Designing dynamic water storage systems to mitigate drought stress in urban environments: Investigating methods to design a digital representation of the Bajeskwartier water system

As a result of ongoing climate change, urban environments are put under increasing pressure from extreme weather events. Insufficient research is being done into the modeling of urban drought resilience. Most urban drought resilience and water network optimization models are designed for city-scale demand with regional water supply networks and...

Flash Drought Typologies and Societal Impacts: A Worldwide Review of Occurrence, Nomenclature, and Experiences of Local Populations

Flash droughts, characterized by rapid onset and intensification, are increasingly occurring as a consequence of climate change and rising temperatures. However, existing hydrometeorological definitions fail to encompass the full range of flash droughts, many of which have distinct local physical attributes. Consequently, these events often...

Circularity and adaptability as possible approaches to mitigate urban drought: a case study of the city of Breda

From 2018 to 2020, the city of Breda (NL) faced drought, with significant economic losses and water scarcity problems. The water board within which the city is located began to consider new possible water management practices, due to the unsustainability of the current ones. This study aims to investigate how a change of the current paradigm can...

From Drowning to Swimming: A resilient and liveable city in Prins Alexander polder

The city of Rotterdam has a long and interesting history. It began as a small settlement on the River Rotte, at the place where the river met with the Nieuwe Maas. In 1270, the long dam was built in an attempt to reclaim the swampy land for development. In another word, since its origins, Rotterdam had to adapt to the natural circumstances of...

Cascading effects of sustained low water on inland shipping

The river Rhine is one of Europe’s busiest waterways and is part of the Rhine-Alpine corridor. In 2018 the river experienced a severe low discharge extreme. This impacted the river’s transport capacity for a period of several months, causing shortages of source materials and fuels in regions far in-land. Historically, prolonged droughts of this...

Retention of Rhine water in the Rijnstrangen to mitigate drought

Over the last years the Netherlands has often had to deal with droughts and water shortages during summer. This problem is caused by long periods without rain but with high evaporation rates and is enhanced by groundwater extraction for drinking water. Due to climate change, these droughts are expected to occur more often and become more severe....

The Drivers of Child Mortality During the 2012–2016 Drought in La Guajira, Colombia

During the 2012–2016 drought in La Guajira, Colombia, child mortality rates rose to 23.4 out of 1000. Most of these children belonged to the Wayuu indigenous community, the largest and one of the most vulnerable in Colombia. At the municipal level, this study found a significant positive correlation between the average child mortality rate...