Skill Profile
Hydrological & Drainage Design
"The observable action of calculating water flow rates, designing drainage systems, and assessing flood risk to manage water safely within the built environment."
YOUR SKILLS
Problems This Skill Solves
- A new development causes downstream flooding because the drainage system was not designed to manage the increased runoff.
- A drainage network surcharges during a medium-return-period storm event because capacity was calculated for mean annual flows only.
- A planning application is refused because no flood risk assessment was submitted with the development proposal.
- A construction site floods repeatedly because temporary drainage was not designed to manage the catchment.
Roles That Use This Skill
1 total · 1 industryThis skill is concentrated in one industry.
Engineering / Construction / Infrastructure
"Sustainable drainage (SuDS) is too expensive for standard developments"
SuDS features such as permeable paving and swales are often cost-neutral or cheaper than conventional drainage when whole-life costs are considered.
"Drainage design is mainly about pipe sizing — if the pipes are large enough for the design storm, the system performs."
Pipe capacity addresses conveyance, but drainage performance also depends on outfall conditions, upstream storage, surface ponding during exceedance events, and the behaviour of the network under partial blockage. A system sized for the design storm can still cause flooding if the outfall is tide-locked or if maintenance assumptions are not met.
Research & Outlook
Climate change is making drainage and flood resilience a central concern of infrastructure investment. This specialism is growing rapidly in importance.
See This Skill In Action
Watch a professional demonstrate Hydrological & Drainage Design in a real working environment — what it looks like, how it's applied, and why it matters.
Engineering / Environmental
Hydrological & Drainage Design
Growth Path
How to Practise
- 1.Calculate the runoff from a simple catchment using the rational method
- 2.Study SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) design principles
- 3.Review a drainage strategy for a real planning application
How to Prove
- ·Drainage design accepted in a planning submission
- ·Flood risk assessment used in a development project