1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Nancy
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Aménagements du ruisseau du grémillon
Short description of the intervention
"Renaturation and flood control works on the Grémillon stream are being undertaken in the Nancy agglomeration. The stream is subject to overflows and was highly artificialized during the urban development of the Nancy agglomeration, which caused a slow degradation of the natural environment during strong storms. In order to solve these problems, Grand Nancy has decided to implement a set of measures designed to protect the populations from overflowing of the stream and to support the regaining quality of the natural environment"(Ref. 1).
Address

Ruisseau Grémillon
54270 Essey-lès-Nancy
France

Location
The NBS is situated in an area, with clear delineation of boundaries and a specific shape (polygon). The NBS project can also have more than one area location (more than one polygon, situated close by).
Area boundary
POINT (6.2771771955592 48.704473319153)
POINT (6.2489937369758 48.709276328071)
POINT (6.2064697297528 48.691990136956)
POINT (6.2490327590736 48.707584582525)
NBS area image
Source of NBS area image
Works were undertaken at several points along the river (Ref. 5).
Total area
12000000.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Natural Heritage Area/Untouched nature
Website of the intervention
http://www.grandnancy.eu/vie-quotidienne/environnement/prevention-des-inondatio…
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
unknown
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2016
End date of the intervention
2019
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Please specify "other" stage of the intervention
"The project is expected to be completed in July 2018" (Ref. 3)
Goals of the intervention
-Flooding control to protect the population -Improve water quality and reduce water flows (Ref. 2)
-Preserve natural environment
"These developments will:
• reduce the vulnerability of urban areas to floods;
• to combat erosion and shoreline erosion;
• improve water quality to promote the development of biodiversity;
• integrate the stream with existing urban environment through better landscape value." (Ref. 3)
- This flooding control plan has been implemented because of the flooding disaster of 2012 (Ref. 2)
- Improvement of the ecological quality of the creek (Ref.2 )

(Ref. 5):
-Creation of two flood zone expansions 15,000 m3and 2,700 m3
-Optimization of existing retention
-Widening of the major bed
-Remeandering for a dynamic slowdown of flows
Quantitative targets
One hundred of trees will be cut down and replaced (Ref. 3) -Plantation of 218 trees in the Essey-lès-Nancy area (Ref. 2)
-Creation of two flood zone expansions 15,000 m3and 2,700 m3
Monitoring indicators defined
Number of trees cut down and replaced (Ref 3) number of trees planted in the Essey-lès-Nancy area (Ref. 2).
Water retention capacity of flood zones (m^3) (Ref. 5)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Water management (SDG 6)
Flood protection
Improvements to water quality
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity restoration
Green space creation and/or management
What types of restoration goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Ecosystem-focused
What activities are implemented to realize the restoration goals and targets?
Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
Restore ecological connectivity
Implementation activities
"The planning of the Grémillon Stream in Essey-lès-Nancy will require the cutting down of hundred trees (willows for the most part)","These cutting operations will begin before the nesting of the birds"
"All trees will be replaced. The new plantations will be completed in October 2017, following work on the creek and at the time of the most favorable period for the recovery of plants. Where possible, willow strains will be conserved to improve natural cuttings of new plants." (Ref. 3)
- Renaturation plan to slowdown the water flows, removal of artificial banks to create a natural stream for ecological gain.
-Landscape integration of the creek
-Plantation of 218 trees in the Essey-lès-Nancy area (Ref. 2)
(Ref. 5)
-Creation of two flood zone expansions 15,000 m3and 2,700 m3
-Optimization of existing retention
-Widening of the major bed
-Remeandering for a dynamic slowdown of flows
Type of NBS project
Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Riverbank/Lakeside greens
Blue infrastructure
Rivers/streams/canals/estuaries
What is the level of innovation / development of the NBS related to water management?
Medium / High: sustainable urban drainage systems which include water storage and diverts water flooding
Vegetation Type
Trees
Other
Please specify how many trees were planted
Plantation of 218 trees in the Essey-lès-Nancy area (Ref. 2)
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Water (surface and ground water for drinking and non-drinking purposes)
Regulating services
Flood regulation
Water purification / filtration
Other
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Maintenance of genetic diversity
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Please specify "other regulating service"
to combat erosion and shoreline erosion;(Ref 3)
Scale
Spatial scale
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Local government/Municipality
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Government-led
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
-Implemented by the "Grand Nancy Metropole" (local government) (Ref. 3, page 4)
-Partly financed by the Water Agency of the Region and European Funds (FEDER) (Ref. 3, page 6)
-The works are done by different private actors such as the independent engineering Agency "ARTELIA" (Ref. 2 )
-regional gov: "This project is part of the overall improvement of the quality of the aquatic environments of the bassin Rhin Meuse, as outlined in the Master Plan for Water Management and Planning (SDAGE)." (Ref. 2)
-"Several technical partners are associated with the project: Department of Territories of Meurthe and Moselle, the National Office of Water and Aquatic Environments, the Departmental Federation for Fishing and Protection of the Aquatic Environment of Meurthe-et-Moselle." (Ref. 3)
Key actors - initiating organization
Local government/municipality
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
EU body
Regional government
Local government/municipality
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Dissemination of information and education
Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
"This project is part of the overall improvement of the quality of the aquatic environments of the bassin Rhin Meuse, as outlined in the Master Plan for Water Management and Planning (SDAGE)." (Ref. 2)
-In response of the flooding disaster of 2012 (Ref. 2)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Mandatory (based on policy)
Intervention is mandatory
Spatial planning guidance
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
Sustainable Development Activities Report of the Grand Nancy Métropole: "Preserving and diversifying water resources, treating and distributing quality water, securing its food supply and preventing flood risks remain priorities for the metropole." (Ref. 4, page 35)
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
Municipal / city level environmental plan or programme
Please specify other vegetation type
removal of artificial banks to create a natural stream (rEF 2)
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
"Several technical partners are associated with the project: Department of Territories of Meurthe and Moselle, the National Office of Water and Aquatic Environments, the Departmental Federation for Fishing and Protection of the Aquatic Environment of Meurthe-et-Moselle." (Ref. 3)
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The operation will be partly financed by the Rhin Meuse Water Agency (€ 1,246,000 excl. VAT) and the European Funds (FEDER)." (Ref. 3)
Co-finance for NBS
Yes
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
€2,000,000 - €4,000,000
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
4000000 (Ref 4)
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
-"Cout global du projet 4 millions euros" (Ref. 4).
"The total cost of the project is estimated at nearly 4 000 000 € excluding VAT, of which almost 3 300 000 € exclusively for works. The operation will be partly financed by the Rhin Meuse Water Agency (€ 1,246,000 excl. VAT) and the European Funds (FEDER)." (Ref. 3)

Funding up to:
€ 1.25 million euros by the Rhine Meuse Water Agency
342,827 € euros by the Grand Est Region (Ref. 5).
Source(s) of funding
EU funds
Public regional budget
Public local authority budget
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Business models
Urban offsetting model (biodiversity or water)
Please specify other environmental impact
to fight against erosion and bank undermining phenomena (Ref 3)
water retention: "“We are going to remove 172 unsuitable trees such as poplars, to put in species that retain the banks and pump water, such as willows and alders. And we will replant 472." (Ref 6)
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Type of innovation
Technological
Infrastructural innovation
Please specify technological innovation
Renaturation plan to avoid over flows, and using nature (trees, vegetation to create swales) to fight against flooding and improve water quality. (Ref. 1, 2 and 3)
Novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Replicability/Transferability
The innovation is not referred to as being transferred to new initiative(s)
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Water management and blue areas
Improved water quality
Increased protection against flooding
Improved stormwater management
Enhanced protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems
Green space and habitat
Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
Reduced biodiversity loss
Increased number of species present
Improved prevention or control of invasive alien species
Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales
Other
Description of environmental benefits
Water management and blue areas
-Improved water quality/biodiversity/promote landscape design: "These developments will allow: reduce the vulnerability of urban areas to floods; to fight against erosion and bank undermining phenomena; improve water quality to promote the development of biodiversity; integrate the watercourse into the existing urban fabric through better landscaping (Ref. 3).
-Increased protection against flooding: Creation of two zones expansion of floods 15,000 m3 and 2,700 m3 (Ref. 5). "Optimization of existing retention, Widening of the major bed , Remeandering for a dynamic slowdown flows" (Ref. 5).
-Enhanced protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems/remove invasive/non-native species: "“We are going to remove 172 unsuitable trees such as poplars, to put in species that retain the banks and pump water, such as willows and alders. And we will replant 472. The birds should appreciate it, as well as the fish" (Ref. 6).

Green space and habitat:
-Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems (local habitats for local species)/ecological connectivity: "And where the stream is already above ground, the banks will be vegetated, the meanders resumed. "It is an operation which is also ecological" (Ref. 6).
Economic impacts
Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
Reduce financial cost for urban management
Description of economic benefits
Increase of jobs: engineering firms involved in project delivery (Ref. 5).
Reduce financial cost for urban management: in the long term, efforts are expected to protect people and property and reduce costs related to flooding events (Ref. 3).
Social and cultural impacts
Unknown
Description of social and cultural benefits
Unknown
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Reduce risks of flooding thanks to renaturation plan, integration of vegetation and trees for biodiversity and to improve water quality (Ref. 2).
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Water management (SDG 6)
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Environmental quality
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Paid employment positions
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
No specific information available as of August 7, 2020. Stay at home orders were active in all of France from March 16, 2020 to May 11, 2020 (https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/coronavirus-covid-19).
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Yes
Mode(s) of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Focus Group
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Yes
Please specify
Public meeting with the public in February 2017 (Ref. 2)
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Ref. 1
Ref. 2
Ref. 3
Ref. 4
Ref. 5
Ref. 6
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
Presentation of project (1.49 MB) 1.49 MB
List of references
1. Métropole Grand Nancy(n.d). "Travaux de renaturation et de lutte contre les inondations du ruisseau du Grémillon". (Website not available in 2020).
2. Artelia (2017). "Travaux de renaturation et de lutte contre les inondations du Grémillon". (Website not available in 2020).
3. Métropole Grand Nancy (2017). "AMÉNAGEMENTS DU RUISSEAU DU GRÉMILLON". Dossier Presse. Available at: https://www.esseylesnancy.fr/accueil/actualites/amenagements-du-ruisseau-du-gremillon (Accessed: August 7, 2020).
4. Métropole Grand Nancy (2016). "Rapport Annuel de Développement Durable 2016". Available at: https://en.calameo.com/read/00207447499c1b3576b68 (Accessed: August 7, 2020).
5. Métropole Grand Nancy (2019). "Travaux de renaturationet de lutte contre les inondations du ruisseau du Grémillon". Available at: https://www.cerema.fr/system/files/documents/2019/04/9_cerema_presentation_gremillon_v2_2.pdf (Accessed: August 7, 2020).
6. Mazeaud, Guillaume (2017). "Le Grémillon en passe d’être domestiqué". L'est Republicain. Available at: https://www.estrepublicain.fr/edition-de-nancy-agglomeration/2017/02/24/le-gremillon-en-passe-d-etre-domestique (Accessed: August 7, 2020).
Comments and notes
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/before_after_renaturation.jpg
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/avant_travaux.jpg
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/apres_travaux.jpg
Public Images
People in construction gear surveying a river from a bridge
https://www.cerema.fr/system/files/documents/2019/04/9_cerema_presentation_gremillon_v2_2.pdf
Aerial overview sketch of plans for renaturing river
https://www.cerema.fr/system/files/documents/2019/04/9_cerema_presentation_gremillon_v2_2.pdf