Public Thesis Defense of Thaïs DELEFORTRIE - LAB

Spatialising the runoff water capacity of the public domain. Building a common asset, across Belgian territories by Thaïs DELEFORTRIE - 

Le vendredi 23 mai 2025 à 16h30 - LOCI Saint-Gilles (rue Henri Wafelaerts 47), auditoire AR-38 - 1060 Bruxelles

Flooding and drought events in recent years demonstrated that a tipping point has been reached, demanding a shift towards an integrated urban water management. Instead, water as an urban and urbanised element, remains compartmentalised within sectoral management systems, limiting a full and systemic understanding of the water system as a whole. Moreover, if water systems are managed by different operators, rainwater appears as not having been recognised as a proper system. This research builds on the hypothesis that runoff water constitutes a proper and distinct system flowing across the surface. Through the study of two Belgian catchments, this dissertation explores the capacity of public domain in managing runoff water. It does so proposing a territorial reading through the lens of runoff water across multiple scales, resulting in a catchment-based analytical framework. Finally, developing an interdisciplinary approach that combines multi-scale representations and hydraulic modelling, this contribution aims to develop a systemic perspective revealing overlooked synergies in urban runoff water management.

Pay attention : the public defense of Thaîs Delefortrie will also take place in the form of a videoconference