The Strategic Drainage Management Plan (SDMP) Pilots, delivered by Stantec on behalf of Yorkshire Water, has won a prestigious civil engineering award.
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has announced that the SDMP Pilot scheme has taken home Sir John Fowler Award, for projects which had undertaken research or a feasibility study in the region, at its 2019 Yorkshire and Humber Awards.
The SDMP Pilots have provided the foundation for Yorkshire Water to enhance drainage planning and engagement across Yorkshire Water’s region in the next investment period 2020-2025 and beyond.
The pilot identified the needs of multiple stakeholders and developed catchment solutions, to create multiple benefits. Whist developing an underpinning framework/guidance for the drainage management plans, it created routines to provide insight across the whole of the region.
The project was specially selected for the award by the judging panel
The awards are held annually to showcase the outstanding work done during the past year by civil engineers in the Yorkshire and Humber Region. They are divided into three categories; projects with a cost in excess of £5m will compete for the Centenary Award, those under £5m can apply for the Smeaton Award, and those concerned with studies and research can compete for the Sir John Fowler Award.
In 2018 the Sir John Fowler Award was won by the River Hull Navigation Authority Project, delivered by Pell Frischmann for East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
This year’s winners were revealed at the ICE’s annual black-tie gala dinner at Sheffield City Hall on March 15.
Comments from the judging panel included: “This study is an excellent example of the very practical benefits of the use of “big data” to model the impacts of criteria such as changes in population, development and climate on drainage capacity.
“The resulting analytical routines geographically demonstrate the answers to those “what if” questions which will enable future work programmes to be planned and managed systematically at a regional level rather than on a project by project basis.
“The study included pilots, with Sheffield Council providing data and engaging in the process with a particular interest in mapping where SUDS solutions could contribute to future capacity issues.
“The results are already generating interest from the regulator and other water companies and have the potential to be a game changer in the way our water drainage assets are developed and managed.”
