Climate Adaptation

We help our customers to protect against flooding and overloaded sewers - and to exploit the positive opportunities of climate protection.

The climate is changing and we are looking at a future where higher temperatures, more rain and more extreme weather events are something we need to be prepared for.

In short, climate adaptation has become a necessity to be considered in more and more projects when we help our clients future-proof buildings, cities and landscapes.

Climate proofing can boost biodiversity

In Denmark, there are two things in particular that climate protection must prevent: Storm surge and torrential rain.

Storm surge protection focuses on protecting towns and areas along Denmark's 7,300 kilometre coastline, where rising sea levels, higher waves and strong winds increase the risk of flooding. This is the case, for example, in Taarbæk and Aalborg.

Stormwater protection is about cleaning and diverting rainwater away from existing sewers, so that it does not overflow and pollute, for example, sea water. This can be done, for example, by creating rainwater basins like in HimmerLand, stormwater tunnels, cisterns and rainwater beds along roads.

In both cases, it's about creating effective solutions that direct water flows to the right places - and taking advantage of the opportunities that climate proofing offers.

The positive thing about climate adaptation is that it paves the way for a lot of new wetlands, such as rainwater ponds, which we use to clean and slow down rainwater. The wetlands and adjacent vegetation enhance biodiversity by increasing the number of insects, which in turn will attract birds, and through this, more animals - and plants - will be able to thrive.

Customised solution with known methods

When we take on a new task, we rarely know the solution in advance, but we work our way towards it across our Environment, Climate and Roads business area, bringing many different disciplines into play.

The solution often involves LAR (Local Stormwater Drainage), re-routing of stormwater pipes and stormwater basins, and we often work with action plans that anticipate risks of damage caused by climate change.

The MIKE Urban water modelling system is also always part of our work. Using the system, we can simulate the impact of rainwater events 20, 50 and 100 years into the future and size the right water features, basins and pipes accordingly.