Urban Drainage Failure in Durban’s 2022 Floods and a SUDS Pathway to Improved Resilience

Durban’s stormwater system is no longer fit for purpose. Durban’s 2022 floods exposed a fundamental mismatch between the city’s evolving hydrological conditions and its outdated stormwater system. The drainage network, much of it designed for mid twentieth century rainfall and smaller catchments, now functions close to capacity under ordinary conditions and fails rapidly during extreme events. This paper examines the mechanisms behind that failure and identifies the structural and operational constraints that prevent the system from managing contemporary runoff volumes. Using post-event assessments, municipal documentation and targeted stakeholder insights, the analysis shows how undersized pipes, irregular maintenance, blocked channels and disrupted natural drainage pathways created a cascade of hydraulic failures during the 2022 event. These weaknesses allowed localised surcharging to escalate into widespread inundation, particularly in densely populated and low-lying settlements. A focused set of SUDS measures could address these performance gaps by introducing decentralised storage, infiltration and controlled conveyance in congested subcatchments. Rather than advocating generic nature-based solutions, the paper isolates the SUDS functions most suited to Durban’s geomorphology, institutional capacity and settlement form. The findings demonstrate that targeted SUDS retrofits, aligned with existing maintenance and operational cycles, would expand system capacity more effectively than further enlargement of conventional infrastructure. The paper outlines a practical pathway for integrating SUDS into routine planning and operations, enabling the city’s drainage system to adapt to intensifying rainfall without relying on large-scale capital upgrades.