Looking for a SuDS report?
Our consultants deliver SuDS reviews that reduce risk, save costs, and support planning approval
SuDS Reports you can trust – backed by RoSPA expertise
Our SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) Safety Reports help developers, local authorities, and contractors design safer and more responsible water environments. Using RoSPA’s unique risk rating tool, our experienced consultants provide expert reviews to ensure your SuDS are compliant, cost-effective, and aligned with industry best practice. Partner with the UK’s water safety leaders to reduce risk, protect communities, and meet planning requirements.
What are SuDS?
Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) are water management solutions designed to mimic natural drainage. Instead of relying only on conventional pipes and sewers, SuDS use features such as ponds, swales, wetlands, permeable surfaces, and basins to slow down and manage rainwater where it falls.
The aim of SuDS is to:
- Reduce flood risk by controlling surface water runoff
- Improve water quality by filtering pollutants before they reach rivers and lakes
- Create greener, healthier places by supporting biodiversity and natural habitats
- Provide safe, attractive spaces for communities.
SuDS are now widely used in housing developments, commercial sites, and public spaces. They are encouraged by planning policy across the UK as part of a sustainable approach to development and climate resilience.
While SuDS bring many benefits, they also introduce new safety considerations—especially where water is visible and accessible to the public. This is why carrying out a SuDS safety report is vital. It ensures these systems are safe for the people who live, work, and play around them.
What is a SuDS Report?
A SuDS Report is a specialist safety review that evaluates how safe and responsible your Sustainable Drainage Systems are. SuDS—such as ponds, swales, wetlands, basins, and other water bodies—are increasingly common in modern developments as they reduce flooding and improve biodiversity. However, where people and water mix, safety must always be considered.
Our SuDS Safety Reports are carried out by expert water and leisure safety consultants. We break the water features of the site into logical segments and evaluate each one using the RoSPA risk rating tool. Unlike a standard risk assessment template, our methodology is designed specifically to establish and monitor drowning risk in the UK.
The outcome of your report includes clear, evidence-based recommendations that:
- Highlight unacceptable levels of risk
- Provide practical, proportionate safety measures
- Benchmark your SuDS design other sites we have reviewed.
This process helps ensure you’re not overspending on unnecessary measures, or worse—leaving your site vulnerable to safety risks.
Why SuDS matter to developers and councils?
Wherever people and water meet, there is risk. Sometimes that risk is minimal, but every year in the UK around 400 people die from accidental drowning—twice as many as workplace fatalities. SuDS are often located in public or residential areas, meaning designers, contractors, and local authorities have a clear duty of care to ensure these systems are safe.
A SuDS Report helps you:
- Reduce drowning and injury risks by identifying hazards early.
- Support planning applications with evidence that safety has been considered.
- Comply with legal and regulatory responsibilities relating to public safety.
- Benchmark against other SuDS sites
- Manage costs effectively by avoiding both over-protection and under-protection.
By commissioning a SuDS Report, you are demonstrating to stakeholders, residents, and regulators that safety has been prioritised from the earliest planning stages through to handover and adoption. Once recommendations are implemented, the risk of drowning or injury is significantly reduced—giving confidence that your SuDS meet both safety and sustainability goals.
Benefits of RoSPA SuDS Reports
When you choose RoSPA for your SuDS Report, you benefit from:
• Unique and specialised risk rating tool designed to reduce drowning risks
• Benchmarking against other sites we have reviewed using the risk rating tool
• A SuDS report that can support planning permission
• Experienced consultants with expertise in water and leisure safety
• Cost-effective solutions—avoid both overspending on unnecessary measures and under-protecting sites
• Fast delivery and fixed price for predictable, reliable service.
Your RoSPA SuDS Report gives you clarity, confidence, and a trusted expert review you can share with planners, stakeholders, and communities.
Our SuDS Review process – What we need from you
For us to carry out a SuDS Report, you’ll need to submit detailed site information. Our consultants will then carry out a structured risk review using the RoSPA risk rating tool.
We will ask for:
- Whole site layout plan
- Detailed plans of watercourses and water bodies, including:
> Slope angles > Cross sections > Planting details
> Lighting plans > Fencing details > Headwall plans/sections
> Normal and exceedance water levels
This structured review ensures nothing is overlooked. It also provides consistency across sites—making it easy to compare designs and ensure your SuDS are responsibly designed.
RoSPA's leadership in water safety
RoSPA has been a leader in water safety for decades, working with government, emergency services, and communities to reduce risks across the UK. Our pioneering work continues to shape how water safety is understood and managed nationwide. Through collaborative initiatives, we ensure consistent, evidence-based guidance for safe design and operation of water environments—including SuDS.
Our strategic partners
We work with governments, emergency services, and water safety organisations to set the highest standards.
Water Safety Scotland | Water Safety Wales | Water Safety England | Water Safety Northern Ireland | Scottish Government | Welsh Government | UK Government | RNLI | MCA | Canal and River Trust | NFCC
Through the National Water Safety Forum (NWSF), we provide a collective voice for water safety across the UK, ensuring that drowning prevention remains a national priority.
Key RoSPA milestones in UK water safety:
1962 – Formation of the National Water Safety Committee
1993 – Publication of Safety on British Beaches (1st edition)
1999 – Publication of Safety at Inland Water Sites (1st edition)
2001 – RoSPA’s first National Water Safety Conference is held
2004 – The National Committee is established as the National Water Safety Forum (NWSF)
2009 – The Water Incident Database (WAID) is launched
2016 – Publication of the UK’s first Drowning Prevention Strategy, with Scotland releasing its own in 2018 and Wales in 2020
2022 – Scotland becomes the first UK country to release Government supported age and stage appropriate education resources for schools, with Wales following in 2024
2023 – The pioneering Drowning and Incident Review (DIR) in Scotland
goes live
Quick links
We assess all relevant site plans and water bodies, reviewing slope angles, planting, lighting, fencing, and other design features. The outcome is a tailored risk report with clear recommendations.
Developers, contractors, local authorities, and housing providers who design, build, or manage sites with SuDS should commission a report to ensure compliance and public safety.
Most reviews are completed within a few weeks, depending on the complexity of the site and the detail of the information provided.
Yes. Our reports provide evidence that water safety has been considered, which is often a key factor in gaining approval.
Our reports are backed by decades of leadership in water safety and use the only risk rating tool designed specifically to assess drowning risk.
Sustainable Drainage Systems Site Review: Health and safety consultancy: Full day
Our consultants deliver SuDS reviews that reduce risk, save costs, and support planning approval