2023-09-09 09:18:08
This week, the podcast “Le Tournant” considers ways to restore the water cycle. After a previous issue which demonstrated the extent to which we were disrupting this cycle, now comes some possible solutions, one of which in particular: creating “rain gardens” in our urbanized spaces.
It’s Aurore Degré, professor of hydrology at Gembloux-Agro-Bio-Tech who introduces us to the concept, behind the buildings of the faculty of agronomy, in the very center of the town of Gembloux: “ A rain garden is a green space that will provide us with hydrological services, by storing water and slowing its flow, which allows it to better penetrate the soil and recharge the water tables. “.
The stakes are high. Today, through the artificialization and waterproofing of soils in urban spaces, we have significantly complicated the recharge of groundwater. These “rain gardens”, which collect, downstream, the water that runs all around, are therefore a way of compensating for this problem.
Concretely, how does it look? ” In fact, we have brought together, on the same land, ditches, ponds… different devices that allow water to be stored and slowed down to prevent it from going directly into the sewers. ” describes Aurore Degré to us. The whole thing is quite pretty to see because these large ditches, which we more precisely call “swales”, also allow the development of a whole fauna and flora that loves water. In addition to the hydrological service, these spaces are therefore also places of biodiversity and, as green spaces in the middle of a city, also constitute islands of coolness in the event of extreme heat.
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#Tomorrow #rain #gardens #cities #towns