Over 130 people attended the Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems seminar in Bruges in April 2019, which brought together participants from Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the UK with a focus upon providing practical testimonies from organisations that have retrofitted SUDS into the urban environment.
Cost benefit analysis was a key theme for the presentations which focused upon nature based solutions to the climate proofing of public spaces. This included an inspiring example of how Cardiff City Council has worked with local communities to overcome the barriers to implementing changes to urban drainage which has had a significant impact upon parking in the public realm. The Flemish Environment Agency described their work on the Kerkebeek river and an expert panel discussed the costs, benefits and barriers of a recent award-winning water-robust design for a playground in Bruges. There was also a description of an approach to significantly decrease the cost of SUDS in the setting of an industrial harbour.
The seminar, which was the fourth in a series of events organised by partners in the Water Resilient Cities initiative, encompassed an exhibition fair for SME and provided an excellent opportunity for networking between professionals.