United Utilities trials news pods to help manage rainwater

United Utilities is looking to lead by example when it comes to how rainwater is managed at its head office in Warrington. 

The North West’s water company has worked with GreenBlue Urban to install four SuDSPods at its Lingley Mere site. 

SuDSPods (sustainable drainage solutions) are an innovative way of managing rainwater - they temporarily store the water and can hold multiple times their own volume before slowly releasing it into the sewer network. 

Slowing the flow of rainwater into the sewer network can create capacity at wastewater treatment sites and reduce the number of times that storm overflows operate in periods of heavy rain.  United Utilities and GreenBlue Urban will be monitoring the results to measure the performance of the pods

It’s one of a number of rainwater management activities United Utilities utilises at Lingley Mere to manage surface water.  In the event of heavy rain the level of Clearwater Lake, at the heart of Lingley Mere, is able to rise up to 750mm.  The lake stores the water and allows it to be carefully released off site via a hydro-brake system. This reduces the risk of local surface water sewer flooding and balances the flow of water into local watercourses such as Whittle Brook, whilst allowing ground water levels to be managed on site.  There are also further underground attenuation tanks and dry ditches on site to help manage surface water.

Katy Bevan, Rainwater Management Operations Manager for United Utilities, said:  “We need to change how we manage rainwater in this country.  The combined impact of more extreme weather patterns and urban creep means that large volumes of rain lands on hard surfaces where it races into our sewer network.

“We want to be at the forefront of changing how rainwater is managed across the North West, so the benefits for the environment can be maximised.  We’re really pleased to have these SuDSPods installed now, so we can better understand their performance and learn whether they are potentially a solution for elsewhere in the region.”

James Dalrymple, Business Development Manager at GreenBlue Urban, said: "It was a pleasure to install and demonstrate the SuDSPod units to the welcoming team at United Utilities. With three units now in place on their HQ Gatehouse building, rainfall entering the sewer system will not only be significantly slowed in terms of flow rates, but the overall volume will also be reduced as water loss increases with the establishment of the plants."