About
Overview
The Rainwater Management Platform (RMP), funded by an Ofwat Innovation Fund Breakthrough Challenge 5, will deliver a user-focused digital platform that transforms the UK’s approach to rainwater management. In doing so, it will update and enhance one of the cornerstones of the industry: The SuDS Manual (C753).
The project is led by a Core Team comprised of Wessex Water, the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA), HR Wallingford and Stantec, whose experience includes curating previous versions of the SuDS Manual and driving rainwater and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) initiatives across both new developments and retrofits. Drawing on this expertise, the Core Team has brought together a group of industry specialists to develop the RMP’s content. This Author Team includes: AECOM, Arup, EPG, Esh, Groundwork, Illman Young, McCloy Consulting, Mott MacDonald, Robert Bray Associates and Stormwater Shepherds.
In addition, the RMP is financially supported by the UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) representing all Water and Sewerage Companies in the UK and Ireland, as well as the Environment Agency.
The Rainwater Management Platform will refresh good-practice guidance, provide a digitally transformed delivery platform, and offer a suite of user-focused tools to support high-quality SuDS implementation at scale and speed.
Over the next two years, this project will deliver a digital platform tailored for a wide range of users, from homeowners wanting to install rainwater harvesting devices on their properties, to drainage engineers designing major new build and retrofit schemes. This will be achieved by leveraging smart tools (Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models, etc.) that can interpret a Body of Knowledge and serve it to the user needs with the appropriate level of details. This free-to-access online resource will provide updated good-practice guidance for planning, design, construction and maintenance, alongside innovative tools for visualisation, design and specification.
The platform will support major water industry investment and research programmes, accelerate SuDS delivery, reduce costs, improve quality and strengthen sector capacity. Its key outcomes include reducing discharges to sewers, preventing pollution, promoting rainfall as a valuable resource, enhancing climate resilience and wider environmental benefits.
Drivers
The growing challenges of alternating surface water flooding and droughts require robust guidance to support Water and Sewerage Companies to improve performance through AMP8 and beyond. These challenges necessitate a revised approaches to better rainwater management at source. The Rainwater Management Platform will include how to meet new standards, with frameworks for both design and approval processes. It will include learnings from Scotland where SuDS have been long established and from Wales following the implementation of Schedule 3 in 2019. The resulting good practice guidance will remain applicable UK-wide.
Key RMP features:
The key features setting the Rainwater Management Platform apart from existing guidance include:
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Leveraging the online format to allow greater accessibility and ease of navigation between different sections
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allow searchability and multiple media types
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deliver content according to a range of user types
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enable seamless and agile future updates in light of innovation, legislation and learning
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Include national standards, both statutory and non-statutory from UK’s nations, reference throughout the platform, allowing the guidance to by specific to the users geographic area
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An emphasis on retrofitting rainwater management features including
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technical learning from projects across the UK - notably Ofwat Innovation Fund and Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme
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partnership funding
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collaborative approaches for the range of stakeholders involved
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recommended delivery processes for maximum value for money and community outcomes
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Good practice for smaller sites to support the proportionate approach identified as necessary through research and experience
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Simplified and proportionate approach to hydraulic calculations
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More details on the delivery of rainwater benefits, including biodiversity, water quality, climate change resilience, urban cooling, net zero and other relevant UK-wide government priorities
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Suite of complementary tools designed to enable scale, pace and quality of delivery required, to be defined through the user engagement process
Delivery
Delivery will take place over an ambitious 2-year timeframe commencing in Summer 2025. Delivery will be Agile and iterative: quick fire releases and testing as we go, to capture user feedback and adjust as necessary. If need is identified, the Core Team will reach out to further potential contributors through the delivery phase.
The work will be steered by an independently chaired Executive Board, a UK-wide group including policy makers, regulators, water companies, trade associations and professional institutions.
The outputs will be subject to continuous and independent peer review via the expertise of members of CIRIA’s SUSDRAIN Community of Practice, whilst also reaching out to underrepresented sectors to ensure products are fit for purpose.
Timeline
Initiate
Summer 25
Write
Autumn 25
Test
Summer 26
Edit
Summer 25
Launch
Summer 25
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