Collaborations

Participation in the Interreg Flood Wisdom project (Joint Sediment Initiative Meuse)

The LHGF is participating in the Flood Wisdom project, supported by the European Union and the Interreg Meuse-Rhine (NL-BE-DE) programme.

Cross-border solutions for flood risk and climate adaptation in the Meuse-Rhine region

The flooding during the rainfall of July 2021 triggered catastrophic flooding in the Meuse – Rhine region causing extensive damage and human suffering across Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. According to the IPCC, the climate change will increase, and the flooding events will occur often and even more unprecedented. The project Flood Wisdom builds forth on the results of the Interreg V project EMFloodResilience, which has been successfully conducted from September 2022 until end 2023 and comprised 35 subprojects, funded by the Interreg EMR programme. The Flood Wisdom project is an initiative by 9 partners across the Euregio Meuse-Rhine, who collaborate in 3 workpackages to address this challenge systematically:

1. Enhancing data collection through improved meteorological and hydrological tools;

2. New approaches for flood risk modelling and flood reduction measures;

3. Understanding flood discharges, sediment flows, and ecosystem dynamics.

Successful implementation requires involvement from governmental bodies at all levels, water authorities, knowledge institutions, interest groups, environmental organizations, and local residents. Their participation is vital for project preparation, information gathering, and network engagement. The project aims to enhance flood prediction capabilities, develop cross-border response models, and create infrastructure to mitigate flooding risks. The tools, created models, and other outcomes will be available for the EMR region and beyond.

The LHGF takes part in the Joint Sediment Initiative Meuse. This initiative corresponds to the Work Package 3: Understanding future discharges, sediment flows and ecosystem dynamics. ULiège will perform a first basin-wide quantification of morphodynamics in the territory of the EMR program (river Meuse and some tributaries), leading to new guidance for sediment management.

The objective of this activity is to get insight in the sediment dynamics of the Meuse River on the basin scale, and to understand the impact of human interventions thereon. How much sediment is moving downstream? Where does the sediment come from, where is it going? How did the sediment transport capacity and the sediment supply change due to human interventions? Is it wise to dredge sediment accumulations in tributaries? Where did the sediments that were deposited in the Meuse during the 2021 flood come from? Is it possible to reduce siltation and dredging costs? Do the current sediment dynamics affect fish habitats? Why is the river bed of the Meuse so stable? How can river authorities help each other?