Flooding, such as in the new residential area on Langlaar in Eindhoven, can be prevented. This is what urban planner and landscape designer Nanda Sluijsmans says, who often works with these types of projects. “This neighborhood was simply not prepared for this weather,” she says about the nuisance in Langlaar. Draining water is usually part of preparing the houses for habitation and is therefore often done at the end of the construction process. That should be the other way around, Sluijsmans argues.
“Extreme rainfall has simply not been taken into account, even though that is possible. These enormous amounts of water during construction are becoming increasingly common and will only increase in the future,” says Sluijsmans, who completed his studies in Architecture at the TU in Eindhoven.
Construct additional wadis
According to her, the problems can be prevented quite easily by constructing additional wadis in advance, ‘even if only temporarily’. These are ditches that allow water to sink into the subsurface more easily. Or, when the wadis become full, guide the water to surface water such as ditches or ponds.
Additional drainage would also have to be installed. Because another cause of the nuisance is that the soil is not well-drained. But that can be remedied, says 43-year-old Sluijsmans, for example by making extra holes in the ground so that the water can be absorbed more easily.
Drainage of water is only arranged at the end of construction
Draining water is usually part of preparing the houses for habitation and is therefore often done at the end of the construction process. This should be the other way around, argues the urban planner. “The builders usually just start building, while the water drainage still has to be installed. This should be included as standard in the construction plan. Unfortunately, that is still not common.”
New housing estates are also not yet ‘well established’. This means that the newly planted greenery in the neighborhood is not yet mature enough to absorb all the water, but this will improve over the years. “This neighborhood was simply not prepared for this weather,” says about the nuisance in Langlaar.
The houses on the Langlaar are part of the large new construction project ‘Buurtschap te Veld’, where 670 houses will ultimately be built. The district is located in the north of Eindhoven, near the A50 highway.
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Entire new-build area is flooded after enormous rainfall, water cannot escape