Completed

The Ernz Blanche (Luxembourg) river restoration sought to undo channelisation that had uniformised the river and increased downstream flooding. It relocated the watercourse into the thalweg, widened and/or raised the bed, re-meandered the channel, backfilled the former bed, restored adjacent streams, redesigned pipeline connections, and redeveloped areas around hydraulic structures.

After the 2002 feasibility, major works were delivered in 2010–2011 on the Koedange–Supp reach (~5 km), reducing flood peaks at Larochette (–3.8 m³/s; –25 cm) and creating ~110,000 m³ of storage (project cost ≈ €1.52 m). In 2016, longitudinal continuity downstream at Ernzen was restored via a pool-type fish pass at Wehnschelt and a rough ramp at Milleboesch. The project area has also been tied into the PC5 cycle path and Natura 2000 management.

Under Luxembourg’s 2021–2027 Flood Risk Management Plan, additional riverbed restoration and space-for-river measures are listed/advancing on several reaches, incl. 417 m at Larochette; 1,102 m along CR119 at Ernzen (in implementation); 2,739 m at Altlinster; and 629 m at Medernach. Recent 2025 decisions cover local flood-protection works and targeted sediment removal in Larochette, while continuous hydrometric monitoring at station “Larochette / Ernz Blanche” supports ongoing management.

WWF’s Danube-Carpathian Programme, together with residents of Mindya (Veliko Tarnovo), reconnected the Veselina River to a former meander near the village. When the bend was cut off in the past the channel incised by ~150 cm, so a low sill was built (works 2007–2008) to raise water levels and route flow back into the old course.
The reconnection now creates slower, warmer waters that support breeding habitat for fish and birds and add retention during high flows.
Project timeline: initiated 2005, works completed April 2008; total cost ≈ €76 k funded by WWF and the DOEN Foundation. The reach lies on WFD water body BG1YN130R029, classified as HMWB.
In May 2012 the site was legally designated the “River Veselina” Protected Area, announced by the Ministry of Environment and Water on the International Day for Biological Diversity; the designation explicitly includes the restored meander. The protected area covers about 98.6 ha between Kapinovo and Mindya.
Since designation, local biodiversity work has documented amphibian and reptile assemblages within the protected area, adding evidence of habitat value.

Along the lower ~8 km of the Ezousa riverbed near Paphos, a MAR/SAT scheme uses the aquifer as a natural reservoir: tertiary-treated effluent from the Paphos WWTP is conveyed to infiltration ponds in the riverbed, naturally filtered, stored and later abstracted for irrigation. Built in 2003, the system comprises five pond groups (23 basins in total) supplied by a 500-mm main, with a design capacity of roughly 9,000–12,000 m³/day. Annual recharge increased from ~1.63 Mm³ (2004) to 4.44 Mm³ (2015); WDD’s assessment (2006–2015) reported no adverse effects attributable to recharge, with only occasional chlorination by-products detected downstream. Research at the site indicates slight attenuation of nutrients and notes copper in groundwater exceeding EPA standards, likely of geogenic origin. Today, all reclaimed water produced in Paphos is routed to the Ezousa aquifer and then pumped and distributed for irrigation through the government network.
Since 2021, real-time sensors (water level, EC, temperature) linked to the INOWAS platform complement routine sampling, strengthening operational control.

Located in Geneva, this case describes the long-running programme of green roofs at the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG). The first roof (≈0.55 ha, 1993) was designed to retain ~30.25 m³/day; compared with a conventional roof it retains about 60% of runoff, while also recreating urban habitat. Since then the scheme has expanded: in 2023 HUG added 2,835 m² on three buildings (Maison de l’enfance et de l’adolescence, Adult Emergency extension, GIBOR). After a full inventory in 2024, HUG reports more than 11,900 m² of vegetated roofs across its sites.
Local monitoring in Geneva (TVEG/HEPIA) confirms hydrologic benefits beyond the original design assumptions: storm peaks are delayed and attenuated, with up to ~75% reduction for a summer event (and ~48% in winter), and a larger share of water returned by evapotranspiration (~61%) relative to a reference roof. The Canton’s “Nature en ville” programme documents biodiversity outcomes and provides up-to-date technical guidance; at cantonal level, compliant green roofs can lower stormwater fees.

Germasogeia (Amathos) River crosses Yermasoyia municipality near Limassol. The measure, launched in 1982, restores natural purification and recharge of the Germasogeia alluvial aquifer, processes disrupted by the upstream dam. It works by gradual reservoir releases while maintaining the riverbed’s high transmissivity. Monitoring includes flows at four weirs, groundwater levels in observation wells and coastal salinity; pumped water supplies Limassol and nearby communities.

More recently, the Water Development Department (WDD) and academic partners developed and validated optimisation models (2016–2019) on WDD data to keep target water tables with lower release volumes, formalising the conjunctive-use operation. In 2015, a 1–1.5 m concrete weir on the Germasogeia was removed within a hydromorphological restoration project; it had reportedly been built to enhance recharge. In parallel, desalination capacity serving Limassol (e.g., Episkopi, Vasilikos, and new/expanded units) now provides a major share of potable supply, easing pressure on the aquifer in dry years. In the wider district, WDD also operates a separate MAR scheme at Akrotiri (17 recharge ponds, since 2016) using tertiary-treated effluent against seawater intrusion.

Overall, Germasogeia remains a long-running SAT/MAR scheme, now embedded in a diversified water-supply system and supported by modelling and river restoration actions.

Leidsche Rijn is no longer only “under development”: the VINEX new town has largely been delivered (c. 1997–2025; ~30,000 homes). The original ambition was to retain stormwater on site, minimise imports of poor-quality water, and use extensive SuDS. It has been realised as a near-closed urban water system. Rainwater is stored and infiltrated via wadis/bioswales, canals and ponds; the Haarrijnseplas functions as the seasonal buffer and as a public bathing lake. The system is actively managed by water authority HDSR through circulation and level control with large pumping stations (e.g., Vleuterweide and Terwijde; Vleuterweide’s two pumps move ~107 m³/min). Utrecht has tightened rainwater policy, prioritising reuse → retention/infiltration → discharge and incentivising disconnection from sewers. Routine monitoring now covers wadi performance (annual coring for 10–15 pollutants and renewal of the top layer when saturated); vertical sand/reed filters are used to polish water before inflow to Haarrijnseplas. Recreation and ecology remain integral, with recent seasons reporting good bathing-water status.

Along the Ill between Colmar and Strasbourg, a basin-wide programme combines classical flood protection (dykes, optimisation/automation of barrages) with NWRM (riparian forest restoration, oxbow reconnections, stream re-naturalisation) to lower flood peaks, increase storage, curb erosion and enhance biodiversity. Initiated by the former Alsace Region, delivery today is ensured by the mixed association now called “Rivières de Haute-Alsace” (created in 2017; name adopted in 2020). The 2014–2024 Ill management scheme (~€19 m) included major works at Erstein’s Steinsau barrage: full refurbishment with a fish pass equipped for video-counting and six fish-friendly Archimedean screws for hydropower; Steinsau and nearby Boeschey are presented locally as multi-functional (flood safety, ecology, leisure, energy). The strategic framework continues in cycle-2 planning: the 2022–2027 Flood Risk Management Plan for Rhin-Meuse keeps priority on risk reduction, nature-based retention and space for rivers, while the SAGE “Ill–Nappe–Rhin” remains the operational reference (CLE renewed by prefectural order on 16 May 2024). Natura 2000 objectives in the Grand Ried also support reconnection and management of side arms to sustain floodplain habitats and functions.

Restoration of the length of the Borova stream, increased by 6.3 km a shallow meandering stream bed, where sections of speedily running water alternated with sections of a slow stream were created, financed by the Ministry of Environment of Czech Republic.
Today this project is still relevant and effective, although it would need reconstruction in places.

The national Landscape Revitalisation and Integrated River Basin Management Program (2010) aimed to curb ecosystem degradation and flood/drought risk by retaining rain where it falls, especially in damaged parts of the landscape. It deployed many small water-retention elements across 488 municipalities, restoring landscape storage via basins, ponds and similar measures. Early phases created ~7,700 seasonal jobs with about €43 million invested; the programme was adopted by Government Resolution 744/2010.
Following a change of government in 2012, the national programme was wound down; only ~4% of planned funds were disbursed and monitoring was not established in time. Yet many structures remained in place. In the Košice region alone, ~250,000 m³ of green/retention works were completed in 2010–2012, and the approach continues there under a region-wide Restoration Programme approved in 2021 with a 2021–2030 horizon. The Ministry of Agriculture is also preparing a ‘Climate Fund for Soil’ to support such measures.

The Salt of Life project (LIFE11 NAT/BG/000362) restored the lagoon’s water-management infrastructure at Atanasovsko Lake by repairing dykes and barriers, dredging 23 km of the perimeter channel and rehabilitating 20.5 km of embankments to secure long-term habitat conditions for roosting and breeding birds. Building on this, Lagoon of LIFE (LIFE17 NAT/BG/000558, 2018–2024) scaled up restoration: three major earth dikes (~5.8 km) were rebuilt, 17.6 km of mini-dikes restored and 14.3 km of internal saline channels cleaned; the North sea sluice was repaired in 2021. These actions increased water exchange more than fourfold, stabilised water levels and salinity, improved oxygen, and reduced chlorophyll-a - directly improving ~220 ha with positive effects across >700 ha. A pilot, low-impact method using a mini-excavator to build/maintain mini-dikes reduced cost, time and disturbance and has been widely applied. Macrophyte recovery advanced with Ruppia maritima transplanted (TERFS/Chimove), establishing three self-reproducing colonies. In 2024, Greater Flamingo bred here for the first time in Bulgaria. An After-LIFE plan and an active Public Advisory Council support ongoing maintenance with Black Sea Salinas, strengthening resilience to extreme rainfall and safeguarding salt-extraction infrastructure and lagoon habitats.