Local authorities across the UK are reporting limited confidence in their current drainage asset management approaches, according to new insight gathered at the Future Drainage 2025 event hosted by KaarbonTech.
During a dedicated roundtable on ‘Asset Management Challenges in a Changing Climate’, delegates described how gaps in data, funding pressures, fragmented ownership and intensifying climate impacts are shaping one another; creating a system under increasing strain.
Live polling during the session revealed three key findings:
- 0 delegates rated themselves “extremely confident” in their current drainage management approach
- 47% reported low confidence in the accuracy and consistency of their drainage data
- 37% selected “lack of funds” as the biggest limiting factor in managing drainage assets effectively
Participants highlighted the continuing challenge of below-ground visibility, inconsistencies between teams, and drainage networks designed for historical weather patterns rather than the frequency and intensity of today’s storms.
One attendee noted:
“We’re doing the best we can with what we have, but the network simply wasn’t built for this.”
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Delegates also discussed the operational pressures created by fragmented responsibilities across highways, flood risk, planning, developers and water companies; often resulting in duplicated surveys, mismatched records and delays in resolving issues.
Climate impacts were a prominent theme. Authorities described higher siltation rates, more frequent blockages from leaf fall, and limited understanding of older or undocumented drainage routes. As rainfall patterns become more unpredictable, several teams emphasised the growing value of better real-time insight, including linking rainfall forecasts to known hotspots and improving visibility of how the network behaves during storm events.
Despite these pressures, the roundtable highlighted a number of practical steps that are already helping authorities strengthen resilience. These included:
- targeted survey programmes to support risk-based cleansing
- better coordination between street sweeping and drainage operations
- clearer lifecycle-led planning and evidence for investment
- improved validation of historic datasets and SuDS handover information
Commenting on the findings, KaarbonTech said:
“Local authorities are committed to improving resilience, but constrained by limited confidence in data, restricted resources and networks not built for today’s climate. The ambition is there - the sector now needs the capacity and clarity to move at the pace the climate demands.”
The full insight summary is available here.