Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS): guidance for developers
The local context
Buckinghamshire is divided into two separate river basins, with the watershed running approximately west to east across Aylesbury Vale as shown on Figure 1.
The northern part of the Vale falls within the River Great Ouse catchment, whilst the remainder of the county is in the River Thame catchment. Due to this, the county is served by two water & sewerage companies, Anglian Water in the northern part of Aylesbury Vale and Thames Water serving the rest of the county.
In addition, some Ordinary Watercourses within the northern part of the Aylesbury Vale fall within the Buckingham and River Ouzel Internal Drainage Board (IDB). The Local Planning Authority may consult the IDB on planning applications that fall within their area. Find out more about Internal Drainage Boards.
Figure 1: River catchments in Buckinghamshire
Types of watercourses
Throughout the county there are different types of watercourse; Main Rivers, Ordinary Watercourses and IDB Watercourses, each type of watercourse is the responsibility of a different Risk Management Authority (RMA).