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.

[3] 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 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.

A nickname for residents of the city, zinneke, meaning "mutt" or "bastard" in Brusselian dialect, is taken from the stray dogs that hung around the streets by the Lesser Senne (a tangent canal of the river) until the end of the 19th century.