Belgium/Brussels: a plan to limit rainwater evacuation through sewers

Allowing rainwater to infiltrate into the capital's soil as much as possible to avoid its systematic evacuation via the sewers: this is one of the central objectives of the 2022-2027 water management plan to which the Brussels government gave the final green light on Thursday, announced the Minister for the Environment and Climate Transition, Alain Maron (Ecolo).

According to the Minister, this plan provides an integrated response to the challenges of water management in the Brussels Region. The Plan is subdivided into eight main lines of action, ranging from surface and groundwater quality to flood and drought risk prevention, from the economic aspects of water use to its enhanced presence in the urban environment.

In a press release, the Minister specified that the Brussels Region plans to develop integrated stormwater management on its territory.In concrete terms, this means putting everything in place - in particular, making the ground permeable, often by returning public space to nature - so that rainwater can flow freely. to nature, so that rainwater infiltrates the ground naturally and locally - where the drop falls - and flows into the sewer system as little as possible.

Collateral effect: a reduction in the need for costly and time-consuming infrastructure projects to build stormwater basins, as well as oversizing of sewerage and purification networks, designed to prevent overflow in the event of heavy rainfall.According to the Minister, Brussels Environment is already planning its green spaces according to this principle of integrated rainwater management.

Source: www.rtbf.be