Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) is an approach to the planning and design of urban environments focused on integrating the urban water cycle (including potable water, wastewater and stormwater) with the built and natural urban landscape. It is linked to ecologically sustainable development, with a focus on the sustainable management of urban water resources and environmental protection, and the enhancement of socio-cultural conditions.

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WSUD approaches and technologies can be applied to residential, commercial and industrial developments and buildings. They range from the storage, treatment and re-use of runoff to water-efficient landscaping.

 

WSUD can help communities achieve greater water sustainability and make places more pleasant to live and work.

 

Some examples of WSUD features are streetside raingardens (biofilters), kerb inlets and pits for street trees, permeable pavement or bitumen, swales, detention basins, green roofs and walls, and constructed wetlands.

As a stark example, the images below illustrate how polluted stormwater runoff is typically managed in urban areas, and discharged into downstream waterways and ecosystems, and then (on the right) how stormwater can be re-integrated into the landscape at the street scale bringing multiple benefits.