World Water Day

From the tap, in the toilets, along the road, in the ground and on roofs. Water can be found in many places on our TU Delft campus. One of the 5 ambitions is to become climate adaptive by 2030. Cas Verhoeven, Head of public space management at TU Delft, tells more about the developments and future vision of water sustainability on campus.

In the Netherlands we have to deal with a mild and steady rainfall all year around. We’ve got about 100 mild rainevents and 10 storms a year. This is changing because of climate change. The dry periods are getting longer, and the rainstorms are getting more severe. Most of the water is collected by the surface, in rainwatersewers, in wadi’s or infiltration sewers. To cope with the weather extremes of climate change, we are increasing smart water systems to retain more water.

(In)filtrate

On campus, we are working on infiltrating gutters and wadi’s. These gutters collect run off water directly from roads and squares. There they gradually filter water to the ground. During extreme rainstorms, the sewer system is relieved, and the soil is well-nourished. The same goes for our wadi’s but since they are also green areas biodiversity benefits aswell from the wadi’s.

A wadi is a valley or channel that is dry except in rainy seasons. This is a wadi at Kluyverpark. 

Purification
Not only water storage is important, but we also have to pay attention to clean our watersystems. Public space management at TU Delft is working on various purification techniques in ponds, ditches and banks. 'We are working on helophyte filters. This is an area of sand overgrown with reed plants. This filter provides rapid cleaning of service water. In the near future, I hope we will be able to use mussel beds in addition to various filters. Mussels filtrate the water because they use a lot of oxygen. One mussel can filter up to 100 liter a day and provide clear water," Verhoeven says.

Boost
With clear water we are not only climate adaptive, but we also boost biodiversity on campus. We provide good soil where plants and flowers can grow well, animals have enough water and a habitat. Verhoeven: ‘We are working together with ecologists, biologists, landscape architects and urban designers to make TU Delft campus in 2030 fizz with biodiversity and clean water.’

Happy World Waterday!