Water Management to Cope with the Effects of Climate Change Best practices in Water Management at Wageningen University & Research

Wageningen University & Research studies the causes of heavy rainfall and droughts and is looking for solutions to these phenomena [1]. For example, green spaces in the urban environment ensure that water can be drained into the ground. Storage of water is also important, because not only the number of heavy rains is increasing, also there are longer periods of drought. On WUR Campus, these principles of coping with flooding and drought are applied. There is a sizeable area of green space which serves as a groundwater discharge area. The large ponds on campus are used to collect and store excess surface water. During droughts the ponds retain water on campus. In two campus buildings, rain is harvested for flushing toilets and watering inner gardens. The rainwater is harvested from rooftops and stored in underground water tanks. A natural garden was laid out in 1998, and four years ago a natural wetland garden was added to the campus.

The effects of climate change, such as droughts and rising sea water levels affect freshwater supplies, which makes efficient use of water increasingly important. WUR aims to reduce consumption of tap water every year, by increasing water use efficiency and switching to sources other than tap water.