Climate change has been affecting countries in the 2 Seas Region (Belgium, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and France) more severely than expected. The frequency and intensity of extreme weather conditions induce storm-surges along the coast and high river discharges that threaten the integrity of flood defences. Are food defences safe enough, and how effective will emergency response be in case of a levee failure? How can the combination of flood defences and emergency response remain effective in light of the emerging circumstances? These questions are relevant to local stakeholders whose prosperity and wellbeing depend upon flood resilience.
Polder2C’s offers a rare opportunity to test and improve flood resilience by improving climate change adaptation capacity on a strategic, tactical and operational level. Thirteen partners from the 2 Seas Region and more than thirty ‘observer’ organisations have come together to design, execute and evaluate a series of experiments on levee performance and emergency response in the Hedwige-Prosper polder. This is a unique site of 6 Km2 that is currently being depoldered, allowing the development of a new tidal area. As a new levee is being built, the old levee and the land behind it will be used as a living lab for in-situ tests and large scale exercises.
Polder2C’s places a great importance in transfer of knowledge to students and young professionals. The Living lab Hedwige-Prosper will accommodate events focused on education and will welcome students to participate in field activities. A levee winterschool, levee challenge and excursions are some examples of possibilities for the next generation to become actively involved in Polder2C’s.
Thematic areas
Living Lab Climate Adaptive Flood Defences
Can levees be made more resilient to changing environmental conditions?
This is the main research question within this thematic area. Levee stress tests, such as overflow, wave overtopping and breach growth experiments will be performed, in order to assess the actual strength and resilience of the levee under varying conditions. In the preparation and execution phase, a variety of data need to be collected, which will be analysed to validate models and derive conclusions. Activities of this thematic area are classified in three main topics:
- In situ destructive levee tests,
- Guidance on levee assessing, design and maintenance,
- Validation of innovative solutions, tools and services.
How effective would emergency response be in case of a levee failure?
A flood-prone area will experience a dramatic change if a levee fails, and emergency response will be crucial for mitigating the losses that such an event could potentially cause. Within this thematic area, testbed activities on emergency response will be executed in order to assess its effectiveness in case of a levee breach. Failure mechanisms and damages induced during levee stress tests will serve as a starting point for emergency response exercises. Activities within this thematic area are classified in five topics:
- Levee inspection exercises,
- Exploring breach closure strategies,
- Controlled breach initiation tests,
- Large-scale European emergency response exercise,
- Flood risk perception study.
How can we transfer knowledge acquired in Polder2C’s to the current and future generations of water professionals?
A necessary success factor for any initiative to improve knowledge is to have its outcomes integrated in practices of a wider community. This thematic area focuses on attaining this goal with a variety of activities that aim at the consolidation of knowledge acquired in the Living Lab Hedwige-Prosper. Accessibility of data in a user-friendly manner, educational activities in the field and incorporation of knowledge in educational curricula are considered key elements. Activities in this thematic area are classified in five topics.
- Developing a levee data wizard,
- Updating flood defence toolboxes,
- Updating emergency response toolboxes,
- Educating the next generation of water professionals,
- International replication of the Polder2C’s results.
Benefits for local stakeholders
- Boosting cross-border collaboration: Being partly in the Netherlands (Hedwige polder) and partly in Belgium (Prosper polder), the Living lab Hedwige-Prosper allows to compare and contrast the Dutch and Belgian approach of flood management, and to test and improve transboundary collaboration of relevant stakeholders.
- Raising flood awareness: By analysing the perceptions of local communities and stakeholders, opportunities to raise flood awareness and preparedness of general public in the area will be presented.
- Involving local students: Taking advantage of their geographical proximity, students from Zeeland and Flanders can exploit the educational opportunities offered in the Living Lab Hedwige-Prosper with little effort.
External links
Research type: field research, desk analysis, lab research
Location: Hedwige- and Prosperpolder, the Netherlands and Belgium