Rethinking Infrastructure Design - Rethinking Infrastructure Design for Multi-Use Water Services - page 6

Fig. 4 Conventional urban drainage systems with and without wastewater treatment plants

Fig. 5 SUDS management train as part of an integrated storm drainage system

means meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals); manage rainwater,
wastewater, storm water drainage and run-off pollution; control waterborne diseases
and epidemics; and reduce the risk of water-related hazards, including oods,

droughts and landslides. In the innovative concept pursued by the MUS paradigm,
this also means activation of new potentials for natural and processed water
resources and its by-product (recyclates) in interaction with other urban services. In
urban water systems that mean visible water systems, increased water awareness
and contributions to water usage reduction; reuse of wastewater and use of rain-
water, reduced stress on water resources; reduction of pavement and increased
in

ltration, increased evapotranspiration, reduced run-off and improved urban area
amenities. In this respect important are two principles introduced during the past
two decades: (a) SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage System) introduced by the UK
CIRIA (Construction Industry Research and Information Association CIRIA 555

( 1998 ), also called BMP in the USA). In its original version, SUDS aimed at
reducing surface run-off peaks and volumes, improving water quality and creating
urban amenities. The initial version of SUDS is based on the so-called management
train (Fig. 5 ). While broadly implemented in other countries (Sweden, Germany),
and although introduced almost 20 years ago, it is only recently being gradually
accepted in the UK where it

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is the right time to be superseded by more