GeoSmart can assist with all stages of the drainage design process, from initial screening of potential drainage options to site inspections and infiltration testing, as well as Detailed Drainage Design drawings.
Rated Excellent on Trustpilot
Drainage Design transforms an agreed drainage strategy into a buildable drainage solution. It provides the calculations, drawings and technical information needed to demonstrate how surface water and foul water will be managed across a development.
Drainage design is rarely straightforward. Every site presents different planning requirements, discharge options, levels, infrastructure constraints and Local Authority expectations. GeoSmart combines drainage engineering expertise with practical planning experience to create drainage solutions that are both technically robust and planning-ready.
Having supported thousands of planning applications across virtually every UK Local Authority, we understand not only how drainage systems work, but also what planners, Lead Local Flood Authorities, water companies and approving bodies expect to see.
Our Detailed Drainage Design services can include surface water drainage design, foul water drainage design, hydraulic calculations, drainage layouts, technical approval support and the coordination of supporting investigations such as infiltration testing, CCTV surveys and topographical surveys.
Our Drainage Design service transforms an agreed drainage strategy into a practical, buildable solution. We provide the technical calculations, drawings and supporting information required to satisfy planning conditions, support technical approvals and enable construction on site.
Whether the development requires surface water drainage, foul water drainage or both, our engineers work to create designs that are tailored to the constraints and opportunities of each site.
The service is often delivered alongside one of our SuDS Reports, which establishes the drainage strategy that the detailed design is built upon. We can also coordinate supporting investigations such as infiltration testing, CCTV surveys and topographical surveys where required.
Check out our FAQ and Additional Services below for more details.
Ideal for Planners, Architects and Developers.
Navigating environmental reports can be complex. We’ve answered the most common queries about our data, timescales, and planning suitability below.
Can’t find the answer? Our consultancy team is here to help.
Sustainable flood drainage systems are processes which regulate water in a way that imitates natural drainage systems.
Designed to control water flow and the distribution of polluted water in developed, urban areas, SuDS work by enabling water to soak into the ground (infiltration systems), slowing down the flow of water into watercourses (retention systems), storing and transferring water from vegetation into the atmosphere (evapotranspiration) and removing pollutants from water (filtration).
Faced with a future of climate uncertainty, SuDS are a far more competent water drainer, container and manager than their traditional counterparts like underground pipe systems, borehole soakaways and drainage bricks..
Planning applications need to demonstrate that impacts to the environment, both on site and in the vicinity, have been considered.
Sustainable drainage design is viewed favourably and can unlock a site through control of the quantity and the quality of the discharge.
If you intend to develop property or land, a detailed drainage design will inform your builders (or perhaps yourself) to know what drainage to build, where. The design has to consider all relevant guidance, such as from the council and SuDS manual, and demonstrate a reduction in discharge rate where required.
Fundamentally planners are interested in reducing the impact your development will have on the environment – both on your site and the local vicinity. Sustainable drainage design is viewed favourably and some of the issues planners are interested in include:
Every project is different and therefore the drainage design is unique. In some cases, planners may require a significant level of detail to ensure the feasibility of the design and drawings are used by the regulators to ensure the approved scheme is installed correctly. Sustainable drainage is viewed favourably and can unlock planning permission for a difficult site.
If you intend to build a house, or any kind of development, you will need a detailed drainage design in order for your builders (or perhaps yourself) to know what drainage to install. The design has to consider all relevant guidance, from the Local Authority, DEFRA and best practice from the SuDS manual (CIRIA, 2015) and demonstrate a reduction in discharge rate where required.
Every project is unique and so every project’s drainage design is unique. Every site has different topography, (site levels and slopes) and ground conditions. Some projects may need to discharge to a watercourse but others to sewers. Some projects may have very favourable ground conditions where infiltration is feasible.
Planners need to be confident that the design has considered all of these factors and that the development has met their criteria for sustainable drainage.
A drainage strategy considers all options for sustainable drainage and advises on the most likely solution and incorporates an outline strategy. This will include attenuation volume required, a proposed discharge rate or an infiltration rate.
Some local authorities require more detail and therefore a ‘detailed drainage design’ is required with a planning condition. This design gives a lot more detail such as gradients and sizes of pipes, cover and invert levels.
A detailed drainage design is often thought of as the engineering drawings and technicalities of how the system will work for a proposed SuDS scheme.
Developments should demonstrate that they will not increase the risk of flooding on site or in the local area. This can be achieved by storing rainfall on site and then restricting the flow off site to replicate what would have happened before anything was constructed. A Detailed Design Drainage gives all the technical details for how this is achieved and where on the site the infrastructure should be placed.
Designed to assess flood risk from all sources with clear mitigation measures.
Flood Consequence Assessments >
Reports help to assess which drainage options are available for a Site in order to comply with national regulations.
“The service provided was efficient and friendly. From the first phone call to GeoSmart they provided a clear, professional approach to my request within the timescales advised. Great service and I would have no problem recommending”
“We are very pleased with the service provided by GeoSmart. Their reports have been used to assist with numerous planning applications and have always been delivered to budget and on-time, much to our clients’ appreciation. We look forward to working with GeoSmart on future projects.”
“Efficient and friendly service, GeoSmart provided a clear and concise report within the timescales advised. Great service and I would have no problem recommending”
“The service for a Phase 1 Contaminated Land Study was excellent, fast and efficient! GeoSmart were willing to assist despite the extremely tight timescale to work with. We will definitely consider using your services again”
“The service was great, fast and efficient. Everyone we talked to was very helpful and the details were well received by the planners”
“Great service! Extremely fast and the report was very detailed and well received by the planners. Many thanks GeoSmart, we will definitely use your services again”
“Everyone involved from initial approach to receipt of report was knowledgeable, efficient and focused”
“I would like to say that dealing with GeoSmart was a seamless experience from beginning to end – thank you for that”
“We were impressed by the speedy, well-informed service and personal contact that we received. The report was thorough and comprehensive. We will certainly use GeoSmart’s services in the future”
I was concerned to find out that my house was at a ‘moderate risk’ of groundwater flooding. I was unable to get any further information from anyone until I contacted GeoSmart. The staff I spoke to were friendly, helpful, efficient and extremely knowledgeable. The information provided was very site…
I now purchase GeoSmart’s Groundwater Flood Risk maps regularly – always a very speedy response to the both the initial request and, more importantly, delivery of the data! Excellent customer service too. The data is clear and extremely useful for flood risk assessments.
Brilliant customer service.
Browse our catalogue of white papers, technical guidance notes, and recorded CPD sessions. Each resource is available for individual download.
