water management in the netherlands november 10th, 2010
TRANSCRIPT
Water management in the Netherlands
november 10th, 2010
Our area in the Middle Ages
• Early settlements of farmers
• Land is surrounded by water
• Sea, estuaries and lakes create a constant threat to land and inhabitants
Throughout the centuries
• People struggle against the water
• Many floodings
• Many people die
• ‘Pump or drown’
1799
•
1799
1809
1809
1953: The last big flood disaster in the Netherlands
Our area today
inhabitants: 1.1 mln
buildings: € 125 billion ($ 175 billion)
seadikes: 343 km (214 mls)
inland dikes: 1486 km (928
mls)
Today
We improve our dikes
Today
We reinforce our dunes
Today
We strengthen our levees
Today
We build strong dams
We build powerful pumping stations
Today
Today
We create water retaining reservoirs
Today
We build powerful barriers
Just for a bad day......
Foto: Rijkswaterstaat
And even today.............
..........sometimes there is a narrow escape
If there were no dikes and levees.........
.......two third of the country would regularly be flooded
How do we protect our dikes?
• Separate waterauthorities (waterboards) for the management of water systems and the maintenance of dikes
And..........
• Separate taxes for water management and maintenance of water works
• Dimensions of dikes are recorded in a register (‘legger’)
• Strict laws and ordinances to protect water systems and water works (‘keur’)
• Permits needed for activities on dikes, such as digging and building
Thank you for your attention
Questions?