Levee Setbacks and Floodplains
Kalkense Meersen Cluster Scheldt River, Flanders, Belgium
The Scheldt River is a major waterway for inland navigation, connecting the Belgian ports of Ghent and Antwerp. The open delta towards the North Sea, however, poses serious inundation risks. The Belgian government’s Sigma Plan addresses these risks by strengthening the embankments and developing Flood Control Areas (FCA) to reduce flood risks along the Scheldt and its main tributaries. Climate change and associated projected sea level rise conditions were also factored into the plan. To create the FCAs, the original flood protection dikes along the Scheldt were lowered and new dikes were constructed deeper inland at a height suitable for providing flood protection (this is referred to as “the Sigma height”). With strict targets imposed by the European Union, enhancing nature is an equally important goal for the Sigma Plan. At the Kalkense Meersen Cluster, different solutions were devised—and the first completed in 2013— to enrich nature inside FCAs. The project was certified as a World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC) “Working with Nature” project in 2018.
160
