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SUSTAINABLE URBAN DRAINAGE SYSTEM (SuDS) PROJECTS

The Water Research Commission (WRC) has published the South African Guidelines for Sustainable Drainage Systems and a related WSUD framework documents:

  • These provide best-practice guidance on SuDS design and implementation for stormwater management in South African cities.

  • They define SuDS as part of WSUD and outline principles (e.g. mimicking natural hydrology, treating water quality, reducing runoff peaks) and typical SuDS features (permeable surfaces, swales, bioretention, etc.).

These guidelines are not legislation, but they inform municipal by-laws, planning requirements and professional practice

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City of Cape Town: SuDS, Policy & Regulation

In Cape Town, SuDS are embedded chiefly through municipal stormwater policies and by-laws that require developments to manage stormwater sustainably.

 

Management of Urban Stormwater Impacts Policy (2009)

The City’s Management of Urban Stormwater Impacts Policy sets the policy foundation for SuDS in Cape Town:

  • It aims to minimise the negative impacts of stormwater runoff from development by introducing SuDS principles.

  • SuDS are defined as part of Water Sensitive Urban Design and described as combinations of structural (e.g., swales, detention basins, bioretention) and non-structural controls that mimic natural hydrology and reduce both runoff quantity and pollutant loads.

  • The policy requires new developments above certain thresholds to apply SuDS principles so that:

    • stormwater leaving a site does not have higher runoff rates or volumes than before development,

    • infiltration and water quality improvement measures are included.

 

Implementation via Development Controls & Urban Design Standards

Cape Town’s other policy and planning documents reiterate the SuDS requirement:

  • New developments must manage stormwater run-off on-site using SuDS/WSUD principles.

  • This typically feeds into development approval conditions where engineering and planning reviews check SuDS integration as part of civil/infrastructure submissions.

 

While the by-law does not explicitly spell out SuDS design requirements, it provides the legal framework for enforcement of sustainable approaches underpinning policy (e.g., infiltration, pollution prevention).

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We were appointed as part of consultant teams to provide planning, design, technical, construction and management services for the landscape component on various development projects across Cape Town.

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