CIRIA has developed a free tool and guidance, B£ST (Benefits of SuDS Tool) for use on PCs. It makes assessing the benefits of SuDS easier, without the need for full scale economic inputs.

B£ST provides a structured approach to evaluating a wide range of benefits, often based upon the overall drainage system performance. It follows a simple structure, that begins with a screening and qualitative assessment to identify the benefits to evaluate further. Then it provides support to help quantify and monetise each benefit. On completion of the evaluation, the tool provides a series of graphs and charts to present the benefits based on Ecosystem Services (ESS) and Triple Bottom Line (TBL) criteria.

Tool

B£ST Evaluation Tool (Release 3.02, Feb 2018)
Options Comparison Tool (Release 2.02, July 2015)

Guidance 

B£ST - User Manual (Release 3,01, March 2017)
B£ST - Technical guidance (Release 3.01, December 2016)

B£ST - Presentation (PPT) (Release 1, October 2015)
B£ST - Flyer

Please be aware that by downloading some of these documents, your details will be added to our database and mailing list. 

Videos 

B£ST Webinars (providing an overview of B£ST and a run through of an example)

 

Case studies

Managing flood risk in Killingworth and Longbenton (pdf)
Reducing Combined Sewer Overflow Spills in Roundhay (pdf)
Glasgow City Centre Surface Water Management Plan (pdf)

Other B£ST resources

Demonstrating the multiple benefits of SuDS - A business case - Literature review (2013)

Demonstrating the multiple benefits of SuDS - A business case - review of sources (2015)

B£ST focuses on the benefits of SuDS, there have been projects and initiatives to capture the costs of SuDS. However, cost information is going to be very context specific depending on the site, the design approach, components and maintenance arrangements. Further information on costs can be found here.

Feedback

We would be very keen to understand how you found using B£ST so we can make any necessary changes. If you have any feedback it would be helpful if you could complete this 10 minute survey here.