Figure 1 Study Area of Tervuren, Belgium
The study area of this project is Tervuren Municipality, Belgium, which is depicted in Figure 1. The municipality spans an area of 33.62 km2 with approximately 13.2% of the area is developed into an urban area (Flemish Government, 2022). A large area in Tervuren is at risk of urban fluvial and pluvial floods (HNL, 2023; Flemish Government, 2023). In 2005, the stormy weather caused a devastating flood in Tervuren which induced further problems such as reduced vehicle speeds to walking pace and mixed wastewater from the sewers entering a watercourse in periods of heavy rainfalls, as depicted in Figure 2.
Currently, Tervuren has a moderate annual rainfall of approximately 780 mm, as measured by the Royal Meteorological Institute at Uccle Station (Hamdi, et al, 2010). Climate change is expected to increase precipitation extreme which potentially exacerbate urban pluvial flooding in Tervuren. Figure 3 depicts the 20-years storm event in Tervuren under current and 2050 climate projection scenarios based on IDF Ukkle (Delbeke, 2001), which shows the increased peak and total volume of 2050 climate projection rainfall. On the other hand, Tervuren has a complex sewer system containing 3560 junctions, 28 storage units, and 33 outfalls.
To tackle flooding in several flood-prone streets, the municipality of Tervuren will take measures. Based on Flanders' multi-layer flood protection, EU, and international policy, the implementation of green infrastructure or Low Impact Development (LID) is one of the keys focuses to address this issue. There are many types of available LID, for instance porous pavement and rain garden, which are depicted in Figure 3.
Figure 2 The 2005 Flood in Tervuren, Belgium
Figure 3 Extreme Precipitation Event under Current and Future Climate Projection in Tervuren
Figure 4 Flood Adaptation Measure using LIDs
Reference
Delbeke, L. (2001). Extreme neerslag in Vlaanderen: Nieuwe IDF-curven gebaseerd op langdurige meetreeksen van neerslag. Retrieved from http://documentatiecentrum.watlab.be/owa/imis.php?module=ref&refid=81510
Flemish Government. (2022, May 28). Statistiek Vlaanderen. Retrieved from https://www.vlaanderen.be/statistiek-vlaanderen
Flemish Government. (2023, May 25). Informatie Plicht. Retrieved from Waterinfo.be: https://www.waterinfo.be/informatieplicht
Hamdi, R., Termonia, P., & Baguis, P. (2011). Effects of urbanization and climate change on surface runoff of the Brussels Capital Region: A case study using an urban soil-vegetation-atmosphere-transfer model: SURFACE RUNOFF OF THE BRUSSELS CAPITAL REGION. International Journal of Climatology, 31, 1959–1974.
HLN. (2021, July 9). Tervuren pakt wateroverlast aan: “Ook inwoners kunnen steentje bijdragen”. Retrieved from HLN: https://www.hln.be/tervuren/tervuren-pakt-wateroverlast-aan-ook-inwoners-kunnen-steentje-bijdragen~a056910b/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F