Imagine the ground acting like a giant sponge that soaks up heavy rain and lets it out slowly during dry spells. Instead of letting water rush away and cause floods, this project redesigns landscapes to hold onto water naturally. It's like upgrading a city's drainage from a simple pipe to a smart, living system that protects the land.
European regions face massive financial losses from river flooding and droughts. Current water management is too slow to adapt, leaving landscapes unable to retain water effectively.
The project creates practical sponge measures, long-term landscape strategies, action plans, and roadmaps for water retention.
If you are a landscaping firm dealing with urban flooding—this project developed practical sponge measures that improve water retention. By applying these nature-based solutions, you can offer clients a way to reduce the risk of river flooding damages which cost €7.6 billion annually.
If you are a farm manager dealing with drought-induced crop losses—this project developed strategies for enhancing groundwater and soil water systems. This helps maintain soil moisture and protects against the €9 billion in annual drought-induced losses.
If you are a risk assessor dealing with climate-related property damage—this project developed socio-economic appraisals and roadmaps for sponge landscapes. This allows you to better predict and mitigate the financial impact of extreme water events in river basins.
Based on available project data, the project focuses on demonstrating 'economically feasible' approaches, but specific unit costs for implementation are not provided.
Yes, the project specifically aims to 'upscale' sponge measures and demonstrates them in three large river basins (Pinios, Lèze, and Vecht) to create regional scale strategies.
Based on available project data, there is no mention of specific patents or licensing agreements; the focus is on the dissemination of best practices and roadmaps.
The project runs from 2024-09-01 to 2028-08-31, suggesting a four-year window for demonstration and validation of the strategies.
It integrates by evaluating existing sponge measures and implementing new ones within interconnected groundwater, soil, and surface water systems.
The consortium is highly diverse with 28 partners across 6 countries. While it is research-heavy (9 university and research entities), it includes 3 industry partners and 4 SMEs, indicating a strong push toward practical application. The presence of 16 'Other' partners suggests significant involvement from regional authorities and land managers, which is critical for the regional-scale deployment of water management solutions.
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