Who’s Who – SDS

October 6, 2023

SDS designs, engineers, manufactures and installs water management systems for sustainable infrastructures

The company is a pioneer in creating sustainable drainage systems and has an extensive product portfolio comprising integrated solutions for flood prevention, drought mitigation and pollution control. It is also a leading developer of innovative new systems that benefit from smart, Internet-of-Things- enabled, technology to deliver autonomous operation and control.

Every SDS solution is created to protect the water environment effectively and efficiently and to help customers, largely in the UK, to control, treat, store and, wherever possible, reuse surface water. SDS systems are used in both Private and Public Sectors, from residential, commercial, retail, leisure and industrial developments to schools, universities, hospitals, highways and transportation, and by all of the UK’s Water Companies.

Established in 2002, SDS is a privately-owned company with headquarters in Biddisham, Somerset, and engineering and manufacturing facilities in nearby Highbridge and in Newport, South Wales. The company is the first in the industry to create a closed loop manufacturing facility for post-consumer PVC waste to be fabricated into finished goods. In 2017, SDS was named Small to Medium Sized Business of the year in both The Lloyds Bank National Business Awards and the UK Business Awards (+10 years category).

In 2022, SDS acquired Albion Water, the first “NAV” company set up, in 1999, to compete against the regulated Water Companies and bring growth and innovation to the water market. Albion Water has established a positive reputation for its approach towards protecting the environment through innovative water services solutions and serves around 3,000 customers. With the acquisition of Albion Water, allied to its market leading water infrastructure technologies, SDS is in a unique position to deliver a truly integrated approach to the management of water through innovation, customer service and delivering on developers’ and the public’s needs.

Of particular significance to housebuilders and developers, new legislation, scheduled for introduction in England next year, will mandate the installation of sustainable drainage systems (“SuDS”) for all new developments (with a few exceptions). In its “Review for the Implementation of Schedule 3 to The Flood and Water Management Act 2010”, published earlier this year, Defra prioritises the resource value of water and states that water should be managed in an integrated way to mitigate the dual climate risks of drought and flooding.

SuDS are now viewed, therefore, as a solution to address water scarcity, rather than their more typical and literal definition as a means to attenuate surface water and therefore reduce the risk of flooding. In the non-statutory technical standards (NSTS), which will form the basis for implementation under the requirements of Schedule 3, Defra cites “rainwater harvesting” as the first priority in the hierarchical process of determining “final” runoff destinations. This is in preference to infiltration into the ground, or discharge to a surface water or alternative drainage system.

SDS’s innovative rainwater recycling system, Intellistorm®, is now being introduced to residential communities across the country. Intellistorm® is a smart system that is designed to control rainwater runoff in urban areas, preventing flooding and reducing the strain of major rainfall events on drainage schemes whilst at the same time protecting our declining natural water resources.

Clearwater House Castle Mills Industrial Estate, Axbridge BS26 2RE

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info@sdslimited.com

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