This week on Local Matters, we have a look back, the 14th and 15 July 2021, one year ago, Luxembourg, parts of Germany and Belgium were flooded. Heavy rainfall made the rivers overflow and numerous buildings were flooded around Luxembourg’s three main rivers Sure, Our and Alzette. For at least four municipalities, the floods were the strongest measured in more than 100 years. Since then authorities are discussing flood prevention measures, such as alarms. In Luxembourg’s South, one prevention measure has been concluded already in 2006. Whereas the river Alzette in many places in the south has supplied the industries and farmlands with water and therefore been modified, diverted, and embedded in concrete, at the Dumontshaff at the outskirts of Schifflange, the river has space to spread. The marshlands are often flooded. Wooden bridges lead strollers and hikers with dry feet over the mud and water. Nora Peters shows went for a walk with us. She works at the Office Régional du Tourisme Sud and is responsible for the hiking routes around the Dumontshaff and the southern Minett region.
The river Alzette in this area has been renatured. Before, farmers had steepened the river embedding to avoid control the amount of water on their fields, the renaturation works put the river in its natural shape. When heavy rain falls, the water takes over the surrounding meadows, flooding everything, but protecting the populated areas upstream from floods. The municipalities Bettembourg and Livange are those that benefit the most. The Dumontshaff is part of the UNESCO Biosphere area Minett. The renaturation also created a habitat for a variety of plants and animals that did not have a home in Luxembourg before. The area is a popular place for ornithologists and bird watchers, and also for hikers and strollers. The marshlands are unique in the south of the country where the nature is mostly formed out of rocks and trees. Similar renaturation projects for flood prevention and biodiversity are planned for other parts of the country as well. Since 2020, the city of Luxembourg is working on the renaturation of the Petrusse Valley. The concrete bedding of the stream will be removed to create an urban habitat – not only for humans but also for animals.