Authorities in Huy presented a plan to combat flooding on Wednesday, following the severe flooding that hit the Walloon city in the summer of 2021.
An exhaustive survey of flood-related problems was first carried out on all the watercourses and runoff routes in the local area, the authorities set out in a press release.
In the village of Tihange, the municipality has acquired land at the nearby Château Poswick , through which the Ruisseau de l’Homme Sauvage stream flows, in order to create a water retention area that should be completed by 2024. In 2016, a young boy was killed in the area during flooding.
The Poyoux Sart stream, which flows into the Tihange woods, has undergone a number of improvements, including the replacement of sluices, the installation of water nets and the installation of additional drains. Retention areas have also been created on Rue des Malles Terres.
“The next stage is the creation, in 2024, of a retention area at the foot of the Chemin du Chera, as well as improvements to slow down the water at the Gramme electricity substation,” states the press release from the City of Huy.
To resolve the water run-off problems, other work has been carried out along the Ruisseau de Bonne Espérance, also in Tihange. The local authorities worked with the Yeunten Ling Tibetan Institute to maintain the works on its property, cleaning out ponds and repairing critical pipes. An old pumping station connected to the Bonne Espérance stream will be removed and replaced by a sewer connection for water purification.
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In the localities of Gives and Ben, various works have been announced, including the cleaning of the watercourse and the repair of discharges, for which a sum of €100,000 has been included in the 2023 budget.
To prevent further flooding, the installation of rainwater tanks will be required with new planning permissions. In the immediate term, an emergency team will be placed on during each yellow alert. Inspections of gratings and critical locations will be carried out before each intense rainfall episode announced.
In addition, Huy authorities are currently preparing a specific emergency plan for flooding, they conclude.
