Climate change impacts

Extreme rainfall is predicted to increase in the Netherlands due to climate change. Urgent solutions are required to modify the stormwater storage and drainage in urban areas for the significant volumes of expected rainwater.

Adaptation activity

The Valorisation Programme Delta Technology & Water (VP Delta) is a program that allows public research institutions and the private sector to work together to achieve safety, sustainability, and resilience in the urban delta area of the Netherlands. VP Delta recently opened a new experimental site known as “Water Street” at the Delft Institute of Technology for more innovative use of rainwater in urban areas.

Water Street introduced innovative technologies to cope with urban rainwater. For example, Urban Rainshell (Fig. 1) aims to prevent flooding by storing rainwater using seashells and renewable materials. Since Rainshell can also remove heavy metals, mineral oils and other chemical pollutions, the filtrated water can then be used for firefighting or irrigation of sports fields. In addition, the "Flowsand" concept is a pavement material made of special sand that can quickly absorb water from the street, and the "Smart Rain Barrel" (Fig. 2) is a network-connected rainwater collection tank that can be drained in anticipation of heavy downpours through on-line operation in conjunction with weather forecasts.

Outputs / Expected benefits

The use of Water Street for research and development is expected to enhance innovation for national climate and flood resilience, new urban space planning, and climate change measures.