Senne (river)

The Senne (sɛn) or Zenne (ˈzɛnə) is a small river that flows through Brussels, Belgium. Its source is in the village of Naast near the municipality of Soignies. It is an indirect tributary of the Scheldt, through the Dyle and the Rupel. It joins the Dyle at Zennegat in Battel, north of the municipality of Mechelen, only a few hundred metres before the Dyle itself joins the Rupel. In total, the Senne is long. The Woluwe and the Maalbeek are some of its tributaries. Covering of the Senne In Brussels, the Senne had become a serious health hazard by the second half of the 19th century, and from 1867 to 1871, under the tenure of the city's then-mayor, Jules Anspach, its entire course through the urban area was completely covered over. This allowed urban renewal and the construction of modern buildings of Haussmann-esque style along grand central boulevards, characteristic of downtown Brussels today. The river is still visible in the outskirts of Brussels and outside the urban area, though within the city, it now runs mostly underneath the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road). The Senne was notorious for being one of Belgium's worst polluted rivers, despite work done to the sewers and spillways in the Brussels–Charleroi Canal, since all effluents from the Brussels-Capital Region emptied into it without treatment. The drainage into the canal was not able to completely stop the floods that regularly affected certain outer areas of the city. In March 2007, the completion of new sewage treatment plants began to remediate this problem. However, in December 2009, the Brussels-North treatment plant of Aquiris was temporarily and abruptly shut down, creating a political and ecological crisis. The yellow iris became used as the emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region due to its habitat in the marshy plains around the river and a stylised version is featured on its official flag. The unique seasonal wild yeasts of the Senne river valley are used in the production of the regional lambic style of beer.

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Related concepts (5)

City of Brussels

The City of Brussels (Ville de Bruxelles vil də bʁysɛl or alternatively Bruxelles-Ville bʁysɛl vil; Stad Brussel stɑd ˈbrʏsəl or Brussel-Stad ˈbrʏsəl stɑt) is the largest municipality and historical centre of the Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the Flemish Region (from which it is separate) and Belgium. The City of Brussels is also the administrative centre of the European Union, as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions in its European Quarter.

Senne (river)

Scheldt

The Scheldt (ʃɛlt,_skɛlt ; Escaut ɛsko; Schelde ˈsxɛldə) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old English sceald ("shallow"), Modern English shoal, Low German schol, West Frisian skol, and obsolete Swedish skäll ("thin"). The headwaters of the Scheldt are in Gouy, in the Aisne department of northern France. It flows north through Cambrai and Valenciennes, and enters Belgium near Tournai.