Aarhus parks will hold back rain to prevent flooding

Aarhus Municipality is using parks, squares and green spaces to hold back heavy rain and prevent flooded basements and stairwells, DR reports.

In Åby Park, a small stream carries water into a basin. Elsewhere, raised embankments at a newly built square help slow the flow. These features form part of the city’s protection against flooded basements and manhole covers being forced open.

Technical solutions have been built beneath and around several of Aarhus’s parks and public spaces to slow rainwater before it overwhelms the sewage system.

“We use the landscape. Aarhus lies in a kind of hollow, so we have to use the hills that lead down towards the city. Among other things, we build basins there that can temporarily hold water while there is the greatest pressure on our pipes,” said Birgit Weber, who works on climate adaptation for Aarhus Municipality.

From green to blue-green park

In the Aarhus district of Åbyhøj, old concrete pipes have been dug up and removed. Rainwater now flows through an open, winding stream and into a basin that can hold more than 1,000 cubic metres of water.

The blue-green park serves as a technical facility hidden within the urban landscape, but it also offers other benefits, Weber said.

“It is a huge synergy project. A free-flowing stream supports biodiversity, provides a recreational meeting place and gives residents the opportunity to experience the journey of rain through the park when the skies open,” she said.

Despite the adaptations, residents must still keep an eye on their basements, stairwells and shower drains.

“Climate adaptation is here to stay, but we adapt to a certain level. Citizens must still protect their own basements when they see rain in the forecast,” Weber said.

Heavy showers are expected in several parts of Aarhus later today. Swimming is not permitted in the basin.