GREEN & BLUE INFRASTRUCTURE
DELIVERING SUSTAINABLE SURFACE WATER MANAGEMENT IN A COMPACT SETTING
Project Overview Pelton Primary School’ s garden has been transformed from an unusable, flood-prone space into an attractive outdoor education zone, with the help of the Hydrorock system, in a project that brought together organisations and the community.
The challenge Residential, commercial and community landscapes are increasingly expected to do more than look good. They need to manage surface water, reduce ponding, support planting, improve usability and contribute to climate resilience. On this project, the challenge was to improve drainage performance and create a more usable garden while keeping the water management infrastructure hidden beneath the surface. Critically, the install had to create minimal disruption to the operation of the school.
The Solution Avove Utilities, working with Northumbrian Water, selected BluWater Solutions, part of the BioScapes ® Group, to supply Hydrorock natural aquifer blocks on the basis of the attenuation capacity and ability to be installed quickly and easily. The system was made up of 13 x D170 Hydrorock blocks. Based on the typical Hydrorock void ratio of around 95 %, the system delivers approximately 2.10m ³, or 2,100 litres, of effective attenuation capacity. Unlike traditional crate-based systems, Hydrorock is permeable throughout its structure. This allows water to infiltrate through the sides, ends and base of the installation, helping to slow runoff, reduce surface water ponding and support groundwater recharge.
The system also acts as a passive irrigation reservoir. Stored water is gradually released into the surrounding soil, supporting lawns, planting and tree root systems during drier periods.
The structure of the Hydrorock system enables the blocks to be laid within a narrow trench, demonstrating how meaningful storage capacity can be achieved without a large excavation footprint. The area was returfed using 100m2 of Medallion Turf from Rolawn Limited, also part of the BioScapes Group.
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