Urban water management Tilburg

In its water policy, the municipality of Tilburg aims for an acceptable level of water nuisance in extreme precipitation situations. To gain insight into the risks and effects of flooding, Witteveen+Bos developed and tested scenarios for future solutions. This was done by means of detailed modelling, linked to a risk dialogue.

The municipality of Tilburg wants to gain insight into the effects of extreme precipitation. This involves both the location itself and the use of the location where the flooding occurs. In this way, various measures can be weighed up on the basis of the risks: where is flooding acceptable, and where is it not?

For the risk assessment Witteveen+Bos calculated the runoff of water through the sewer system, into the surface water and the runoff from the street. We then made a risk assessment of the consequences of the flooding. What are the consequences for residents (flooded homes), businesses, public buildings and traffic? This risk assessment determines the need to take measures. To visualise the effects, flood maps of the calculation results are made and included in a web viewer.

Measures to make the sewer system more robust offer many opportunities for public space. For example, the controlled drainage of water via the road profile or using public green spaces as temporary water storage. When selecting the measures, not only water nuisance but also the contribution of the measure to other aspects of climate change are important.