Ghent (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Ghent’s Citadel Park will recover nearly all rainwater, including runoff from buildings, in a sustainable step to improve water use and urban resilience.
Plans that have been in the city for a while have finally been formally approved and completed. Over 7 hectares will be used to build wadis, a system of cisterns and boreholes that are connected to groundwater levels.
For a number of years, Ghent has been getting ready to renovate Citadel Park. Making it a more pleasant location is the aim.
The city also hopes to take advantage of this chance to reduce the quantity of rainwater that is released into the sewer system. The plan has now been authorized in its entirety.
Although Ghent is spending more than €300,000, the Flemish Environment Agency can reimburse €230,000.
“It’s true that we’re ambitious and want to retain almost all of the rainwater. The site covers about 14 football fields. We’re working with wadis (shallow pools and ditches, ed.). The large pond in the park will serve as a buffer zone. This way, the park can retain the water and allow it to slowly seep in during wetter periods,”
says Alderman Bram Van Braeckevelt (Green).
The park is intended to become a “sponge” that can store water and later release it during extended droughts.
“We’re creating a network of rainwater cisterns,”
says Van Braeckevelt.
“The water can be used to replenish ponds.”
The plan is also to provide the Parks Department with an additional 275 cubic meters of rainwater harvesting capacity to water plants during dry periods.
“The biggest innovation is something else entirely. It involves directly replenishing groundwater. We’re planning deep boreholes that will reach groundwater layers. This is the first time we’ll be directly replenishing that layer. Citadel Park is also a test case in this regard. If it’s successful, we can consider rolling out the approach elsewhere,”
says the alderman.
The Flemish Environment Agency was consulted during the revision of the plans, which had been previously drafted by the previous municipal council. The final agreements have now been made and approved, and the budgets have been slightly decreased. The project is scheduled to conclude in 2029.
What systems convert roof runoff into groundwater recharge?
Roof catchment areas collect rainwater runoff from building roofs through gutters and downpipes. The harvested rainwater is initially filtered to remove debris and silt by using mesh filters or sedimentation pits.
Excavated pits containing filtering media composed of gravel and sand so that rainwater can percolate into the ground. Long trenches filled with permeable material and typically connected to the roof drainage to allow infiltration.
Vertical shafts or boreholes that insert filtered water from the existing system directly to groundwater aquifers after passing through filtration pits. Earth-based pits divert water for temporary storage and allow infiltration into soil layers.
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