At Nijmegen, the Waal River bends sharply and narrows. This creates a bottleneck, which often caused flooding of the historic city centre of Nijmegen, located on the south bank of the Wall. After the floods of 1993 and 1995 and faced with increased risk of flooding due to climate change, the city of Nijmegen decided to give more room to the Waal River, at the same time protecting nearby natural habitats and providing recreational space.
The Kruibeke Bazel Rupelmonde (KBR) Controlled Flood Area (CFA) is a key component of the Belgian Sigma Plan for the Scheldt Estuary. The Sigma Plan is an integrated flood protection plan that combines dikes, seawalls and flood areas to protect approximately 20,000 hectares of land from flooding.
The Sigma Plan is an integrated flood protection plan that was firstly established in 1977, in reaction to a major storm surge flood in 1976. The Sigma Plan offers protection against storm surges as well as river floods caused by excessive rainfall. Its objectives also include nature protection.
This case study describes the flood risk management plan and the related restoration of a formerly canalized eight kilometres stretch of the Isar river in the city of Munich (the so called “Isar Plan”). Still in the beginning of the 19th century, the Isar was a typical wild alpine river with wide gravel islands and sandbanks and a constantly changing riverbed. In the middle of the 19th century after repeated flooding suffered by the Lehel, Au and Thal districts in Munich, hydraulic regulation began, and the riverbed was canalized.
The Flemish coast is intensively used by many actors, embracing coastal towns, commercial ports connected to industrial areas, leisure marinas and touristic activities. It is exposed to flooding due to storm events and sea level rise. In 2007, the Flemish Government, after a safety test revealing an insufficient protection of the coast, started the elaboration of an Integrated Master Plan for Coastal Safety that was finally approved in June 2011.
Hesketh Out Marsh is one of the biggest managed realignment projects in the UK and is one of the country’s most important estuary habitats for birdlife. The original saltmarsh was isolated from the estuary in 1980 by the creation of an outer wall, and was used for growing crops. With the sea level rising, it was necessary to create stronger sea defences. By a process known as “managed realignment”, seawater has been let back in to flood the land, re-creating saltmarsh and providing space for nature.
As a result of sloped topography and impermeable ground surface, the Gomeznarro Park in Madrid was affected by erosion during heavy rainfall events, and the surrounding residential areas suffered from flash flooding. In response to these problems, in 2003 complex works aiming at improving the natural drainage and rainwater retention were carried out in the park.
The Kis-Sárrét area is located in south-eastern Hungary close to the Romanian border. The area is part of the Körös-Maros National Park and is included in the Natura 2000 network. It hosts numerous plants, animals, and habitat types of EU community importance. Its landscape has undergone dramatic changes during the past 200 years. In particular, extensive marshes were reduced and altered as a result of water regulations between 1856 and 1879. As a consequence, many areas constantly or temporarily covered by water disappeared, and the traditional management of the natural landscape changed.
Spessart is a highland area with a range of low wooded mountains, in the states of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the regions of Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The region has about 1.35 million overnight stays and over 13 million day visitors per year. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg at 586 metres. Hiking is a major tourist attraction in the Spessart in the summer. In winter skiing was a major attraction in particular as the ski lifts are close to large cities, such as Frankfurt, Würzburg Darmstadt and Mainz.