At the University of Twente, we work hard to preserve balance in our ecosystem. Water plays an important role. The region of Enschede is dealing with a looming shortage of water, which has consequences for the development of the city. At UT, we think about our consumption of drinking water, as well as how we deal with rainwater. Our retention pond is a nice example of one of the many ways we deal with overflow water and heavy rainfall.
This pond collects the overflow water from the Roombeek, the stream that runs through the campus. The water can slowly infiltrate into the soil to replenish the groundwater table. After heavy rainfall, the lower banks of the Roombeek behind the Zilverling overflow into the retention pond. This reduces the water level in the Roombeek and the risk of flooding downstream. A weir allows regulation of the level of water in the Roombeek.
