About Flanders Environment Agency
The Flanders Environment Agency adopts a position as a solution-oriented partner. Our goal is to have a positive impact on the Flemish living environment and to help make it climate resilient. Together with partners, stakeholders and other interested parties, we focus on achieving tangible results in the field and in policy, so that we can respond quickly to society’s changing needs.
Our mission and vision support our goal. For the current and future generations in Flanders
- we ensure clean, appealing and sufficient water,
- we ensure clean air, and
- we help steer adaptation in response to the changing climate.
In addition, we are committed to open space, smart cities and a circular and climate-adaptive living environment.
Our vision: 'The Flanders Environment Agency is your solution-oriented partner for a climate-resilient living environment.'
About the case study
Ostend has a crucial water infrastructure that is responsible for the drainage of rainwater from both urban areas and a polder area of nearly 100 km2. The plant features an automatic grate cleaning system that removes floating debris to prevent damage to pumps and sluices and prevent marine pollution. The plant operates largely automatically, supported by more than 50 sensors, and can also be operated manually in case of malfunctions. The software of the plant is complex and it requires continues updates and improvements to reduce failure risks.
Contribution to STORM_SAFE
Through the STORM_SAFE project, the Flanders Environment Agency seeks to learn from the experiences of other North Sea region partners to improve its ability and capacity to design and manage water management infrastructure that is modern, resilient, and (cyber)secure in terms of software. Special attention will be given to a location of key importance for coastal water safety, where we can test and apply the transnational best practices.
Pilot of an automated discharge structure at Maertenssas sluice
Together with the Eindhoven University of Technology, the VMM initiated a pilot project focusing on the control of the Maertenssas discharge structure. This structure is responsible for discharging excess freshwater from the polder system to the sea, which is particularly important during periods of heavy rainfall. This is also important as with rising sea levels, there are fewer opportunities for drainage.
The control system of the Maertenssas is technically complex, but can operate fully automatically. A network of sensors continuously monitors water levels, gate positions, and other operational parameters. Based on these measurements, the system autonomously decides when the gates should open or close to safely discharge excess water, while maintaining a priority safety mechanism to prevent seawater intrusion.
The installation can be operated locally or remotely, in manual or automatic mode. In addition, external data, such as tidal information, is integrated into the control logic. This increases robustness and flexibility, but also adds to the overall complexity of the system.
In addition to water safety, the Maertenssas sluice also takes into account fish migration. In spring, glass eels migrate from the sea into the polder system. Discharge structures such as Maertenssas can form a barrier to this migration. To facilitate eel migration, selected gates are kept slightly open when water levels on both sides are equal, allowing young eels to safely enter the polder system.
Due to the complexity of the installation, software updates are not straightforward. VMM aims to achieve greater standardisation in the programming of such critical water management installations. In collaboration with Eindhoven University of Technology, VMM’s technical documentation and control requirements were translated into a formal model. This allows to perform simulations and test how the generated software works on the hardware and that the software does what is expected of it. This modelling process often unearths hidden requirements that are not documented. The formal model is accompanied by a graphical user interface, mimicking the one currently in use. By simulating the system for historical water level data, the model is validated. Next, PLC code is generated from the formal model to implement on a PLC hardware test set-up. This process has helped to better map out control specifications for this critical infrastructure.