Improved water quality

The restoration of Highfields Park was completed in Summer 2018 with path repairs and tree works to be carried out in winter 2018 to 2019. The five-year development journey of returning Highfields park to its former glory has included two rounds of public consultation. The views of park users and project partners such as the University of Nottingham, the UK's Environment Agency and the Highfields Park User Group identified a strong desire to see the park restored and improved (ref. 1), including improvements on heritage features such as historic walls, bridges and the old Boating Lake Ticket Office (ref. 2). In total, this project aimed to repair unused structures of the park including walled gardens, gardener’s cottages and historic halls and houses, converting them into volunteer and training centers, event spaces and community facilities (ref. 3). Highfields Park also provides valuable scrub and woodland habitat for breeding birds such as robin, sparrow and blue tit. The additional diversity of habitats provides important foraging and breeding opportunities for invertebrates and mammals. (Ref 4)

Within the territory of the Region of Attica there are more than 100 wetlands including streams and their estuaries, coastal marshes and lagoons, lakes and constructed wetlands. They constitute “biodiversity islands” within a broadly degraded environment and offer the inhabitants of the Attica Region the opportunity to stay in touch with nature. A strategy and an action plan were developed for the conservation and restoration of these ecosystems in fighting climate change within the EU-funded OrientGate transnational co-operation project. (Ref. 1)
Climate Change is expected to put additional pressure on these habitats as, based on future climate projections, Attica’s vulnerability to drought is expected to rise from low to moderate by the year 2100. Drought episodes are expected to last longer and occur more frequently than in the past. This phenomenon is expected to have a serious impact on Attica wetlands as most of them are rain-fed. (Ref. 1)

In 2014, the Marseille Provence Métropole Urban Community commissioned five new stormwater retention basins in order to preserve the quality of coastal waters and reduce the risk of flooding (Ref. 4). In the past, in the event of severe thunderstorms the sewage networks became saturated and a portion of the water was then directly discharged into the sea without going through the sewage treatment plants (Ref. 1). This is seen as "one of the most important documents of recent years in terms of environmental protection. It foresees in the next 5 years, 185 million euros of major works" (Ref. 1).

The scheme was designed to manage surface water runoff from a 1 in 30 year event and to always intercept and treat the, often more polluted, first flush of highway runoff (ref. 1). A total of 21 linear rain gardens (total of 148m2) were constructed within the grass verge, allowing for the constraints of access, below-ground services, street furniture and trees. The rain gardens utilise a combination of clean stone aggregate and proprietary units to create void space beneath a planted topsoil layer. They were designed to capture runoff from 5500 m2 of highway from a total surface area of 7100 m2 (ref. 1).

Due to human interventions into the natural river flow with dykes, drainage of agricultural and grassland or cutting off its water bodies, the wetland Elster-Luppe had lost its groundwater base which decreased its biodiversity. With the support of the regional biodiversity fund and building on previous efforts, the city of Leipzig, together with partners such as the NABU Sachsen and research institutions, has revitalized, renaturalized and connected the water bodies of Leipzig's North-Western wetlands to one continuous watercourse since 2012. Its objective is restoring its ecosystem functions and increasing awareness for the importance of wetlands (4, 5).

In 2010, rehabilitation works on the Huveaune riverbanks, in the city of Marseille, were carried out by volunteers from three associations: Rives & Cultures, Planète Sciences Méditerranée, and Hunamar. Work included clearing, revegetation, and maintenance of riverbanks (Ref. 1). Since this initiative took place, the l'Huveaune Watershed Union has been formed and taken steps to formalize the rehabilitation of the Huveaune riverbanks (Ref. 2, 3, and 4).

The development of the sustainable district of the Haute Deûle River Banks, associated to Euratechnologies TIC center, leans on recognition of water as an element of its foundation. The current innovation is about the water garden. It is a part of the bigger project, building an eco-district on the banks of the Haute Deule river. The water garden, which plays the role of storage (stormwater) and of phytoremediator, evolves with the rhythm of rain and becomes the emblematic place for this work with water. Its vegetation improves every year and the natural seeds of young willow trees contribute to the establishment of a dynamic ecosystem (Ref 1).

The river Emscher is the symbol of one of the internationally most renowned industrial regions: the Ruhr area with its 5 million inhabitants and an important location of key industries such as steel, chemical, and materials industry. The revitalisation of the Emscher over the last 20 years marks a new phase in the region‘s history and is an impressive example of ecological and socio-economic transformation affecting all aspects of life along the river (Ref. 1).

The aim of the project is to implement a sustainable rainwater management in Hamburg that is adjusted to the heavy rainfalls attributed to global climate change. The project involves the analysis of pilot projects, including GIS-based analysis and the development of the city's rainwater structure plan 2030, Strukturplan Regenwasser 2030, (Reference 1) that will serve as a basis for the Integrated RainWater Management (IRWM) in Hamburg (Reference 5).

The ‘University Park Essen’ is developed on a former railway site in the inner city of Essen, that had been a wasteland for almost 30 years. By revitalizing this about the 13-hectare large plot, an urban green quarter for residential and commercial use is created. The centricity of the park within the new quarter between the city center, shopping mall Limbecker Square and the university campus is the first visible component of the development and therefore shapes the new identity of the quarter (Ref. 4).