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.”
With the help of the European LIFE Belini fund, VIVAQUA has adapted the first of the three large “Combined Sewer Overflows”, near the Rampe du Lion at Nouveau Maalbeek. This overflow is located in Brussels, at the crossroads between the outfall collector and the New Maelbeek collector, and provides an overflow between the sewerage network and the Senne during rainy periods.
During heavy rainfall this combined sewer overflow infrastructure frequently allowed water from the sewage to flow into the Senne. Elevating the wall from this overflow infrastructure in the sewers will result in a significant decrease of overflow events, overflow volumeand fewer oxygen crises for the aquatic life of the Senne (macro invertebrates, fish).
As a symbolic action during our Fiere Rivers campaign, sewers in all regions would be tagged ” The sea starts here “. This is to make people aware of the consequences of waste in the water. Action was therefore taken in the various regions.
22 maart is het Wereldwaterdag en dat wilden we niet zomaar voorbijdrijven. In Vlaanderen, Brussel en Wallonië wilden we twee weken lang het belang van gezonde rivieren vieren met tal van gratis wateractiviteiten voor jong en oud. Op 9 maart gaven we het startsein voor de campagne bij onze uitgevoerde werken aan de Paempsemlaan in Brussel. Helaas bleef het daarbij.
In Brussel en Wallonië bestaan de “Waterdagen” al verschillende jaren, in Vlaanderen zou dit een primeur geweest zijn dankzij de ondersteuning van Belini. Naast het openingsevent aan de de Paepsemlaan stond onder andere een demonstratie van de waterkwaliteit aan het Sluispark in Leuven, de verkenning van de natuurlijke waterbekken aan de Coercq in Tubeke op het programma. Een sfeerimpressie van het openingsevent en een mooie timelapse video van de werken in Brussel vind je hieronder.
On 22 November, no less than 138 participants came to the Cultural Centre in Mechelen for the second Dyle-Senne Day.
As part of Life Belini, we were obviously also present on this important day for our project zone.
It was a very successful and busy edition, which began by introducing the Integral Water Policy and the regional vision being prepared on the rivers Dyle and Senne. Orion continued by explaining the charter for intergovernmental collaboration on the open space in Mechelen’s River district.
During a well-deserved coffee break, visitors were able to visit the various stands at the info market, including our own about the Belini project. The morning session resumed with some exciting inspiration sessions about ‘daring to choose open space’, ‘water as a leverage for the landscape’, and ‘the heart of nature’.
The morning ended with all partners signing the strategic project ORIOM, the charter for intergovernmental collaboration on the open space in Mechelen’s River district. In the afternoon, the various accomplishments could be viewed in practice. The bike rides, walks and boat trips in the sunshine topped the day off!
