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Water Board Rivierenland in briefWater Board Rivierenland is responsible for water control in one of

the most attractive areas of the Netherlands, the River Area. Some

700 staff work on the following (main) tasks of the water board:

Water management (maintenance, water levels, water quality)

Looking after the dikes and boezem (drainage) quays

The management and maintenance of roads outside the built-up

areas in the Alblasserwaard and the Vijfheerenlanden

The treatment of waste water

Muskrat and coypu control in Gelderland

Managing the waterways of, among others, the Linge,

Smoutjesvliet, Alblas, Giessen and Graafstroom

The provision of drinking water is not the responsibility

of the water board.

Water Board RivierenlandPO Box 599, 4000 AN Tiel, The NetherlandsTelephone + 31 (0)344 - 64 90 90Fax +31 (0)344 - 64 90 99www.waterschaprivierenland.nlinfo@wsrl.nl

538 kmkm of high-pressure pipelines

km of dikes1070 km

575 km km of roads and

cycle paths

polder pumping stations

194

sewage treatment plants39municipalities

38

km of ditches and drainage canals

3992 km

km of waterways140 km

weirs1617

950.000inhabitants

sewage pumping stations

170

2 3

The earth is as wet as the universe is dusty and dry.

Water makes the earth fertile and therefore habitable.

We cant manage without water, but we also cannot

cope with too much. Melting polar ice caps and glaciers

are causing the water levels in the seas and oceans to

rise and more and more rain continues to fall in a short

time. The rivers can barely cope with all the rainfall. All

these factors make low-lying areas in particular, such as

the Netherlands, extremely vulnerable to fl ooding. Only

with careful water management can we literally keep

our heads above water.

Water is life

Water is life 3

Sharing waves with the neighbours 5

Working on water together 5

Attractive but vulnerable 6

The fresh water cycle 8

Pleasures and problems between rivers 9

Safety above all 10

Information, maintenance and supervision 12

Burrowing poses a risk 13

Enough water everywhere 14

Pump or be drowned 16

Clean water in a nice district 17

More space for water and nature 18

Quality control 19

We purify again what you fl ush away 20

Roads and waterways 22

The Linge, an artery in water control 22

Safe roads and cycle paths 23

Water Board Rivierenland in brief 24

Water Board Rivierenland in fi gures 24

Contents This brochure is about water in the River Area in the Netherlands. How important is it? And how does it affect you? It will also give you some indication of

the role played by Water Board Rivierenland. The

information has deliberately been kept concise.

If you would like to know more about certain

subjects, go to www.waterschaprivierenland.nl

Bookmark

4 5

Sharing waves with the neighboursHalf a metre of snow from Switzerland, a lengthy

downpour from France, a hailstorm from Belgium

and a mighty cloudburst from Germany. Every day

all the water from a large part of Western Europe

passes through the Netherlands. Because water pays

no attention to borders. It just flows from high to low.

Sometimes in huge quantities.

After the dike improvements of recent years, some 15

million litres of water per second can safely pass Lobith.

Our dikes can cope with this amount. However this is

not enough for the future. With climate change, even

greater quantities will come our way.

The problems that water brings with it can only be

solved by working together with our neighbouring

countries. To achieve this, the Water Board Rivierenland

is holding international discussions on water

management.

Rotterdam

The Meuse is 900 km long. The river drains

all the water from an area of 32,000 km2.

Of this, 6,000 km2 lies in the Netherlands.

The catchment area of the 1,320 kilometre

long Rhine covers an area of 185,000 km2.

About 25,000 km2 of this is in the Netherlands.

The water level in the Rhine is regarded as

being high when it rises to 15 metres above

NAP (Normal Amsterdam Level) at Lobith.

High water in the Meuse is when the level

at Maastricht reaches 45 metres above NAP.

Amsterdam

AntwerpenBrussels

Arnhem

Nijmegen

Tiel

CologneBonn

Koblenz

Straatsburg

Basel

Zurich

Meuse

IJssel

Rhine

Mosel

Rhine

Neckar

Main

Lake Constance

Ardennes

Ruhrgebiet

Alps

Working on water together

Water Board Rivierenland and the local authorities

in the River Area are working more closely together

all the time in the interests of better water control.

For example, we draw up water plans together. These

include agreements on how we will deal with water

in the future and what consequences this will have

for the building of new residential areas.We also make agreements about preventing pollution and improving the existing water quality, for example by removing contaminated dredged material. Thanks to this combining of expertise, many initiatives have a greater chance of success. It is the best guarantee that the water in our towns will be good and will remain good.

Nijmegen

Arnhem-Zuid

Tiel

Zaltbommel

Vianen

Gorinchem

Lek

Meuse

Waal

Pannerdens kanaal

Linge

Waal

Lower Rhine

Lower Rhine

Meuse

Druten

Culemborg

Bergse Maas

Nieuwe Merwede

Biesbosch

Kinderdijk

PapendrechtLek

Werkendam

Linge

Linge

Waal

Rhine

Polder pumping stations

Weirs

Sewage treatment plants

Wide rivers, rich clay and here and there a strip of sand.

An area created by fl oods. With endless winding dikes

and everywhere water, water, and yet more water. In

rivers, lakes, ditches, canals and drainage canals. All

this water makes our River Area vulnerable to fl ooding,

pollution and groundwater depletion. Dealing with

these threats is a task for Water Board Rivierenland.

Attractive but vulnerable

With dikes, weirs, locks and pumping stations, we

keep the rain and river water under control so that

our region remains safe and habitable. We also make

sure that the waste water, which we all produce, is

thoroughly cleaned in dozens of sewage treatment

plants. As a result, the surface water does not become

polluted.

8 9

The fresh water cycleEveryone has perhaps washed their feet or fl ushed the

toilet with it. All the fresh water on earth is re-used

again and again. We have to. The total supply is just a

few per cent. And that small amount is always on the

move. It starts and ends in the sea. The heat from the

sun evaporates seawater. The evaporated water forms

clouds. Cooling causes the evaporated seawater,

which has become fresh water, to return to earth in the

form of rain and snow. Some of it ends up in ditches

and rivers and fl ows back to the sea. Some of it sinks

into the soil.

Drinking water companies purify it and supply it to

homes and businesses via the mains water network.

Grazing cows on lush green meadows. Fields full

of crops. Greenhouses glinting in the sun. And an

abundance of fruit. The low-lying rich clay soils

between the rivers have always been extremely fertile.

And there is always water nearby. It plays an important

part in our river delta. In the form of drinking water,

industrial process water, water for cattle farming,

agriculture and horticulture, water for recreation

and for urban areas.

So the natural interplay with the rivers has its

advantages. But nature can be fi ckle. High water levels

over a long period make our area very waterlogged. But

long periods of drought show just how dependent we

are in our area on having enough water.

As a result of climate change our area is even more

vulnerable to fl ooding and groundwater depletion.

Water Board Rivierenland controls the water supply

both in wet and dry periods. By doing so we create the

conditions by which in the future as w