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Climate Changing? Meuse Adapting!

News related to action

Tuesday, december 1 2009

Work undertaken from German partners in the Rur sub-basin

Work at the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management at RWTH Aachen University will focus on the hydraulic modelling of the Rur tributary and the development of methods to assess the changes in water related risks due to clim...

Wednesday, april 6 2011

Site Visit on the Rur reservoirs

On behalf of the Waterboard Rur-Eifel, you are kindly invited to AMICE next site visit that is to take place on April 6th-April 7th in Germany. Our German partners will take us on a tour around the Rur basins and the programme really looks very promi...

Thursday, october 20 2011

Joint publication by Belgian and German Partners

The University of Liège, the Technology Institute of Aachen and the Wasserverband Eifel-Rur have jointly signed an article in Dams and Reservoirs under changing Challenges. Opportunities for updating and optimizing current operating rules are...

Attached documents

jpg Rur basin

png Niers Meuse Symposium

png Rur Meuse Symposium

pdf invitation ste visit

doc Registration form

pdf Programme

pdf Welcome

pdf modeling and risk analysis

pdf Rur reservoirs system

pdf Demny

pdf Rurtalsperrenbewirtschaftung

doc program event June 12th

pdf InfoVeranst_DN-Burgau_TS_Dy

pdf Vortrag_Kufeld-Risikobetrachtung

pdf Vortrag_WVER-Mitglieder_LFI

Rur reservoirs management rules

Adaptation of flow control of the Rur reservoirs to mitigate impacts of climate change:

  1. model implementation, calculation of current and future situation
  2. The Rur river in the German part of the Meuse basin is one of the largest tributaries of the Meuse. It is the only tributary which can be controlled by a total of 6 reservoirs, having a total storage volume of ˜300 Mio.m³, located in the upstream part of the catchment area. The reservoirs are operated for drinking water production, increasing low flows and mitigating floods. At its inflow into the Meuse, the mean flood is reduced down to 86m³/s and the mean low flow is increased up to 13m³/s by the reservoirs.

    Impacts of climate change have to be considered in the future flow control system to avoid an increase of damages by floods and droughts. The integration of the future climate evolution in the flow control system has a significant regional and transnational importance. An adaptation of the flow control system of the Rur reservoirs is required to mitigate the increasing risk of flooding and low-flows in the downstream part of the river basin of Rur and Meuse.

    A model environment will be set up in order to assess the hydrological & hydraulic system in the Rur basin. This requires a detailed modelling of the Rur from the reservoirs to the inflow to the Meuse. Existing hydrological & hydraulic models will be verified, adapted and extended to obtain a powerful tool to investigate floods and low-flows. The tool comprises hydrological models, a water management model for the reservoir control, and 1D-/2D-hydraulic models to determine flood areas.

    Two situations will be investigated: one for the present and one for the future situation with respect to a climate change scenario defined in WP1 for the whole Meuse basin. For the scenarios, the output of regional climate models like REMO will also be used to update model parameters (vegetation, rainfall, etc) for 2030-2050 and beyond 2050. The computed flow for the Rur at the inflow into the Meuse will be provided for the calculations of the Meuse in WP1 and for the risk analysis in Action24.

  3. Prediction of changing risks and adaptation of the control system to future transnational management demands
  4. The reservoir control system (RCS) is a multifunctional scheme to regulate floods and droughts in the Rur basin. It was designed on the basis of observed time series over the last 100 years. This does not take into account any future changes like climate or land use. The downstream contribution of the reservoir system was designed for the needs of the lower Rur. The needs of the Meuse downstream Roermond are not yet included. Negative effects of climate change can be compensated by changing the scheme of the RCS. In order to get a judgement of the impacts of climate change, a detailed risk analysis has to be carried out.

    The analysis is based on Action23 and has to answer the following questions for the Rur:

    • Will climate change lead to an increased risk of floods and droughts?

    • What is the increase in risk (in € or people affected)?

    • Where are the weak points?

    The risk analysis of the Meuse also has to be considered (WP1):

    • What portion of increase is affected by the Rur?

    The RCS needs to be adapted to mitigate the impacts of climate change on the Rur and Meuse. Based on the risk analysis, the weak points of the RCS will be identified. A climate-adapted RCS will be designed and its efficiency verified by repeating the risk analysis.

    The set-up and verification of the new RCS will take place in strong collaboration with the actors in the lower Rur and Meuse basin. The authorities responsible for the permission of the new scheme will be incorporated. All measures along the Meuse, described in the WP 2, 3 and 4 will have an effect on the flow conditions of the lower Meuse and/or on the risk of floods and droughts. Due to the fact that the adaption of the new RCS will be designed with respect to the flow and risk conditions at the lower Meuse (beside the lower Rur), the adaption depends on the outputs of the other Actions in AMICE. This shows the necessity of embedding the new design of the RCS in this transnational project.