Implementing sustainable drainage systems for urban surface water management within the regulatory framework in England and Wales

The UK 2007 floods resulted in damages estimated to exceed over £4 billion. This triggered a national review of strategic flood risk management (Pitt, 2008) with its recommendations informing and implemented by the Flood and Water Management, Act (FWMA, 2010). Estimating that up to two-thirds of properties flooded in the 2007 event as a direct result of overloaded sewer systems, the FWMA set out an ambitious overhaul of flood risk management approaches including identifying bodies responsible for the management of local flood risk (local municipalities) and the development of over-arching Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) at a regional level. LLFAs duties include developing local flood risk management strategies and, aligned with this, many LLFAs and local municipalities produced sustainable drainage system (SUDS) guidance notes. In parallel, changes to the national planning policy framework (NPPF) in England give priority to the use of SUDS in new major developments, as does the related Town and Country Planning Order (2015). However, whilst all three pieces of legislation refer to the preferential use of SUDs, these requirements remain “economically proportionate” and thus the inclusion of SUDS within development controls remain desirable - but not mandatory - obligations. Within this dynamic policy context, reignited most recently by the December 2015 floods, this paper examines some of the challenges to the implementation of SUDS in England and Wales posed by the new regulatory frameworks. In particular, it examines how emerging organisational procedures and processes are likely to impact on future SUDS implementation, and highlights the need for further cross-sectoral working to ensure opportunities for cross-sectoral benefits– such as that accrued by reducing stormwater flows within combined sewer systems for water companies, property developers and environmental protection – are not lost

The Haverstraw Community Land Trust : a project in C.E.D. from the creative orientation

Land trusts are often borne out of a community organizing effort built around a recognized need to preserve or expand affordable housing opportunities. This report describes a method employed in Haverstraw, New York. (Library-derived description)Lundy, J.J. (1989). The Haverstraw Community Land Trust: a project in C.E.D. from the creative orientation. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.eduMaster of Science (M.S.)School of Community Economic Developmen

Does Use of a Cell Phone Affect Cognition?

This research examined the effects that a cell phone distraction had on subjects completing a maze task. Twenty-four subjects participated in the study (12 Younger subjects and 12 Older subjects; 14 females and 10 males). Subjects completed an identical maze task during each of three sessions. During the first session, subjects completed the maze task without the distraction of cell phone use. The second session involved completion of the maze task while listening to a transcript read over a cell phone. The third session involved completion of the maze task while participating in a cell phone conversation. Subjects’ performances were recorded for analysis selected parameters: maze completion time, number of dead-ends entered, pauses, and loss of concentration. These data were compared by age and gender. Significantly, females took longer than males to complete the maze task in both cell phone sessions. However, males had a significant increase in the number of pauses during the maze task (Sessions 2 and 3), but still managed to complete the task more quickly than the female subjects. Younger subjects had a significant loss of concentration in both cell phone sessions, which was not observed in the Older subjects. This study suggests that the use of cell phone should be limited when performing a task that relies on attentiveness

GENERATIONAL THEORY AS A LENS FOR APPROACHING MUSICAL THEATRE HISTORY, 1943-2023, OR A STRANGE LOOP

In 1991, William Strauss and Neil Howe published generational theory in Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584-2069. Though critiqued, Strauss and Howe’s generational theory suggests that American history occurs in cycles characterized by four distinct generational turnings or moods that occur approximately every eighty years, roughly the span of a human life. Though the theory has been applied to American history, usually through a political and economic lens, this thesis will focus on the most recent Millennial Cycle and apply the theory to the development of Broadway musical theatre history. Innovative musicals such as Oklahoma! (1943), Hair (1968), Rent (1996), and Hamilton (2015) and their place in musical theatre history support Strauss and Howe’s generational theory. The theory narrates a sociocultural perspective on the evolution of the Broadway musical, a distinctively American art form. The theory could forecast future trends and serve as a helpful framework for teaching musical theatre history

An impact assessment methodology for urban surface runoff quality following best practice treatment

The paper develops an easy to apply desk-based semi-quantitative approach for the assessment of residual receiving water quality risks associated with urban surface runoff following its conveyance through best practice sustainable drainage systems (SUDS). The innovative procedure utilises an integrated geographical information system (GIS)-based pollution index approach based on surface area impermeability, runoff concentrations/loadings and individual SUDS treatment performance potential to evaluate the level of risk mitigation achievable by SUDS drainage infrastructure. The residual impact is assessed through comparison of the determined pollution index with regulatory receiving water quality standards and objectives. The methodology provides an original theoretically based procedure which complements the current acute risk assessment approaches being widely applied within pluvial flood risk management

Behaviour of selected emerging pollutants in stormwater best management practices (BMPs)

A range of emerging pollutants (EPs) are now being considered for regulatory designation as potentially hazardous or as priority substances. These EPs occur ubiquitously in urban receiving waters and have both point and non-point sources. The occurrence and likely sources of four selected EPs (diclofenac, perfluoro-octane sulphonic acid; PFOS, hexabromocyclododecane; HBCD and dichlorvos; DDVP) found in urban surface water discharges are discussed with reference to extreme events and CSO discharges. A unit operating process (UoP) methodology is utilised to evaluate primary BMP removal mechanisms and the susceptibility of the individual EPs to be removed by these processes based on their physico-chemical properties. Despite the prevailing low level concentrations encountered in urban runoff, the methodology provides a scientifically underpinned screening framework to identify the most appropriate BMP controls for the pollutant(s) under consideration. True source control approaches such as direct infiltration, green roofs, rain gardens and porous paving would appear to the moist effective management measures

Assessing the impact of Swales on receiving water quality

Swales are one type of sustainable drainage system (SuDS) which contribute to the management of water quality in receiving waterbodies. Using a semi-quantitative approach, an impact assessment procedure is applied to the residual water quality that is carried forward to surface waters and groundwaters following treatment within a swale. Both volumetric and pollutant distributions are considered as stormwater passes through the swale system. The pollutant pathways followed by TSS, nitrate, chloride, metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are determined for a swale receiving highway runoff. For TSS, metals and PAHs between 20% and 29% of the total mean influent pollutant load is predicted to be directed to infiltration through the underlying soils compared to between 4% and 16% of chloride and nitrate. Although surface water impacts are deemed possible, the discharges of swales to groundwaters are assessed to represent a negligible impact for effectively maintained systems

An impact assessment for urban stormwater use

Stormwater has the potential to provide a non-potable water supply which requires less treatment than municipal wastewaters with the added benefit of reducing pollution and erosion issues in receiving water bodies. However, the adoption of stormwater collection and use as an accepted practice requires that the perceived risks, particularly those associated with public health, are addressed. This paper considers the human health concerns associated with stormwater quality when used for a range of non-potable applications using E. coli, a commonly found pollutant in urban stormwater which is also widely included in human health based water quality standards and guidelines. Based on a source-pathway-receptor model, scores are allocated, on a scale of 0 to 5, to benchmark increasing the likelihoods of exposure to stormwater during different occupational and non-occupational applications and magnitude of impacts which may result. The impacts are assessed by comparing median stormwater E. coli levels with the reported guideline levels relating to different stormwater uses. Combination of the exposure and impact scores provides an overall risk score for each stormwater application. Low or medium risks are shown to be associated with most stormwater uses except for domestic car washing and occupational irrigation of edible raw food crops where the predicted highest levels of risk posed by median E.coli levels in stormwater necessitate the introduction of remedial actions

Risk prioritisation of stormwater pollutant sources

This paper describes the development of a pollutant risk prioritisation methodology for the comparative assessment of stormwater pollutants discharged from differing land use types and activities. Guidelines are presented which evaluate available data with respect to ‘likelihood of occurrence’ and ‘severity of impact’. The use of the developed approach is demonstrated through its application to total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, lead and cadmium. The proposed benchmarking scheme represents a transparent and auditable mechanism to support the synthesis of data from a variety of sources and is sufficiently flexible to incorporate the use of chemical, physical and/or ecological data sets. Practitioners involved in developing and implementing pollutant mitigation programmes are assisted in two key ways. Firstly through enabling the risks to receiving waters from diffuse pollution on a source-by-source and/or pollutant-by-pollutant basis at a catchment scale to be comparatively assessed and prioritised. Secondly, the methodology informs the selection of appropriate diffuse pollution control strategies