type
Masterplan and Environment
Context
The Molenbeek is one of the streams flowing through the Brussels-Capital Region. In recent decades, intense urbanization in the valley has drastically reduced the space available to the watercourse. It has been diverted, partially channelized, and turned into a sewer before reaching the wastewater treatment plant and, subsequently, the Senne. However, during heavy rainfall, the water resurfaces, flooding public spaces and homes in downstream neighborhoods. Although some residents have learned to live with this risk, the area's vulnerability to flooding remains a problem, one likely to worsen with climate change.
Mission
The project launched by Hydria, the manager of Brussels' stormwater retention basins, aims primarily to find a solution to the recurring flooding in the Molenbeek valley. The first phase involves assessing the current situation to understand the measures already in place to combat flooding. In the second phase, scenario planning will be used to explore potential intervention strategies: what combination of measures can significantly reduce the valley's exposure to risk? Combining numerical modeling with detailed local knowledge makes it possible to outline initial potential solutions.
Approach
Working within a multidisciplinary team, CityTools gathers data from various stakeholders, creates maps, and organizes site surveys as well as citizen participation activities in the form of exploratory walks. The process involves developing scenarios based on three lines of action: constructing a storm-water retention basin, implementing Integrated Rainwater Management (GIEP) at a granular level, and addressing the degree of risk exposure. The study is guided by the principle of watershed-wide solidarity, linking upstream and downstream areas, whereby the entire territory takes action to manage rainwater as close as possible to where it falls, thereby avoiding the sewer overloading that causes flooding downstream.