The MUDCAP project: Strengthening resilience to muddy floods in North-West Europe

MUDCAP (MUDdy flood mitigation through transnational action-oriented CAPacity building) is a three-year Interreg North-West Europe project running from 2026 to 2029. 

This transnational project addresses the growing challenge of pluvial muddy floods (PMFs), which are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change, causing soil erosion, runoff, damage to infrastructure, agricultural land and local communities across North-West Europe.

Bringing together researchers, public authorities, water management organisations and local stakeholders from Belgium, France and Germany, MUDCAP develops practical and scalable solutions adapted to territorial realities to improve muddy flood prevention, runoff management and soil erosion mitigation. 

Through pilot sites, digital tools, field actions and local governance approaches, MUDCAP supports the practical implementation of these solutions.

Objectives

MUDCAP pursues three main objectives, implemented through three work packages:

WP1: Enhance PMF risk prediction and decision-support for regional and municipal authorities under present and future climatic conditions, by developing PMF registration and documentation protocols, along with digital tools (databases, risk maps, prioritization schemes).

WP2: Strengthen local co-governance of PMF management in NWE and support scalable dissemination across varied national and regional contexts, by developing co-design tools, methods, and policy recommendations through transdisciplinary pilot actions in small runoff sub-watersheds

WP3: Facilitate transnational knowledge exchange at NWE level, assess common challenges and opportunities in PMF risk management, and ensure the effective transfer, uptake, and long-term use of project outcomes – tools, data, and governance models – through joint benchmarking, open-access resources, and targeted communication and training activities

Partners

Supported by the Interreg North-West Europe programme, the project is carried out by the following partners: UCLouvain (Earth and Life Institute), ADSCIAN, DOMG, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, VMM, BRGM, Ghent University, Lille University, CRAGE, Trier University, RWTH Aachen University.

Key figures

Project duration: 2026–2029  
EU Funding: 3 585 618,57 € 
Total budget: 5 976 030,95 € 

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