Jo SzczepanskaTrimester 1 M+H with Erna Beumers

October 2009

Twenty-six percent of the Netherlands lies below sea level, i.e. below NAP.

Without dunes or dikes, 66% of the Netherlands would be flooded on a regular basis.

Source: Watermonitor 2001

The Dutch have been reclaiming land since as early as 1533. The first polder was made by draining the Achtermeer south of Alkmaar. For centuries, the creation of new agricultural land was the main reason for making polders. Water in NL 2004-2005

Map of Holland 1559-1609http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/netherlands_1559-1608.jpg

Satellite of Holland 2009Google earth

After the Second World War, however, reclaimed land was mainly a way of findingnew land for the growing population

An prime example is the IJsselmeer dam which allowed almost half of the old Zuiderzee to become dry land.

Building of Afsluitdijkhttp://www.eendijkvaneendijk.nl/Dijkboekarbeiders/slides/vervaardiging%20van%20zinkstukken%20voor%20afsluitdijk%20561930.html

Photos ofZuiderzee Museum

Photos ofZuiderzee Museum

The Netherlands has a total of 3,500 kilometres of primary flood defences. These consist of 1,430 km of river dikes, 1,017 km dikes around lakes, and 430 km dikes and 260 km dunes for coastal defense.http://www.waterland.net/

Storm Surge Barrier Oosterscheldehttp://z.about.com/d/architecture/

After the floods in the province of Zeeland in 1953 thegovernment set up a project called the Delta Plan to protect Zeelandfrom future floods. Water in NL 2004-2005

Maeslantkering Storm Surge Barrier http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maeslantkering

The Delta Works cost a total of EUR 5.4 billion.Including the creation of the Maeslant barrier which also protects flood prone Holland from surges during storms.http://www.deltawerken.com

The Third Coastal Policy Document (2000)noted that increasing pressure from the sea and from the land eventually would mean a weakening of the coastal defences.Water in NL 2004-2005

10. How much damage does a flood cause?

This has been studied for the River Rhine. In March 2002, the Inter-

national Committee for the Protection of the Rhine (CIPR,IKSR)

published a new international Atlas for the River Rhine. This atlas

describes the consequences for the entire Rhine catchment area of a

possible flood and estimates the value of the whole area protected by

the dikes. Various Dutch studies, however, calculated greater levels of

damage than the IKSR did. These studies took into account a more

consequential loss and the fact that in the Netherlands there is a great

deal of intensive horticulture under glass and livestock farming.

Potential material damage (in millions of euro) from extreme

floods of the River Rhine

Rhine Buildings Industry and Agricultural Total

sections transport yields

High Rhine 32.6 4.8 0.8 38.3

Upper Rhine 8,224.5 3 671.9 81.7 11,978

Middle Rhine 13,336.3 350.1 1.0 1,687.4

Lower Rhine 16,458.9 3,788.5 85.6 20,333.0

Rhine delta 111,011.8 19,244.0 610.6 130,866.4

Total 137,064.2 27,059.2 779.7 164,903.1

Source: Atlas 2001 – Atlas van het overstromingsgevaar en mogelijke schade bij extreem

hoogwater van de Rijn (2001 Atlas – Atlas of the flood risk and potential damage from

high water levels of the River Rhine), IKSR

11. What are the consequences of climatechange for water management?

The climate is changing. The temperature is rising and there is more

precipitation, particularly in the winter. As a result, the water levels in the

rivers and ditches are higher than before. In the summer, there are more

frequent periods of drought with low water levels. Furthermore, the sea

level is rising and, in the west of the Netherlands, the ground level is

descending.

To keep water manageable, a policy is being pursued that offers more

room for water (see section 12). This will allow the water to follow a

more natural course and further reduce the risk of flooding.

Climate scenarios

In 2001, the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) worked

out climate change scenarios for the Netherlands.

Average rise Values between:

Temperature +1 Cº and +6 Cº

Summer precipitation +1% and +4%

Winter precipitation +6% and +25%

Sea level +20 cm and +110 cm*

*This figure takes into account the effect of soil subsidence in the

Netherlands.

Source: KNMI, Third IPCC Report, 2001

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In many parts of the Netherlands, there is a slow, natural fall in ground level. This subsidence has various causes. So not only will the sea level rise but Holland is slowly sinking.Water in NL 2004-2005

Amsterdam

Floating Cities Delft University of Technologyhttp://www.tudelft.nl/live/pagina.jsp?id=d70d7984-b807-4e0a-b3a4-9b9a243e9b8c&lang=en

Lilypad CityVincent Callebauthttp://www.eikongraphia.com/?p=2490

Lilypad CityVincent Callebauthttp://www.eikongraphia.com/?p=2490

Dura vermeerProposal for Drijvende Stadhttp://www.duravermeer.nl/projecten/

WatervillaWaterstudiohttp://www.waterstudio.nl/

WatervillaWaterstudiohttp://www.waterstudio.nl/

Palm IslandDubai Google earth