This Thursday, Brussels MP Aurélie Czekalski organised a guided visit to the Brussels Sewer Museum. An opportunity to raise awareness among around twenty participants about the workings of a vital but often little-known network: the kilometres of sewers running beneath our capital. This on-the-ground visit highlighted the importance of preserving, modernising and renovating this infrastructure, essential to the proper functioning of our capital.
In 1865, the Senne was covered over in central Brussels for sanitary reasons. In just four years, nearly two kilometres of tunnels were built to cover the river within the Pentagon. This historic decision, which made the Senne invisible, already illustrated the challenges of water management at the time.
Today, the Sewer Museum helps visitors understand this network's role in the daily lives of Brussels residents: wastewater disposal, environmental protection and innovations around the “sponge city” concept, which focuses on better absorbing rainwater. Brussels now has 44 storm basins capable of absorbing the equivalent of several Olympic swimming pools, helping to prevent flooding and support more sustainable water management.
Aurélie Czekalski, Brussels MP: “Understanding how our infrastructure works, even the parts that remain invisible, is essential to preserving our living environment and strengthening our capital's resilience. This visit once again shows that politics must be lived on the ground, as close as possible to citizens, to raise awareness of environmental issues and promote sustainable water management.”