ACO TECHNOLOGIES PLC - WATER MANAGEMENT
ACO BUSINESS PARK
HITCHIN ROAD
SHEFFORD
BEDFORDSHIRE SG17 5TE
Tel: 01462 816666
Fax: 01462 815895
Suppliers of: Surface water drainage, drainage channels, slot drainage channels, channel drainage systems, storm water management systems, SUDS drainage systems, Threshold drainage channels, Linear drainage channels, Road drainage systems, Kerb drainage systems
ACO Water Management
Throughout the world ACO is recognised as a world leader in the design, development and implementation of sustainable surface water management systems.
Through client-based research and constant innovation, ACO Water Management has evolved from its origins in line drainage to an award-winning supplier of an unrivalled range of products and support services that provide the complete and effective management of surface water: from system design through collection, cleaning, storing and on-site source control allowing the safe release of run-off back to natural watercourses.
Covering applications as diverse as retail and commercial developments to major national transport and infrastructure projects, the ACO Water Management range assures industry leading sustainable drainage performance and environmental protection.
The range includes high performance surface water drainage systems, award-winning attenuation and infiltration solutions, as well as hydrocarbon separators and vortex flow control systems. For more information visit www.aco.co.uk
Useful Resources:
- NBS Specifications: Click here
- CPD Seminars: Click here
- Social Media: View ACO Water Management on Twitter / LinkedIn
- Video: Access ACO Product Videos on YouTube
- Hydraulic Design Software: ACO Hydraulic Design software for the design of surface water management schemes.
- Surface & Grating Visualizer: Click here
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ACO Water Management Main Product ranges:
The Civils + Infrastructure range has pioneered the management of surface water and today provides architects, specifiers and engineers with a complete package of integrated systems suitable for use across the entire spectrum of civil engineering projects.
The Building + Landscape range is tailored to the demands of residential developments. Easy to use and install, products have finish options that both complement and enhance the aesthetic qualities of any domestic property.
Tailored to the demands of domestic applications, the market leading range provides customers with the most complete and stylish surface water management offering for driveways, patios, level doorway thresholds, landscaped areas, roofs and wetrooms.
The Building + Landscape range is certified and tested to the highest performance standards for the domestic environment.
ACO Sport provides specific drainage solutions and stadia products for sporting facilities, stadiums and arenas. These systems are designed to maximise the functionality of the athletic facility without disrupting the performance of athletes and players.
ACO Wildlife includes toad tunnels and amphibian fencing systems, focuses on the protection of vulnerable species whose habitats are increasingly under threat.
ACO Building Drainage specialises in the development of drainage products and corrosion resistant drainage systems for application across the internal and external built environments. See the ACO Building Drainage page for more information.
The Surface Water Management Cycle
To help architects, designers and contractors meet the legal requirements that now tightly control the way surface water is managed, ACO has created its unique ‘Surface Water Management Cycle’ – Collect, Clean, Hold, Release - the four core processes now required for the complete and sustainable management of surface water drainage.
SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage)
ACO is proud to be at the forefront of SUDS innovation. Our unrivalled experience and industry leading approach to sustainable surface water management makes us the ideal partner to help realise SUDS objectives. With world-class, integrated solutions, such as our new StormBrixx attenuation system, already aligned to the new legislation and policy agenda, we create lasting, measurable change.
The unique ACO Hydraulic Design software built to enable the efficient and accurate hydraulic design of surface water management schemes using channels as the means of conveyance.
Further technical information is available to download from the ACO Website or via the BPi Download Library
Aco Technologies - Choosing a channel - Overview of drainage selection
Choosing a channel - overview of drainage selection for Civils + Infrastructure
Drainage and water management systems form a vital part of all construction projects. With so many options available, selecting the best drainage system can feel like an overwhelming task. With this in mind, Adam McKinnon, Business Development Manager, ACO Scotland, explores different types of drainage systems, how they can be selected appropriately, and the importance of training on specifying the correct products.
Getting to grips with different types of drainage, and ensuring that a system isn’t incorrectly specified, can make a huge difference towards ensuring an efficient water management system is implemented in construction projects.
The different types of drainage
Drainage comes in a variety of different shapes and sizes, and there are a number of logistical challenges to consider when selecting a drainage system for a project. The complex four-way slopes needed for point drainage, for example, can be difficult to construct and require increased excavation and pipework that could be avoided with an alternative system, such as channel drainage.
Considering load class
All drainage system manufacturers have to ensure products are suitable to meet a specific load classification, so it is important to consider this when selecting drainage for urban environments. However, while the load class system itself is a fairly simple specification tool to follow, it is one that surprisingly few people are fully up to speed with.
To comply with BS EN 1433:2002 standards, all drainage channels are organised into load classes, which are effectively different categories detailing the load-bearing capacity of that product. Ranging from A 15, for pedestrian footpaths and patios, through to F 900, for airports and industrial yards, the standards are a quick way of ensuring that the right channel and grating is selected.
Grated vs Monocast
In addition to load classification, choosing a grated or monocast system is another consideration. Grated channels offer more choice in the aesthetics but monocast systems offer better security and integral strength against turning forces. Taking into account local environmental considerations can also affect the decision, so coastal sea air, for example, may require a coated product that protects against oxidisation. The monocast channels from ACO are made from Vienite®, ACO’s high strength recycled polymer concrete, so do not have this issue.
Sizing the channels
Choosing the correct channel size – not under or over specifying to avoid flooding or overspending – requires knowledge of rain fall levels in the particular location, as well as various considerations over surface area and types. It is easier to rely on the expertise of drainage manufacturers, and some offer self-service tools such as ACO QuAD to ease this process.
Applications and suggestions
Medium duty applications, such as stations, schools, car parks and commercial areas, require drainage that effectively removes water but is also safe for both pedestrians and vehicles in an urban environment. ACO MonoDrain® is a one-piece channel drainage system utilised recently in the car park of Corby’s Market Walk Shopping Centre regeneration. The black polymer concrete product provided durable drainage in both installation and usage, and Load Class D 400 compliant to BS EN1433:2002. Additionally, its strength is such that it requires less concrete haunching than equivalent channels and so saves on installation costs.
For applications that require heavy-duty durability, such as highways, distribution yards and airfields, a more robust channel is required to meet the load class requirements. ACO’s RoadDrain is manufactured to Load Class F 900 and was specified to a recent project at Dublin Port as it was not only strong enough to handle the daily extreme point-loading demands, but also offers a high intake area thanks to 15mm slots to deliver maximum hydraulic performance.
Ensuring successful specification
The key to a successful water management system specification is confidence that the right drainage size and system has been put in place. Training is often the best way of keeping up to speed with product developments. ACO, for example, offers training sessions on products as well as subjects such as SuDS, and where they are best applied within different projects.
Many construction industry professionals may be limited on time and, therefore, it may not be practical to commit to the traditional way of lunch-hour or one-day training sessions with a manufacturer. Instead of missing out on useful training, manufacturers – including ACO – are shifting towards online training sessions with learning providers, such as Colab, who offer industry-relevant CPDs and on-demand videos from events, all of which can be watched on a tablet or laptop from a site office or on the go.
Thinking about drainage options from the beginning of a project is the best way to ensure that effective surface water management is implemented in urban environments. Neglecting aspects such as drain type and load class can create issues further down the line if not taken into account from the initial stages of specification. However, it is easy to avoid any problems when proper consideration is taken into account.
Aco Technologies - Drainage Maintenance Should be a top priority in 2020
Drainage maintenance should be a top priority in 2020
Unpredictable weather patterns have continued to hit the headlines this year. As weather volatility increases, the risk of flooding across the UK is likely to rise. In the first few months of this year, the UK has already been hit by major storms Ciara and Dennis. These changes are putting many buildings, as well as wider infrastructure, at risk. If changing weather patterns are to become the norm, what more can be done to mitigate the risk?
Rob Butcher, Design Services Manager at ACO Water Management, explains what work should be done in order to avoid a worsening of the UK flooding crisis.
The rising problem of flooding
Weather, and particularly flooding, is again dominating the news agenda. As well as experiencing record temperatures in 2018 and 2019, the country has also seen torrential downpours, Storms Ciara and Dennis and the issuing of hundreds of related flood alerts across the UK. What’s striking is that in the last few years this pattern has become more and more regular.
Some forecasters are predicting that weather volatility could become a long-term occurrence. With this in mind, it is becoming clear that all parties involved in water management system design, from contract engineers and specifiers to local authorities and facilities managers, need to factor in increased contingency for climate change.
The reality facing the UK is that more stringent maintenance processes will be required if the UK is to avoid the issues rising in the future. To achieve this, it is very likely that greater funding will be required. Let’s take a closer look at the impact maintenance has on drainage performance.
The importance of drainage maintenance
One area that is likely to exacerbate the effects of flooding is the maintenance of drainage solutions; or more accurately, the lack of it. The responsibilities tend to lie with either local councils or facilities managers, and in many cases, the responsibility for undertaking the physical task is outsourced to a third-party private contractor.
It is essential that regular inspection routines are carried out on drainage systems. While it may seem obvious, it is quite surprising to see how often drainage maintenance is neglected in the UK. By carrying out inspections at frequent and regular intervals, depending on the location and environment, flood risks can be identified and problems can be rectified early.
Inspections mainly lead to the removal of debris which accumulates over a period of time. By ensuring maintenance is not neglected, it not only helps to keep the original hydraulic capacity of the system, but it also ensures safety for pedestrians and vehicular traffic. Through the prevention of flooding.
While inspections should be a regular occurrence regardless of weather, something which is often overlooked is the need for additional cleaning of channels following heavy storms, as the risk of excess silt building up increases. This is especially problematic if the rainfall has followed periods of dry weather.
Building maintenance into the design
It goes without saying that some of the flooding issues in the UK are unavoidable and inevitable. In August 2019, for example, Whaley Bridge was evacuated due the high risk of its dam collapsing. However, if the UK experiences extreme weather episodes, such as two weeks’ worth of rain in a 24-hour period, regular maintenance of drainage channels could mitigate long term damage caused by extensive flooding.
Identifying the potential problems early is key and building engineers and project managers have an important role to play in ensuring they are collaborating with all stakeholders. This includes engagement with water management specialists at the earliest opportunity. By working with drainage experts, it ensures that appropriate levels of access points will be factored in at the design stage.
Failing to incorporate sufficient access points, and not undertaking maintenance, will inevitably lead to flooding problems. Many water management systems have been in place for a number of years and these have not necessarily been designed with a contingency plan to deal with the more frequent weather changes the UK has experienced in recent years. Surface water drainage systems are often designed to cope with a 1:30-year storm, which is problematic as the combination of a low hydraulic capacity design and poor maintenance is likely to heighten the flood risk.
Smart drainage design
While we can’t control the weather patterns that the country is experiencing, engineers do have an important role to play in ensuring that flood risks are mitigated. Those working on the design of buildings and infrastructure which require drainage systems and roads should look towards utilising design platforms which identify accurate rainfall data of the geographical area they are working on, and manage drainage appropriately.
ACO Water Management has developed an online hydraulic design software which allows designers and engineers to plan ahead with all the knowledge they require for a building project. Taking advantage of ACO’s free QuAD tool can help engineers understand the environmental challenges they may face ahead of the build phase of a project. This is achieved through the software’s ability to integrate with Google Maps, meaning users can input their site’s exact location and automatically receive the rainfall intensity for the area. Users can also test their proposed maintenance schedule using the in-built resilience feature.
The importance of both adequately and regularly maintaining drainage channels cannot be stressed enough, especially if further heatwaves and subsequent downpours become the norm in the UK.
When working on a project and considering how to mitigate a potential flood risk, it is advised that you get in touch with a water management specialist. For further support, utilising tools like QuAD can assist in the design for your specific project, factoring in the changing climate and up-to-date calculations.
For more information on ACO Water Management, and its QuAD cloud software, please visit stand E150 at Futurebuild 2020 or visit https://www.aco.co.uk/quad-hydraulic-design-2.0.
For more information on channel drainage maintenance go to https://www.aco.co.uk/channel-drainage-maintenance
