The river Meuse is the source of drinking water for 7 million people living in the Netherlands and Belgium. In order to guarantee the supply of safe drinking water, it is indispensable to safeguard the supply of sufficient water of good quality in the Meuse. Deltares knowledge and research institute has – on behalf of RIWA-Maas (in representation of its Dutch members Dunea, Evides, and WML) and Rijkswaterstaat Zuid-Nederland - developed the RIBASIM model which serves as a tool to predict and further understand water availability in the Meuse catchment. Based on this collaborative project, this research study arose out of a dual concern, on the one hand on the low discharge levels of the Meuse in recent years, and on the other hand on the negative impacts that climate change will have on (water) discharge in the river (as predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) amongst others). This research has the objective of implementing the model to shed light on the impacts that climate change can have on water supply in the international river basin of the Meuse. Therefore, the research shows the projected impacts on future water availability in Meuse as a result of climate change. |
