New Water Policy and Practice Issue 4, Number 1, Fall 2017 | Page 33
New Water Policy & Practice Journal • Volume 4, Number 1 • Fall 2017
Sustainable Drainage in Challenging Environments
S.M. Charlesworth* 1 , K. Winter 2 , A. Adam-Bradford 1 ,
M. Mezue 1 , M. McTough 1 , F. Warwick 3 , M. Blackett 3 .
Abstract
The provision of Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH) is recognised
by the UN as a human right. However, drainage is not. The lack of
drainage leads to flooding and can impact on quality of life and hu-
man health. This is particularly true in the most vulnerable of popu-
lations who live in informal settlements, favelas and refugee camps.
This paper shows the potential of sustainable drainage systems or
SuDS to address issues of excess surface water and lack of greywa-
ter management in these challenging of environments. SuDS mimic
nature by encouraging infiltration, storage and slow conveyance of
water to attenuate the storm peak, reduce flooding, improve water
quality and provide opportunities for amenity and biodiversity. A
layer of complexity is added when considering disease vectors such
as mosquitoes which may be prevalent in these environments. By
encouraging water underground and reducing puddling of water be-
tween dwellings and on the street, their breeding sites are reduced,
providing a means of reducing their impacts on health due to zika,
deng ue or chikungunya. Due to the lack of governance, land ten-
ure and any form of planning, residents of informal settlements and
favelas need to be actively engaged in improving the quality of their
surroundings. Refugee camps, on the other hand, are formally set
up by the UNHCR with WASH installed, thus there is potential to
influence policy, to encourage installation of drainage at the same
time as WASH so that WASH becomes WASH’D, possibly a first step
in recognising drainage as a human right.
Keywords: Sustainable drainage, slum, favela, informal settlement,
refugee camp, greywater.
1. Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University, UK
2. Future Water Research Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa
3. Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Environment, Coventry University, UK.
*Corresponding author: Email: [email protected]
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doi: 10.18278/nwpp.4.1.3