The Blue4Green project is making headlines in Bruges. Ghent University's water purification pilot station was a hot topic as the swimming area was pretty much closed past summer due to the severe blue-green algae plague. Furthermore Bruges was put on the map as iFLUX's installation of groundwater sensors introduced cutting-edge technology. The town is buzzing about 'green', from the intricate research of trees by the University of Ghent to making an impact with small actions to green the city. Below are the major achievements of late 2025.

August 2025

Ghent University tested an experimental water purification system to ameliorate the waterquality in order to protect the biodiversity. The focus was also adapted towards fending off the algae blooms because of the severe presence of the blue-green algae this summer. A test setup of the installation was built at the former swimming zone.

After proving its efficiency the setup was transported via the canals, the ‘reien’, to the Augustijnenrei, where the station will find its permanent place. It was a most peculiar transport on the water.

 The Augustijnenrei is a strategic location, closer to the outlet and flowing right into the new swimmingzone of summer 2026. By next spring the water purification station will purify up to 12000 liters of water per hour and will also extract nutrients from the blue-green algae in the Bruges canals. The installation will be supported by pontoons with a wooden finish. Plants such as yellow iris and cattail will contribute to natural purification and biodiversity.

September 2025

• Bruges launched a unique integrated sensor network with iFLUX. Forty monitoring wells will be installed to track groundwater flows (direction, quantity and speed) in real-time. These integrated sensor networks will feed into a digital dashboard that optimizes urban green management. 

"Thanks to our unique, patented Belgian technology, we not only know how much water is in the ground, but also how it moves, where it goes and how fast", explains Timothy De Kleyn. "This gives us a much more complete picture and allows us to take action faster and more targeted."

• Like water, Blue4Green finds a way to flow and intertwine with events such as Circle for Change. A traveling cargobike with a tree definitely opens up a conversation about heat stress and which solutions the city can offer. 
• Sharing knowledge and experiences on the Flemish EUI-meeting in Mechelen. Astrid Stroobandt, B4G-projectleader, reflects: “What an inspiring and insightful day we had in Mechelen! Thanks to innovation expert Johannes Riegler; who brought together the three Flemish European Urban Initiative projects Blue4Green Bruges, Rewild Ghent and Whatsups Mechelen. We were able to connect, exchange and learn in depth.” 
   
• The faculty of bio-engineering (University of Ghent) is researching the young trees, 4 to 5 years old, in Bruges. Up to 93 trees are now being examined, dendrometers are scaling up their stem growth. Combined with sensors that monitor environmental factors such as humidity and temperature, they can accurately map how different conditions affect the trees. 

 October 2025

• Dipping toes in the water on a monday (20/10), the first official schoolworkshop was a hit! Children of the 5^th grade from a city center primary school ‘De frères’ came to explore the water of the Reien by doing research with little experiments and by examining life in the water. Afterwards there was a creative workshop ‘talking and painting with the water, dreaming of an urban green&blue space’. The goal for 2026 is to inspire and engage even more schools with this workshop.

• On the Opening Site Visit, 22^nd and 23^rd of October, the Bruges-team welcomed a delegation of the European partners from Utrecht, Pícek, and Aveiro for collaborative workshops strengthening cross-city learning. A fruitful introduction, setting a most prosperous tone for further collaboration with these transfer city partners.
  

November 2025

Small actions sprout big impact. By engaging citizens to take small greening actions, a significant difference can be made. On the 26th of November the first facade garden event took place with inhabitants of the Magdalena quarter. In this area the city of Bruges and Waterland vzw actively initiate co-creation amongst the citizens. Twenty-one facade gardens are now ready to take root. Everybody was also welcome to pin a tree on the map and hear more about the project Blue4Green. This treemap is a valuable tool for visualizing where citizens would like to see more green spaces.

Sneak peek 2026

2025 was a year of planting seeds and solid progress for Blue4Green. We rolled out nearly all green stress and groundwater sensors, created water and green awareness and built the data backbone for smart water management.

Together with our partners - De Vlaamse Waterweg, Sumaqua, Kytos, Farys, iFLUX, University of Ghent and vzw Waterland - we celebrated one year of Blue4Green and are ready to dive further into the dephts of this Blue4Green journey.

What's next?

• Full monitoring network in place by February.
• Smart steering strategy and algorithm development starting in January.
• Modernise the hydraulic structures of in- and outlet sluices by year-end.
• Co-creation with citizens and public services for greener spaces.
• Policy and citizen dashboards by year-end.
• First predictive model for blue-green algae by December.

2026 will be about entwining all the data into insights and taking action to make Bruges more resilient and water-wise. Stay tuned, exciting milestones are flowing our way!