August 2018

Blue Roofs
WATER ATTENUATION: “UTILISE THE
5TH FACADE”
Daniel Ashley, Managing Director of Protan UK, talks blue roofs and the company’s new
offering...
Ok, don’t knock the weather, if it didn’t
change once in a while 9/10 of people
couldn’t start a conversation! With the
recent severe weather warnings and floods in the
UK there is a lot to talk about, so let’s wade
through some of the issues!
crime and flooding! It’s not just urbanisation, but
pipe capacities and impermeable surfaces. There
are two solutions; a) Upgrade the pipe system or,
b) Temporary storage of rainwater. Either way we
need good, efficient and sustainable solutions for
both the existing and future situation.
Climate change in the UK
Over the past 100 years the intensity of UK
precipitation has increased during winter, and to
a lesser extent also during spring and autumn.
This has been accompanied by more frequent
spells of very wet weather and an increase in
total precipitation, at least during the last 40
years.
There is now a one-in-three chance of record
rainfall hitting parts of England and Wales each
winter according to a new Met Office study which
highlights the risk of major flooding as the climate
warms. The researchers warned that global
warming would change the risk of
extreme weather and suggested
politicians should bear this in mind
when planning to protect the public,
businesses and infrastructure. With
this in mind, at Protan we have
introduced a new product in the UK;
BlueProof.
Problems with urbanisation
We have to face the facts; the world
population is going to rise from 7
billion to 9 billion by 2050!
Population growth, coupled with climate change
is going to cause a big problem for our cities, with
fewer than 20 cities of 1 million or more people a
century ago to 450 cities today! With increasing
urbanisation comes problems of density,
inadequate infrastructure, pollution, congestion,
Protan UK also stock a complete
range of accessories to offer a
total solution.
Water attenuation
There are existing and well know attenuation
solutions; Attenuation tank, Rain beds,
Attenuation pipes and Green Roofs
(intensive/extensive)
But at Protan we believe there is also a different
way of managing rainwater: utilise the 5th Façade
and control the water where it hits first!
So, what is a blue roof? It’s a new way of holding
back storm water.
Protan BlueProof is a roof that is designed
specifically to store water from rainfall. A blue
roof coupled with storm water
collection (rain water harvesters,
etc.) has a number of benefits
which include: rainwater
attenuation to mitigate runoff
impacts and storage for reuse
(toilet cisterns, washing machines
etc.).
Blue Roofs can; a) include open
water surfaces, b) storage within or
beneath a porous media modular
surface or c) below a raised decking
surface or cover.
A Blue Roof is calculated to its bearing load
capacity and its designed flow-rate to meet
design requirements.
The roof is installed and the water is temporarily
Blue roofs address rainfall at the point of contact.
stored on the roof and is gradually released into
the sewer system. Therefore a blue roof is a roof
system which allows rainwater to build up on the
roof, reducing or potentially eliminating the need
for other attenuation methods.
BlueProof
Protan has designed a special membrane for use
in blue roof application; Protan BP. Protan BP is
designed to be extra robust with its extra strong
textile layer, giving higher tensile strength
properties compared to other manufacturers. To
complement the Protan BP membrane, Protan UK
also stock a complete range of accessories to
offer a total solution.
Contact Protan UK
01925 658 001
www.protan.co.uk
@ProtanUK
56 TC AUGUST 2018