ACO Water Management have provided their MonoDrain, KerbDrain and Brickslot for a new University campus near Northampton town centre.

The aim was to design a surface water management system including SuDS solutions to manage the high quantity of water around the site including the risk of flooding from the nearby River Nene.

Jon Williamson, Specification Manager (East), at ACO Water Management, worked closely with the team at PBA to ensure all elements of the drainage system would match the nature of the campus.

For paved and pedestrianised areas in open view, PBA specified ACO’s Brickslot channel drainage system.

Designed as standard with a heelguard 10mm off set drainage inlet, ACO Brickslot is a subtle grating which when combined with ACO MultiDrain MD channels, can be used as a solution to complement discreet drainage applications.

The vertical sides of the grating enable pavements to be laid directly to the unit’s edge.

A number of the Brickslot channels also drained directly into swale outlets, located throughout the site to help facilitate the release of surface water back into the local environment in a controlled way.

The swales throughout the site increased overall water management capabilities and improved the aesthetics and biodiversity of the campus by boosting the volume of green spaces.

The university needed a unit that would match the finish of the solid granite paving that would be used throughout the campus.

ACO’s KerbDrain met both the structural design and hydraulic capacity criteria, ACO tailored the finish to the PBA’s specification with a texture to match the surrounding granite.

For quieter roads and other areas such as car parks, PBA turned to ACO’s MonoDrain channel. MonoDrain is a monolithic general-purpose channel drainage system made from high performance, recyclable Vienite® polymer concrete.

Unlike other monocast solutions, the strength of ACO’s MonoDrain channels mean they require less concrete haunching when being installed, offering £5m saving on installation costs.

A series of textured RoadDrain channels also made from Vienite® polymer concrete and built to Load Class F900 were also installed at the main entrance to the campus.

PBA decided to install such high load bearing capacity channels in this location as it was the primary point of access for campus-wide deliveries and HGVs, as well as being a major bus route for students travelling to and from the campus.