How do new houses handle SURFACE WATER run-off? SUDS drainage!

Today I'm going to show you how new build housing estates deal with surface water run-off and flood prevention. This is the SUDS sustainable urban drainage system in action. It's basically designed to control water flow to nearby rivers through the use of large balancing ponds. By gradually releasing storm waters in to nearby water sources it massively helps to reduce problems of rivers flooding further downstream. We've had a lot of rain recently so let's see if it works!
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#Construction #Floods #NewBuilds

[@fotogfitzfoto412]

I remember during flooding some years ago, a TV reporter was asking a new householder what he thought about his new house being inundated. The man said that no-one had warned him about the risk. The interview was filmed at the end of the road of flooded houses, with the road name sign behind the man. It was: "The Water Meadows"!

[@GosforthHandyman]

😂😂👍

[@alanscott5942]

Following on from my earlier comment, the development in my village is sited directly over a disused coal mine, the field on which the properties are built was renowned for its flooding and water logging, with some of the other technical issues that have been discovered I wonder what assurances the new owners were given.

[@fotogfitzfoto412]

I don't know which would concern me more, that my house might flood, or that it might suddenly vanish into some mine-shaft.

[@Bill.L.Carroll]

They have definitely done an amazing job, and it has sustained a more than livable condition for wild life. 👌 Thanks for going out if your way to share that, mate. 👍 Really appreciate it.

[@raysmith1992]

They have built some large warehouses by me on what was farm land and they have built one of these to cope with all the rain that comes off the these huge warehouses such a good idea. A housing estate in Northamptonshire went even one better by using rain water harvesting where the water is used after filtration for toilet flushing, gardens and washing cars etc. Water is a valuable resource and we need to use it wisely, I remember when we had a drought and the water was turned off to our homes and we had to go and fetch our water from water tanks.

[@36736fps]

In USA we pay property taxes on our houses based on the square feet of impermeable area (roof and paving) that causes runoff. That tax pays for all the ponds etc that reduce flood potential. Big problem is houses too close together with too little grade to carry water away from foundations. That leads to flooded basements.

[@itzmeagain8011]

Neat video thanks Andy. I like the variety you come up with. Given it was a "walking" vid the quality is really good.

[@brianflower5490]

Good video and very informative! There’s 7 houses built approximately 5 yrs ago on end of road adjacent to playing field . Neighbor on opposite side who bought her house new forty years ago told me they hadn’t built the other side because it was below the flood line of the nearby river ! Two footbridges nearby over that same river are currently being raised to avoid flooding ! Doesn’t bode well for those houses or occupants !

[@stevelarkin3285]

Nice informative video, and yes measures like this should be thought about before any houses are built

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers Steve! 👍👊

[@petertaylor6369]

Andy interesting video, BUT, I don't know whether your local water authority has taken ownership of these SUDS but the usual case is that ownership of them is sold by the property developers to mange ment companies where they then charge all the estate residents, via leases, for the upkeep of them. Which is outrageous as they should be managed by the local residents. It's another scheme by the developers/management companies to screw the local residents for more and more money for doing bugger all. The rushe beds by the way are filter the water cleaning prior to entering the eco systems.

[@me-ju3fv]

Hey? What a daft comment. By having it done by the management company, it guarantees it is looked after and therefore avoids your houses flooding

[@Sancarn]

@@me-ju3fv my thoughts exactly.

[@superseven220]

Great video Andy, very informative

[@jb-sz2kw]

Thanks for this video. Excellent explanation of how SUDS work. New housing developments would do well to explain how these work when selling their houses so people could easily explain and reassure when the time comes to sell on.

[@KeithMinnion]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing this.

[@GosforthHandyman]

No worries! 👍

[@stevengrice7502]

Great video that is local to you. Also the monitoring site. Fun info Thank you.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers! The monitoring stuff is really interesting! 👍👊

[@Ozone81888]

Great video !! Learn a lot from your channel. It's great if you can have a video introducing French drain for gardening and how to connect French drain to surface drainage system

[@chrishebden1]

Great vid as always Andy, the reeds can be used for water treatment sometimes

[@derekmulready1523]

Sir, I take your point, But have you not read the famous five by Enid Blyton

[@deanlowther4020]

They didn't do any of this when they built the massive estate up the road and we ended up with serious flooding a few years ago They had to dig up half our estate and put in massive main drains and baffle tanks to solve the problem

[@richardhogben3776]

Really interesting, thank you

[@GosforthHandyman]

No worries! 👍👊

[@jakematic]

Totally thought this was a Practical Engineering vid when it came up in my subscriptions ! Very cool how they do that with SUDS - like a swale on steroids. SUDS.... hmmm... makin me want a beer now Andy 🤣

[@briansworkshop01]

Hi Bonney lad I live just up the road and like you never seen them full hope they got it right great video 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍☔☔☔☔

[@GosforthHandyman]

They seem to be working! The next thing is to make sure the water actually drains away. 😂👍

[@MrWilsonGeek]

Great video fella enjoy it 👍🏻👍🏻

[@GosforthHandyman]

No worries Geoff! 👍

[@AnotherAltAccountYouDonkey]

I got hurt my back while in a drain yesterday so that was fun

[@worzelbxoy3565]

Great video Andy, in the seventies there was a load of scared mongering about sea level rising through global warming, Dad said all our properties are about 200 feet above sea level so we should be OK. Good one Dad we're in flat old Essex 👍😉😀👏🙌🍻😵

[@02wnilud]

Wow...interesting! 👍

[@GosforthHandyman]

👍👊👍

[@robbristow]

Really interesting flood management - shows it well on Google Earth (image from nov 2009) with the holding ponds all full!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Ha - weird. If you check on Google Maps they're all empty. 😀

[@robbristow]

@@GosforthHandyman Click the year box - lower left of the map on my computer it is 1945 - then scroll through the years upto the present day in the timeline that shows in the upper left of the map. should have been June 2009 and again in March 2012. (Using Google Earth Pro)

[@tonyscerri6039]

Thank you for sharing. The UK is so beautiful. What's the name of this area where you mentioned it rains the least

[@GosforthHandyman]

Hi - we're in the North East, Newcastle - here's a rainfall map, you'll see the East coast gets the least rain: www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/types-of-weather/rain/how-much-does-it-rain-in-the-uk 👍

[@michaelchapman4269]

Love shiz like this!

[@GosforthHandyman]

👍👍👊

[@stonecoldjaneausten926]

I live on an estate with SUDS, built in the late 90s... I wonder how long they've been doing it for?

[@heboughtabike]

Nice to see a suds system working properly. In regards to the water flowing out of the BT Openreach box it shouldn't. Report it to your local highway authority, Openreach are a PITA to get hold of (I work for the highway department for another council)

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers Jon! Sadly nothing around here is adopted yet so I think it's still under the control of the developers. 👍

[@heboughtabike]

@@GosforthHandyman good luck getting either party to resolve it then!

[@Stennifer]

Loved the video. Aren't reed beds there for water treatment?

[@GosforthHandyman]

I'm not sure - I'm pretty sure it's something to do with the airport. I need to read up on it... pardon the pun. 😂

[@alanscott5942]

Development in my village struggling with flooding at the minute, new access road only been laid 2mnths ago (approx) road flooded twice in past two weeks with run off entering gardens of new properties due to road been higher level we wait with baited breath to see outcome 😉

[@GosforthHandyman]

Lordy - good luck! 👍

[@TrickyTree84]

These also have the added benefit of saving the homeowner from a annual surface water run off charge (which you pay if your properties surface water drains into the sewer, where it needs to be treaded)

[@JasonShowell]

Well that turned out to be a totally different video to the one i read it was going to be. Amazing how one little letter can toatlly change the topic of a video. That will teach me to put my glasses on as i thought this was about flooRing not flooDing :)

[@rednammoc]

Same stuff applies to new-build roads - it's often easy to spot balancing ponds dotted around motorway junctions for example.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Yup - seeing a lot more of those these days! 👍👊

[@BritishEngineer]

9:05 what’s the diameter of that pipe? It seems like quite a diameter. Also if that were my project, I would have added a bespoke gate on the top of that brick headwall and ladders leading down for safe access and cleaning of the grates.

[@veneration1]

A new housing estate of 60 houses is being built on a hill/slope field next to me and they have a huge attenuation pond on the plans, it will be approx 20 metres from me, got to be honest I am a bit worried, as I live in a wooden chalet type place with thin walls, that rushing water sounded very loud, I am sure especially at night. I am panicking a bit all I will hear is loud rushing water and have mosquitos and other bugs all over me when in my garden. Should I be worried ? For 25 years I have lived here it has been a nice green peaceful field.

[@Dragonited]

That slug at the end looks like a Spanish Slug or a Murder Slug as we call them here in Sweden. They are a highly invasive species and if not controlled they can easily kill off everything in your garden :( A neighbour over here can if they have the right condition kill between 500 to 1000 every night when she goes for a late evening walk with her dog. Last summer was, fortunately, a very dry one so the population was mostly killed of somewhat. Though they are still around and I try to look for them whenever I'm in the garden late at night or after rain and kill as many as I have the energy to find.

[@GosforthHandyman]

You wouldn't believe the amount I saw today when I was out filming that. Never seen so many, ever. Hundreds and hundreds. And lots of worms. 👍😂

[@sburge1989]

Theres a new development near me and I used to walk my dog there, it was on top of a hill but very boggy and would flood fairly easily. They added one of those SUDS things and now it doesnt flood because theres always a big area waiting to take the water.

[@GosforthHandyman]

They seem to work really well! 👍

[@debonh3828]

a few years down the road, who maintains all the drains, banks and ponds?

[@GosforthHandyman]

There's a service charge if you live here and that covers the maintenance. All done privately. 👍

[@malcolmjames1866]

Great Public Information film, Andy. I've recently built a workshop in my back garden. There's a calculation I had to do to determine how much rainwater would no longer drain through my garden and I had to build a modern soakaway to a specific size based on that calculation. Shouldn't all developers do the same, scaled up according to the size of their development? Or do they do that anyway these days?

[@GosforthHandyman]

From what I've heard they have to cater for that from 2007... could be wrong. 👍

[@malcolmjames1866]

@@GosforthHandyman I hope so. The land used to be a big giant sponge, but now that water falling on the new buildings and roads etc has to pass overland or through insufficient underground pipework to reach the attenuation ponds.

[@ben_the_cat_guy]

wow i got another homes by esh ad on this video

[@GosforthHandyman]

Lol seriously??! 😂

[@ben_the_cat_guy]

@@GosforthHandyman yep

[@georgef822]

Andy MacWalks.

[@forza223bowe5]

Some New builds don’t feel like they are made to last.

[@louithefly]

That’s just a creek, a river in Australia has like 20 of those connecting to it before it’s a river

[@scottbloomer6983]

First comment great stuff. 👍👍👍

[@GosforthHandyman]

👍👊

[@peterratcliffe5115]

Good to see building companies taking water run off seriously. Even if they had to by law. Back when I was a landscaper I always dreaded doing jobs on new estates in wet weather. Most gardens were normally like a bog.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Still plenty boggy gardens mind! 👍😂

[@peterratcliffe5115]

@@GosforthHandyman True. I've installed a few french drains in nearly new properties before. It was me who emailed you recently.

[@Beanie1984]

Thanks for the video, I have been looking up "balancing ponds" to try and understand what they are and how they work.

[@Paul-XCIV2]

Big problem is the take up of cars has meant more and more people concreting over their front gardens for drive ways and it's not necessarily done well. A house nearby has had its drive re-paved and I notice it has no drainage except they've put a pipe through the front wall to drain the driveway onto the pavement. Rain? Soakaway? Nah someone elses problem! Ugh.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Yeah, lots of permeable block paving around here but the drives themselves are nearly all tarmac. Never really understood that one. 🤔

[@Crushwokery]

👍👍👍👍

[@GosforthHandyman]

👍👍👍👊

[@Paintheshed]

Eusbern?

[@GosforthHandyman]

It flows in to the Ouseburn. 👍

[@k.b.woodworker3250]

Very interesting video, Andy! Some plants, many of them native to a region, have very deep roots, and these wick water much deeper into the ground, which will help control runoff to a surprising degree. Here in the U.S. some municipalities offer incentives for rain gardens. These use plants to control runoff. Why? Because housing developments typically have lawns with shallow roots. Here's an amazing image showing Kentucky bluegrass, a lawn grass with

[@stretchcvboots]

I think that was an interesting vid but the problem is in the long term nobody will maintain it.

[@GosforthHandyman]

It's privately maintained - all the residents pay a service charge towards the maintenance and it's in the deeds of the properties. 👍

[@sikkepossu]

1:57 You guaranteed wrong. My house is NOT built on a field or if it is then the ancient field makers were pretty drunk. :D

[@GosforthHandyman]

😂 You sure it wasn't once a field? Or are you on a hill?

[@chezzylee]

Reeds soak up contamination

[@hansdegroot8549]

Very interesting video. Thanks for sharing. No need for building an Ark of Noah at your place, only some bird-friendly airplanes should be nice.

[@GosforthHandyman]

I did consider building an ark at one point! We've had a LOT of rain this June! 😂

[@denisecosta3275]

that gate needs to be clogged so bad 😫

[@David-xu3yk]

How many angry residents will write to the council and say theres flooding when it's just the SUDS doing their job? Haha

[@GosforthHandyman]

Lol wouldn't surprise me! 😂

[@grandadgamer8390]

Let's worry about a golf course 😅

[@GosforthHandyman]

Just a good pic to illustrate the extent of the flooding. Nobody was worried about the golf course.

[@johnmheaton]

I recently moved into a new development in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. It has a comprehensive SUDS installation and over the last 48 hours it's been working to protect my house from flooding. Successfully, thank goodness. Flaming June eh? Bit of a contrast to 12 months ago!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Tell me about it - I'm ready for summer now! 👍😂

[@LostWhits]

I thought it was going to be how individual houses deal with floodwater. Oops. Time to wake up properly.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Yeah, if I had an outfall like that in my back garden I'd be worried. 😂👍

[@ricos1497]

Great video. I'd question whether it really is sustainable to concrete over entire estates and have run-offs going to segregated nature spots. I'm not convinced. As a fellow estatee, I'd far rather have the nature built in and less suds. More trees please. A bit more playing space for the kids. I'd happily sacrifice my car-hole and park in a centralised car park in return. I suspect most wouldn't like.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Unless you can build estates without roads and houses then I think you'll struggle. Most of the run-off is from the house roofs and roads. 👍

[@ricos1497]

@@GosforthHandyman Yes, I could imagine estates without roads, that's sort of what I meant. Give the road space back to the trees and meandering paths that follow the natural contours forcing water into the new-found trees. I know, it'll never cotton on!

[@jayp7598]

Taking water run off seriously is important but I wonder how much pollutants/contamination enters natural rivers and water courses as a result. Maybe your estate is different in that it drains into a small river but i thought most drain into collection SUDS for evaporation.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Doubt we'd get much evaporation around here. 😂👍

[@JamesManCave]

Hosepipe ban within the month though I bet. Reeds are there for ducks to nest in (I have no actuall knowledge of why they are there) 😂

[@GosforthHandyman]

You can guarantee it! 😂

[@derekmulready1523]

Just a safety issue with the new housing estates most will be very young children but as you know children of a particular age become adventuress I haven't seen any life preservers present. Irish citizen

[@GosforthHandyman]

There are next to most of them - not sure why there aren't any here. I guess the river is deeper than the pond and that doesn't have any and it's not an area where young kids would be out without their parents. 👍

[@normanboyes4983]

Do the SUDS sustain the mossie population?

[@troyboy4345]

I do wonder how much compulsory green roofs would make a difference if applied to new builds … ? ….. Wait ! ….. how dare you mention additional costs to the house builders, that would cut the profits and highlight shit workmanship even further ! …. please leave this channel now …. "I will get my coat now, its raining outside .... again"