Working together to tackle Eygelshoven water flooding

The municipality of Kerkrade will work together with Waterschap Limburg and the municipality of Landgraaf to tackle flooding in Eygelshoven and the Rimburgerweg in Landgraaf. This is set out in an agreement that will be signed shortly. In a video entitled Working together to tackle flooding in Eygelshoven - YouTube the situation on site is explained.

Due to climate change, we are experiencing increasingly heavy rainfall. Torrential downpours cause flooding in the valleys of the Limburg Hill Country. The core of Eygelshoven was hit hard last summer and flooded with water. Damage was also extensive in the area around Rimburgerweg.

Alderman Tim Weijers (Public Space): "The flooding that affected the residents of Eygelshoven at the end of June 2021 caused a lot of inconvenience and damage. We want to prevent this as much as possible in the future. That's why we are now getting to work together with Waterschap Limburg and the municipality of Landgraaf to be more resistant to extreme precipitation in the future."

Collaboration

The municipalities and the water board seek cooperation with each other and with stakeholders. This cooperation is necessary; only by taking joint measures can the situation be improved. And input from the environment is necessary to arrive at a supported and working package of measures.

By the end of 2021, we have already indicated two types of measures for Kerkrade:

Short-term measures

Measures taken in the meantime or to be further explored in the near future:

  • The traffic circle on Waubacherweg is provided with a different superelevation (cross slope) so that the water is directed to Putstraat and no longer runs towards Veldhofstraat.
  • We are lowering the level of the Rimburger road.
  • The walk-in from the Put Street to the Vlootsgraph will be improved.
  • The Water Board is looking at cleaning up and enlarging the buffer at the Hermang quarry.
  • We are exploring the possibilities of deepening and widening the Fleet Trench.

Longer-term measures

In the longer term, the two parties are looking at a broad package of measures in rural areas, urban areas and around the water systems to further improve the situation. For example, additional buffering in the Gravenweg discharge basin. Further measures are also being examined to prevent water from running through the small tunnel on Putstraat.