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Which Buildings Would Benefit From A Blue Roof?

Most modern flat roof buildings in a built-up urban environment would benefit from a blue roof. With increasing population size which is especially pronounced in large towns and cities, soft natural landscapes have been replaced with harder surfaces such as tarmac and cement. The consequence of this is surface water now gets piped into the sewage system via drains in large volumes at a greater velocity. A blue roof is ‘any roof that is designed for the retention of rainwater above the waterproofing element of the roof’, this will slow down the volume and velocity of the water flowing to the sewage system and reduce the probability of flooding.

This means any urban building with a blue roof will bring great benefit to the surrounding area. The reason for this is urban development is pushing the drainage infrastructure to the maximum. The result has been higher levels of serious flooding in urban areas. A consequence of this has been pollution, habitat damage and the contamination of groundwater. All of which costs considerable sums of money to put right. The benefits of a modern blue roof system should not be underestimated. Water is a vital commodity which is becoming increasingly valuable and expensive.

How Buildings Can Benefit From A Blue Roof System?

Most commercial buildings have a flat roof. This makes a blue roof easy to install as most blue roof systems are installed as part of a flat roofing system. A flat roof makes it easy to manage and control the retention and drainage of water in a controlled and economical manner.

Typically, roofs were designed to allow for rainwater to drain from the roof. But with water becoming increasingly valuable, it makes sense to conserve water which lands on the roof and put it to use. A blue roof system can help make the running of any building become more economical. For example, office building can use the water which lands on the roof to be used for the flushing of toilets. Also, if the roof is designed to withhold water on the building, this greatly increases the thermal performance of the building. Both these design ideas can greatly reduce the running costs of a building.

There are also many benefits for the surrounding area. They vastly reduce the strain on urban drainage and sewage systems. Blue roof systems are designed to manage the drainage of surface water onto the typical concrete and hard surface surroundings. In urban areas this can drastically slow down the impact of any flash flooding.

Sustainable urban drainage systems drastically cut down the occurrence and probability of flash flooding. They can provide a good alternative to traditional drainage systems. In a traditional drainage system, water is quickly drained directly from the roof and surrounding areas into the drainage and sewage systems. This often causes overloading of the drainage system which can cause damage to the immediate area in the form of flooding.

The opportunity for the rapid recycling of natural rainwater is also lost in the process.  This is a key benefit of sustainable urban drainage systems. This concept aims to mimic natural water drainage and to allow surface water to runoff locally. It is collected, stored, and cleaned before being released slowly back into the ecosystem.

In summary a blue roof helps by storing the water and/or slowing down the runoff speed. The water can also be saved for flushing toilets in the building below. This saves the building money by reducing demand on the mains water supply. They simply allow the area to act as the area would have before a building was ever constructed.

If you would like any further information about whether a blue roof can benefit a particular building please contact us or call us now on 01277 375 511. One of our friendly team of green roof specialists will be delighted to help.

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