ADS’s Arcadia Separator Boasts Verified Mitigation Indices

Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) – a global leader in corrugated thermoplastic drainage pipes and a specialist in water management systems – has announced that its Arcadia hydrodynamic separator (HDS) has independently verified Mitigation Indices (MIs), confirming its performance in silt management and stormwater treatment applications.

Mitigation Indices are used to assess how effectively stormwater treatment components remove pollutants from surface water runoff. CIRIA’s SuDS Manual (C753) sets out a framework for managing pollution risks by assigning pollution hazard indices for contaminants such as total suspended solids (TSS), metals and hydrocarbons across a range of land uses.

Designers must then select SuDS components with combined MIs sufficient to address those risks. Independently verified data for proprietary systems tested to official methodologies provides confidence that products will perform as intended in real-world applications.

Breaking Convention

Arcadia is one of the highest-performing hydrodynamic separators available, offering proven sediment removal efficiencies at higher flow rates and potentially in smaller footprints than many competing systems.

Unlike conventional vortex separators, Arcadia uses a unique inside-out serpentine flow path and angled baffle arrangement that forces flow upwards through the unit. This design encourages sediment settlement within the sump while minimising turbulence and preventing the resuspension of captured contaminants.

Arcadia also offers practical installation and maintenance benefits. The separator delivers treatment within a single manhole structure that preserves inlet-to-outlet invert levels and can be installed inline where space is constrained. Variable inlet and outlet angle options provide additional design flexibility, while servicing can be completed entirely from the surface using standard vacuum trucks, eliminating the need for confined space entry and improving worker safety.

Available in a range of sizes and capacities, Arcadia can accommodate a wide variety of site conditions and flow rates and can be installed within standard precast catch pits.

Critical Infrastructure

The verification builds on ADS’s long-standing focus on stormwater quality and sediment management. As pressure grows to improve water quality and reduce pollution entering rivers and watercourses, SuDS are increasingly recognised as critical infrastructure for both water quantity and water quality management.

As the sector places increasing emphasis on water quality performance within SuDS schemes, independently verified mitigation indices give designers and specifiers confidence in the performance of engineered treatment devices.

Arcadia combines high-performance sediment management with verified treatment capability, helping simplify compliance while protecting downstream SuDS infrastructure and the wider environment.

ADS offers comprehensive technical support for design, installation and maintenance; as well as training and a CPD on below ground SuDS attenuation and treatment covering legislation, best practice and comparable systems. For more information, visit www.adspipe.co.uk.