Call it climate adaptation, call it sustainability. Gerrit Hofland, Technical Area Manager at TU Delft, and responsible for the sewer system under the campus, prefers to call it “simply logical thinking”. And that is exactly what he does: at work, at home, on holiday – wherever he is. That way he can ensure that the campus does not get flooded.

Gerrit has to keep his eye on thirteen pumping stations and some 40 kilometres of pipes, plus three drainage systems for rain water, dirty water and water for fire extinguishing. His job is to ensure that the whole sewer system operates at its best, so that it can deal with even the heaviest downpours. “Anticipating all possible weather conditions; that’s a real challenge”, says Gerrit, grinning enthusiastically.

He shows us his computer monitor. There are images of the pumping stations along with information on how much water they contain, from which water level pumping is required and where this water will go. Gerrit also sees when there is rain. “Look, this is the pumping station at the Library.” He clicks on the image with his mouse. “I’ll call it now to connect with it. Just wait a bit… Look, a live connection. It’s currently got 49 centimetres of water in it. From the bottom. That’s good. The pumps turn on automatically when it hits 50 centimetres. But I can also turn it on manually now. See, there it goes.” Gerrit also has this software on his iPad. And on his mobile phone. That way, he is always in touch with the pumping stations, wherever he is. It is part of his daily routine: he checks how the pumping stations are working every morning, and again in the afternoon. And, of course, again if something is reported or if there is unexpectedly heavy rainfall, for example.