S4E02: Could nature help solve the UK’s sewer overflow challenge?

S4E02: Could nature help solve the UK’s sewer overflow challenge?

From Talking Infrastructure by AECOM

February 27, 2025 · 37 min · Season 4 · Episode 2

About this episode

This episode discusses how blue-green infrastructure can address the UK's sewer overflow challenges exacerbated by climate change.

We’ve all seen the headlines—over the past decade, the UK has seen record-breaking rainfall, with climate change driving more intense weather. But our drainage infrastructure, much of it built over a century ago, was not designed to cope with these extremes. Combined sewer overflows (CSOs)—originally developed to prevent flooding by discharging excess water when sewers reach capacity—are now being triggered more often, increasing the risk of surface water flooding. As populations grow and cities expand, drainage networks are now being pushed to their limits. While larger pipes and storage tanks might help in the short term, they too have limited capacity and are both costly and carbon intensive to build. Clearly, grey infrastructure alone won’t fix the problem. The UK needs a smarter, more sustainable approach to managing water—one that eases pressure on sewers before storms hit. In this episode, we focus on blue-green infrastructure, which combines natural features like wetlands and rain gardens with conventional drainage systems to manage water more effectively, reduce flood risk and create greener, healthier places to live. Host Toby Sadler speaks to those at the forefront of…

People in this episode

Host: Toby Sadler

Topics covered

  • sewer overflow
  • blue-green infrastructure
  • climate change
  • sustainable drainage
  • urban planning
  • flood risk management

Keywords

  • sewer overflow
  • climate change
  • blue-green infrastructure
  • sustainable drainage
  • flood risk
  • urban drainage
  • natural features

Mentioned in this episode

Places: UK, Mansfield, Derbyshire, Glasgow, Castle Archdale, Northern Ireland

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