In Wemeldinge Noordzijde the sewerage system needed renovation. Due to the outdated system and large paved surfaces, lower streets around the neighbourhood experience regular flooding during periods of heavy rainfall. Participation in Nature Smart Cities is enabling the municipality of Kapelle to incorporate a range of water management measures, increase green space in the area and update the sewerage system all in one go. Four streets with parking spaces will get water-permeable pavement, while wadi’s and additional vegetation will slow down the water runoff to lower areas.

Thijs: ‘We’ve started the construction work in May this year and hope to finish by May 2022. One street is now fitted out with green pavement and wadis to buffer excess rainwater. The green pavement consists of rectangular stones with two holes in them. The idea is that grass will grow in those holes and that rainwater can seep through. It’s exciting to see the results. The grass hasn’t had time to grow yet, so the area still looks a bit grey. Hopefully everything will be much greener in the spring.’

‘The scale of the project is quite daring, actually,’ says Ilse. At the start, Kapelle proposed three scenarios for the renovation and discussed those with the residents of the area. A scenario in which the sewers would be updated with only a few additional green infrastructure measures. A greener scenario and a super-green scenario.

Ilse: ‘The inhabitants voted in majority for the super-green scenario, so that’s what we’re building now. I think that’s the advantage of a small municipality. We can move fast and try things out. We’ve never installed such a large surface of permeable pavement and integrated this many green infrastructure measures in a regeneration project. We’re curious to see the influence on the water management and on the general quality of the public space. If the results are indeed as positive as we hope, we will definitely use our learnings in other regeneration projects.’

• A special drilling technique was used to construct the water drainage from the project area. It’s called ‘closed front drilling’ and is used often for the construction of large tunnels, such as the Westerscheldetunnel in The Netherlands.
• In total 6,640m² of road surfaces, parking spaces and pavements will be replaced with alternative green permeable options.
• New attractive communal green areas will be created resulting in an increase of green space from 8,280 m² to 15,220 m².

Kapelle worked also closely with the academic partners to develop the Nature Smart Cities Business Model.

Thijs: ‘I’m glad we could be of help. Recently, we showed the Business Model and how we used it to neighbouring municipalities. They liked the concept, so we hope the Business Model will help them to invest more in green infrastructure projects.’