Hoera, het is Wereldwaterdag en dat vieren het we uiteraard binnen LIFE Belini! Niet alleen zijn er weer diverse activiteiten in ons projectgebied onder de campagnenaam Fiere Rivieren, we hebben ook onze tussentijdse projectresultaten gebundeld in een prachtige brochure. Zo vieren we vandaag nog eens extra onze gezamenlijke inzet voor beter waterbeheer en waterkwaliteit in België.
Today, the Molenbeek in Brussels flows in the open for most of its course, then flows through the wastewater collector downstream of the King Baudouin Park before emerging at the treatment plant in the north of the region. Bruxelles Environnement now launched a study to reconnect the Molenbeek with the Zenne.
Exchanging knowledge and experience is some important added value when participating in European projects. It can inspire one another to find solutions. After all the surrounding countries are mainly facing the same challenges as we are. At our last partner meeting, we met Rob Horsley of Rivers Trust, coordinator of the LIFE IP Natural Course project.
The Senne is the only river in Belgium that crosses all three regions of the country. Therefore, it is important that the different regions cooperate and exchange information with each other. Spread over two days, they therefore held an interregional meeting about managing innodations of the Senne.
In 2019, we commissioned a temporary flood plain in the heart of the nature reserve in the Coeurcq Valley with Life Belini. In cooperation with LIFE BNIP, we also improved biodiversity. We celebrated this with the official inauguration of the nature reserve on October, 1st 2023
Saturday 1 April 2023 we had the inauguration of the Temporary Flood Area Gaesbecq in Ittre. It is installed on the Ry Ternel and can store over 50,000 m³ of water during heavy rains and storms, reducing the risk of flooding in the centre of Ittre. Works began in March 2022 and lasted just under a year
A number of walks to celebrate the Walloon Water Days and the “Rivières Fières” campaign enabled the residents of Ittre to discover this structure and the role it plays in flood control.
A new natural water retention area is ready at Gaesbecq! It is located on Ry Ternel, a tributary of the Sennette and is part of the Walloon Senne sub-basin.
Work began in March 2022 and was recently (January 2023) completed. This is the fourth water retention area in Wallonia constructed with the support of LIFE Belini. It joins those of Coeurcq (Tubize), Brancart (Braine-le-Château) and Cafenière (Soignies). With a storage capacity of 54,000 m³, its construction protects Ittre’s town centre from flooding. Moreover, a number of provisions for biodiversity and ecosystem services have been made in the area, such as ponds, river banks and planting.
This project is a collaboration between Ittre’s municipality, the Walloon Brabant province, the intercommunal inBW, SPW-DCENN, Contrat de Rivières Senne and the European Union through the LIFE Belini project.
On 14 October, the Flemish Environmental Society and Strategic Project Woluwe organised the third Dyle-Senne Day in Kraainem. A very successful edition with some 100 interested participants and a flying start for the strategic project ‘Leve(n)de Woluwe’ ((Long) live the Woluwe) in which numerous partners showed their commitment to restore the river valley!
Each Member State must prepare a Pressure and Impact Analysis every six years. This report describes man’s pressure on the water system and the impact we have on the ecosystem. This analysis is crucial in preparing the programme of measures to restore ecological water quality in all water bodies. In Belgium, each region (Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia) conducts these Pressure and Impact Analyses. They all use the WEISS (Water Emission Inventory Support System) tool for this purpose. However, because of different approaches (source-process-oriented view), load estimates, problem pollutants (context), etc. in the different regions, several insights are possible. That’s why it could be valuable to look at this in a cross-regional way. We could, for example, learn more about the pressures and impacts on our water system as a whole and may be able to detect, and take, any necessary action as needed. This exercise was created for the Senne, a river that crosses the three regions, and poses its specific challenges in each region.
The IJse once again brightens the street scene near the little park in the Jan Baptist Dekeyserstraat in Overijse.
The sewerage works in the Jan Baptist Dekeyserstraat in Overijse presented us with the opportunity to open up the culverted IJse here.
To this end, the province of Flemish Brabant and the municipality of Overijse joined forces, in collaboration with Aquafin.
A stretch of water of some 60 metres is now exposed to daylight once again. “These works are in line with our previous efforts to increase the ecological quality of the IJse,” said Bart Nevens, deputy for waterways.
To open up the IJse, the province of Flemish Brabant, with support from the LIFE Belini project, invested 90,000 euros.
The works took place in the autumn of 2021. Meanwhile, a year later, they are well integrated into the landscape.
In Belini, these works fit within the broader narrative of the “Structural Restoration of the IJse valley.”