Pollution Prevention for UK Highways
Our stormwater treatment devices deliver reliable, repeatable and easy to maintain pollutant removal solutions for UK highways.
Protect the water environment from the harmful pollutants in highway runoff
Surface water runoff from highways carries a high pollutant load which includes silts and grits, litter and debris, organic (PAH’s) and inorganic pollutants, other nutrients (phosphates and nitrates), salts, heavy metals and oils and hydrocarbons.
The Environment Agency summarises the problem of highway runoff:
“Highway surface runoff discharges may contain pollutants that have accumulated on the carriageway, particularly following periods of dry weather. These pollutants can then be transported via the surface drainage system to discharge to ground or receiving watercourses. Previous studies have demonstrated that highway runoff affects the quality of waters and sediments. Increased concentrations of metals, hydrocarbons and anions are associated with changes in the structure and functioning of biological structures”.Environment Agency report: The Long Term Monitoring of Pollution from Highways Runoff: 25 June 2005
We've put together a short overview of the Guidelines and Regulations for the design of roads in the UK which you may find helpful.
How we can help
We are experts in solid / liquid separation and have developed a range of stormwater treatment devices to deliver reliable, repeatable and easy to maintain pollutant removal solutions.
These devices have no moving parts, require no power and have a small footprint which enables them to be fitted into existing road drainage margins.
Our stormwater treatment systems can all be used as standalone solutions, but can also work alongside or enhance other solutions such as ponds and swales.
We are also able to deliver solutions on highways for:
For National Highways (Highways England) officers and their associated road construction and maintenance contractors, our surface water treatment devices deliver proven, measurable and repeatable surface water runoff treatment, targeting and removing pollutants that could harm the water environment.
The small footprint and modular ‘plug-and-play’ design ensure that time spent at the roadside for installation and maintenance is reduced as much as possible, greatly reducing health and safety risks and providing substantial cost savings.
The new Downstream Defender® Select is our new generation of advanced hydrodynamic vortex separator for the treatment of surface water runoff from roads, car parks and other impermeable surfaces.
Its customisable performance, extended range of chamber sizes and improved connectivity options allows engineers to tailor their drainage designs to meet specific pollutant removal and retention objectives for sediments, hydrocarbons (oils) and litter.
For quicker, safer installation, it is delivered pre-installed inside a concrete chamber so that, once positioned, it can be directly connected to pipework.
The option of including Hydro-Logic® Smart Maintenance will provide automated alerts for maintenance as and when it is required, reducing the cost and risk of unnecessary roadside inspection visits.
The Downstream Defender® Select has a small footprint and can usually be installed within existing road margins. It can also provide pre-treatment to ponds and swales, removing litter and oils from the flows and preventing build-up of silts and associated pollutants.
With the addition of Hydro-Logic® Smart Maintenance, alerts for maintenance can be sent only when required, reducing the cost and risk of unnecessary roadside inspection visits.
For sites where a higher level of treatment is required, the Up-Flo™ Filter can provide multi-stage treatment, including screening and filtration all in a small footprint.
For Council / Local Authority Highways Officers and their contractors responsible for construction and maintenance of the urban highway network Up-Flo™ Filter and Hydro Biofilter™ can deliver high performance pollutant removal in a small footprint which is ideal for new and retrofit schemes in space constrained sites.
For larger roads with higher runoff rates the Downstream Defender® Select will provide targeted pollutant removal over a wide range of flows. With Hydro-Logic® Smart Maintenance, alerts for maintenance can be sent only when required, reducing the cost and risk of unnecessary roadside inspection visits.
Our Up-Flo™ Filter is a multiple-step surface water treatment system that combines sedimentation and screening with fluidised bed filtration to deliver exceptional surface water pollution removal.
With a small footprint it can provide protection to the water environment where there is no room for swales or ponds for treatment. Find out more about the Up-Flo™ Filter.
Hydro Biofilter™, with its shrub or small tree can help add biodiversity while providing a high level of surface water treatment, including dissolved pollutants. Its small footprint, but high pollutant removal performance makes it ideal for urban streets and retrofit applications.
As Hydro-Biofilter™ is small and contained in a concrete chamber it can be used on brownfield sites where infiltration isn’t possible or for retrofit into small urban spaces.
> Request a UK 3D BIM model of the Hydro Biofilter™ for use with UK Building Information Modelling (BIM)
Our E-Guide: How to Design a Hydro Biofilter for Urban
Book a CPD presentation on Sustainable Drainage for Highways
Find out how our solutions can help you control flows and remove pollution from highway runoff. Book a training presentation for you and your colleagues.