborough

Flood risk is most often scrutinised at the point a planning application is determined. Flood Risk Assessments are prepared, mitigation is proposed, and decisions are taken on the assumption that what has been assessed on paper is what will exist…
Posted on 13th January, 2026
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How AI Could Improve Flood Risk Management

Artificial intelligence is starting to reshape flood risk management, though not in the way the headlines suggest. AI in flood risk management works best as a support layer: it can sharpen flood forecasting, widen warning coverage and speed up the…
Posted on 5th January, 2026
, in AI 
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Shropshire Canal Failure: What the Whitchurch Canal Breach Means for Flood Risk and Planning

A canal breach near Whitchurch, Shropshire, in the early hours of 22nd December 2025 drew national attention. The scale of the collapse was part of it, but so was what the failure revealed about how the UK manages, and plans…
Posted on 23rd December, 2025
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Integrating Rainwater Harvesting into SuDS Design

Collecting rainwater isn’t a new idea. Many of us already do it at home, using a simple water butt to gather rain off the roof and reuse it on the garden. That, in essence, is what rainwater harvesting is: catching…
Posted on 24th October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Green SuDS: Nature-Based Drainage in Modern Planning

Green SuDS are nature-based drainage features — swales, rain gardens, basins, green roofs and wetlands — that manage rainwater using vegetation and soil rather than buried pipes and tanks. Across England's planning system they have become the preferred form of…
Posted on 22nd October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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NAFRA2 and Home Sales: Rising Flood Awareness

When the Environment Agency released its latest National Assessment of Flood Risk for England (NAFRA2) in early 2025, the updated dataset immediately began reshaping how flood risk is understood — and, increasingly, how property is bought and sold. Many homeowners…
Posted on 20th October, 2025
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Early SuDS Planning: CIRIA C823F and What the 2026 NPPF Now Requires

Early SuDS planning means settling the surface water question at land acquisition and site appraisal, before roads, levels and plot positions are fixed. Since 17 August 2026 that is no longer only good practice. CIRIA's guide Enabling development: Getting SuDS…
Posted on 6th October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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What is BS 6297 infiltration testing for foul drainage fields?

BS 6297 infiltration testing measures whether the ground on a site can absorb and treat effluent safely, and it is what decides whether a drainage field is a workable way to deal with foul drainage where there is no mains…
Posted on 26th June, 2025
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What the 2025–30 London Surface Water Strategy Means for Planning

As climate change accelerates and urban environments become denser, cities around the world face mounting challenges in managing water. Nowhere is this truer than in London, where the convergence of ageing infrastructure, rising population pressures, and increasingly erratic weather patterns…
Posted on 22nd May, 2025
, in SuDS 
, in TfL 
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Septic tank regulations in England: the General Binding Rules in 2026

The septic tank regulations that apply in England are the General Binding Rules — statutory conditions set by the Environment Agency that let a septic tank or small sewage treatment plant discharge legally without an environmental permit, provided it stays…
Posted on 28th February, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Foul, Surface & Combined Sewers: What to Know

When planning a new development, one crucial factor that developers, architects and planners must consider is how wastewater and surface water will be managed. The type of sewer infrastructure present on or near a site can significantly influence the design,…
Posted on 25th February, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Thames Barrier: London’s Flood Defence Against Tidal Surges

The Thames Barrier is the largest movable flood barrier protecting London, holding back the tidal surges that would otherwise push up the estuary and into the heart of the city. It spans 520 metres of the River Thames near Woolwich…
Posted on 14th February, 2025
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Natural Flood Management Schemes in the UK: How Real Projects Slow the Flow

Natural flood management schemes use woodland, wetlands, leaky dams and better-managed soils to slow and store rainwater across a catchment, taking the edge off flood peaks downstream. Across the UK, councils, rivers trusts and landowners now run dozens of these…
Posted on 3rd February, 2025
, in NFM 
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Flood Return Periods & Annual Probability Explained

A flood return period is the average length of time between floods of a given size. That sounds like a timetable, but it is really a statement of probability. A "1-in-100-year flood" does not arrive once a century. It means…
Posted on 20th December, 2024
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What is BRE365 Infiltration Testing (Soakaway Design)?

BRE365 infiltration testing is the in-ground test that measures how fast your site's soil can absorb surface water, so you can prove a soakaway will work and size it correctly. It follows BRE Digest 365, the standard UK method for…
Posted on 2nd December, 2024
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Flood Modelling Software: Tools & Techniques Guide

Flood modelling is the use of hydrological and hydraulic simulation to work out how water will behave across a landscape: where it will go, how deep it will get, and how fast it will move. Flood modelling software turns that…
Posted on 20th November, 2024
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Topographical Surveys for FRA & SuDS: When Are They Needed?

A topographical survey is a measured land survey that records a site's exact levels, contours, features and existing drainage. For a flood risk assessment or a SuDS drainage design, it is the ground truth everything else sits on. You usually…
Posted on 18th November, 2024
, in Data 
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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LiDAR Data for Flood Risk & Drainage Planning Explained

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a cutting-edge remote sensing technology that helps analyse land elevation and surface characteristics. By sending out laser pulses and measuring their return time, LiDAR creates precise 3D topographical maps. This data is essential for…
Posted on 15th November, 2024
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What is GIS? A Key Tool for Flood Risk, Modelling & SuDS Design

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a powerful digital mapping tool used to analyse and visualise geographical data. GIS helps architects, planners, and developers overlay essential spatial information—such as flood zones, drainage networks, and land elevations—onto maps to make informed decisions…
Posted on 8th November, 2024
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Compensatory flood storage explained: level for level design for planning

Posted on 1st November, 2024
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What Are Strategic Flood Risk Assessments (SFRAs)?

Strategic Flood Risk Assessments (SFRAs) are a central component of flood risk management in the English planning system. While frequently referenced in the preparation of Local Plans and in the context of site allocation, their strategic role is often underappreciated…
Posted on 23rd August, 2024
, in NPPF 
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EA Flood Map Challenge: What You Need to Know

Flood mapping plays a crucial role in the planning process across England. For landowners, developers, and planners, accurate flood zone designations by the Environment Agency (EA) are essential — not just for safe and sustainable development, but also to avoid…
Posted on 3rd June, 2024
, in NPPF 
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The Great Flood of 1968: causes, the towns it hit, and the risk today

In the middle of September 1968, much of South East England disappeared under water. Two days of near-constant rain, the worst of it on Sunday 15 September, turned quiet rivers into torrents and turned high streets into channels you could…
Posted on 14th September, 2023
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Beavers and Flood Risk: What Landowners and Developers Need to Know

Beavers and flood risk stopped being a curiosity the moment the law changed. England has had a licensed route to release beavers into the wild since February 2025, three projects are now running, and Natural England is working with around…
Posted on 19th February, 2018
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What Is a Weather Bomb? Explosive Cyclogenesis Explained

A weather bomb is the informal name for a storm whose central pressure drops by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours, a process meteorologists call explosive cyclogenesis. The result is a deep, fast-developing area of low pressure that brings…
Posted on 22nd January, 2018
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Are Amphibious houses the answer to flood prone areas?

An amphibious house rests on ordinary foundations for most of its life. When floodwater arrives, the building rises within a purpose-built dock and floats, held in place by vertical guide posts. As the water recedes, it settles back down. The…
Posted on 1st March, 2017
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Communities Affected by Groundwater Flooding in the UK

Groundwater flooding is not spread evenly across the country. The areas affected by groundwater flooding cluster in a narrow band of communities sitting on or just downstream of the Chalk, and the same villages tend to flood again and again:…
Posted on 29th September, 2015
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