Background
According to climate scenario projections made for Estonia, our country will face significant changes in temperature, wind and rainfall by 2100.
Annual precipitation in Estonia will increase by 19% whereas the highest growth is expected in spring (24%) and winter (22%). At the same time, higher frequency of rainfall exceeding 30 mm per day (increase by 99% in 2021–2030, by as much as 231% in 2031–2050 and by 435% in 2051–2100) as well as higher frequency and severity of torrential rains in the summer are to be expected. It is already now that the existing rainwater systems cannot cope with torrential rain, and floods in cities occur due to insufficient storm water drainage.
An extremely important share of responsibility in this respect rests with local governments which organise the construction and maintenance of storm water management systems in the territory of their municipalities. This is the reason it is reasonable to start increasing their resilience to climate changes now, especially their capability to manage floods caused by torrential rains, including the development of rainwater harvesting solutions (SuDS, see more).
Goal
The LIFE Urban Storm project aims to develop sustainable and climate-resilient storm water management systems.
The aim of the project is to increase the capacity of Estonian municipalities to adapt to climate changes, especially in managing the floods caused by torrential rains.
It is also important to increase the performance capacity of water management specialists and engineers in Estonian municipalities and multiplying the output of the project in other municipalities.
Expected effect – by the end of the project
An area of approximately 15 ha in Viimsi will have been made more resilient to climate changes
Decrease in requests for repair crews and cases of flooding due to storm water in the catchment areas connected to the sample area
Water management specialists of Estonian municipalities will be aware of SuDS solutions
The awareness of Tallinn and Viimsi residents about sustainable storm water management solutions and adapting to climate changes will have increased
The willingness of developer to use sustainable storm water management solutions will have increased.
Actions
Budget
- Total project budget: 1,957,843 euros, including the eligible part of the budget 1,686,093 euros + additional financing by Viimsi municipality 581,203 euros.
- Contribution of the EU LIFE programme (60% of the eligible part): 1,011,654 euros.