Future Drainage 2025 | Roundtable Reflections
Local authorities are managing drainage networks that were never designed for today’s climate. The first roundtable discussion highlighted how closely connected today’s challenges are: gaps in data, limited funding, fragmented ownership, and climate-driven pressures are shaping one another. Delegates described a system under strain - assets that can’t be easily located or assessed, information that isn’t always consistent, and teams trying to make long-term decisions within short-term constraints.
This summary reflects the themes raised across the tables, supported by the live polling results captured during the session.
Confidence in Current Approaches
The session began with a question: how confident are authorities that their current asset management approach is resilient enough for the growing impacts of climate change?
No delegates selected the highest rating of “extremely confident”. The majority of responses clustered in the lower to middle bands of the scale, showing a sector that recognises its current programmes and datasets were not designed for the pace or intensity of today’s climate pressures.
“We’re doing the best we can with what we have - but the network simply wasn’t built for this.”
This combination of effort and constraint shaped much of the wider discussion. Authorities are delivering as much as they can operationally, but confidence is limited by visibility, resource, and ageing infrastructure.
Confidence in Drainage Data
A similar picture emerged when delegates were asked about confidence in the accuracy and consistency of their drainage data. Nearly half of the room (47%) selected the lowest confidence categories (1 or 2 out of 5), with no one selecting the highest rating.
This reinforces a challenge mentioned at almost every table:
incomplete mapping
inconsistent formats
uncertainty over connectivity
new SuDS assets delivered with variable data quality
legacy data inherited from multiple sources
“We’re not fully confident in what’s below ground — and that affects every decision we make.”
Authorities stressed that while perfect data is unattainable, usable and defensible data is crucial. Many are making progress through targeted surveys, better validation, and consolidating historic datasets; but most feel they are still some way from a fully reliable picture.
The Biggest Limiting Factor
The multiple-choice poll on limiting factors revealed a clear leader: “lack of funds” was selected by 37% of delegates. It was followed by:
access to good quality data (25%)
staff and resource capacity (18%)
political and policy pressures
limitations of existing systems
This aligned strongly with the roundtable discussions. Authorities consistently described a desire to move toward risk-based working, better data collection and improved insight — but without the upfront funding or capacity needed to make those changes quickly.
“We know what to do — but we don’t have the resource to do it.”
Fragmented Ownership and Siloed Working
Delegates repeatedly highlighted the challenge of managing drainage across multiple organisations. Responsibilities sit between highways, flood risk, planning, developers, water companies and private landowners. The result is fragmented datasets, duplication, and delays in resolving issues.
Examples shared included:
different teams holding different versions of the truth
inherited records in inconsistent formats
SuDS with unclear ownership or missing asset data
lack of clarity around downstream connectivity
“It’s not just the assets that are buried - sometimes the information is too.”
Some authorities highlighted positive experiences where highways, flood risk and planning teams have created shared processes or joint programme discussions. These examples showed that practical improvements can be achieved even without major structural change.
Climate Impacts Outgrowing Legacy Networks
Across the discussion, delegates stressed that their networks were not designed for the frequency and intensity of today’s rainfall. Authorities described:
higher siltation rates
frequent blockages from leaf fall
systems nearing or exceeding design thresholds
uncertainty over older or undocumented drainage routes
increasing operational demand without matching budget growth
This created strong interest in more predictive tools — including rainfall radar overlays, sensors and catchment-scale insight. Delegates were clear that better visibility of performance during storm events would transform how teams plan ahead.
“If we could relate rainfall radar directly to the network, that would transform how we prioritise.”
How the Sector Moves Forward
While the challenges were clear, so were the areas where authorities feel progress is both possible and already underway.
Better use of targeted surveys | Even partial survey coverage is enabling authorities to understand hotspots, adjust cleansing frequencies and build stronger capital bids.
Closer operational alignment | Several delegates pointed to the gains from joining up street sweeping, inspections and gully cleansing — a simple change that often remains underused.
Lifecycle-led planning | Authorities are increasingly using lifecycle evidence to make the case for investment and understand how assets are affected by accelerated climate wear.
Improving the quality and consistency of data | Consolidating historic datasets, validating existing assets and strengthening handover requirements for SuDS were all highlighted as practical steps.
Clearer ownership and shared understanding | Where teams have established joint working groups or shared reporting approaches, authorities reported clearer prioritisation and fewer disputes over responsibility.
Conclusion
The roundtable revealed a clear picture: a sector committed to improving resilience but constrained by limited confidence in data, constrained resources and networks not built for today’s climate. Funding remains the biggest limiting factor, yet local authorities are identifying realistic and practical steps that move them closer to risk-based, insight-driven management.
Progress is happening; through targeted surveys, smarter operational alignment, and better use of the data that already exists. The challenge now is giving teams the capacity, clarity and confidence to act at the pace the climate demands.