The Dutch Delta
Approach; if you failto prepare, preparefor failure
Adapting to climate change.
Robbert Moree
NL Lead Water Action Track
Internationaal Watercluster

1 november 2019

The Dutch Delta in
NW Europe
The Netherlands isthe delta of Rhine,
Meuse, Scheldt
and Eems

2

The Netherlands, 60% flood prone3

Up to 6.70 m. below sea level•

About 9 million inhabitants
below flood level
Invested value 1800 109 euro•

Safety level: 1:10.000 – 1:1250•3500 km of flood defences,
hundreds of locks, sluices,pumping stations•4

The Netherlands – protected by levees

5TotalVulnerable
to flooding

SurfaceArea

41.528 km²

55%

Inhabitants

16,8 million

60%

GNP

700 billion
US$65%

Major floods 1200 - 1500
Land level sinking below sea level
Dikes and organization not yet ready:fail to prepare1212 Noord-Holland 60,000 casualties.
1219 St. Marcellus' Flood, killing 36,000 people.
1287 St. Lucia's flood: 50,000-80,000 people casualties
1362 Grote Mandrenke killing at least 25,000 inhabitants.
1421 2nd St. Elisabeth's Flood between 2,000 and 10,000 casualties
1570 All Saints' flood above 20,000 casualties

Improving flood protection and making polders

circa 1580
7circa 1700

2000

Centuries of land reclamations works (polders)8Storm surge 1953, fail to prepare
175.000 ha’s land flooded
1.835 deaths

The Delta
project:
prepareHaringvlietdam
Maeslantbarrier

Brouwersdam

Storm surge barrier in theEastern Scheldt

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The delta under pressure: futurechallenges; prepareMore/intense
rainfallMore /extreme
storms?

Spatialdevelopments

Sealevel rise35-85 cm/100y11

Increasederosion

Salt
intrusion
Subsidence
10 cm/100yr

Increasedriverdischarge+ 10%Decreased
riverdischarge- 60%

Can we keep it a safe delta with achanging climate?

12

An innovative approach:
Delta Program• Not in answer to a disaster, but inadvance, to be prepared and avoid it• Two goals, three values
 Safe now and in the future [20502100]
 Fresh water supply guaranteed also
in dry periodso Solidarity, flexibility, sustainability• Taking into account, spatial planning,water quality, environmental aspects.
13Delta program
For the Delta program in NL:• Delta program• Delta Law• Delta Fund
• Delta Commissioner• Delta Decisions (2014)

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The Delta Programme: 2010
One Aim:• keeping NL a good, safe and attractive place
to live and work for present and future
generations ( 2100, long term perspective)• Not in answer to a disaster, but in advance, tobe prepared or avoid it
Two Goals• Safe, now and in the future (2050-2100)• Fresh water supply guaranteed, also in dry
periods

Delta Programme – not easy•

Uncertainties on timing and impact of change•

Opinions on solutions differ and sometimes contradict•

Many stakeholders in water management

 First agree on scope and timing of the problems, as abasis for debate on solutions•

We call this joint fact-findingTowards Delta Decisions and Preferred Strategies
2010

2011

Problemanalysis

DP 20112012

Potentialstrategies

DP 20122013

Promisingstrategies

DP 20132014

Preferred strategies+ Delta decisions

DP 20142015

Implementation

DP 2015

DP FRM
DP FWS

Investment plans(national &regional)
legislation
Project decisions
maintenanceDelta Programme – Delta Decisions• Some of our current solutions andstrategies will fail in the future• This can be disastrous. We call thistipping points.
• Avoiding catastrophic events requires
some crucial decisions now.
• Such decisions structure all otherinvestments and strategies• We call them Delta Decisions

Examples of Tipping Points• Afsluitdijk andsea-level rise
• Salinization ofwater supply• Collapse of
freshwater
economy withincreasing
salinity levels

How did we organise the Delta Programme?
•Delta Act legal basis for:

• Delta Commissioner:
 progress, uniformity,
consistency
 Prepares yearly proposal forparliament
 Very efficient• Delta Fund (1 bln euro/yr)
 Dedicate financing forcontinuity!

Governmental institutions and DP governance
Ministry of
Economic
Afftairs

Province 1

Ministry of
Infrastructureand Environment(Rijkswaterstaat)

Province 2

Municipality1

DeltaProgramme

Province3

Municipality2

Waterboard1

Waterboard2• Ministries – Policy guidelines, Rijkswaterstaat - national watersystem• Provinces – spatial planning, supervise municipalities and waterboards• Municipalities – spatial planning, sewage&drainage system• Waterboards – regional watersystem, water quality, water quantity

Summary• Provide legal basis for long-term program• Appointment of special functionary or entity for progress andcoherence• Dedicated financing for continuity (or pipeline of investments?)• Joint fact-finding and joint decision-making• Division into logical subprograms• Development of delta decisions for strategic direction• Lastly: taking future water availability into account with current
investment decisions is key!

Water management – national level
Ministry of Infrastructure and theEnvironment:• Management national waterways• Policy development• Large flood protection structures• Early warning• Maintenance coastline• International cooperation

Multi government organization and cooperation
1. Water act: defining responsibilities of all government
2. Agreements within river basin (between national level - waterboards)– Discharge of water during high discharges– Water quality– Distribution of water in dry periods
3. National agreement between government “levels”– Flood protection– Water treatment– Reduction of pollution
4. Direct cooperation in national projects (Room for the River, Deltaprogramme)
24National Floodpolicy• Dedicated governance structure– Strong administrative bodies• Central: ministries/Rijkswaterstaat• Regional: water boards,
municipalities, provinces– Legal obligation to protect againstfloods (Water Act)• Safety level: 1/10.000 – 1/1.250• Level safety review: every 6 yrs• International cooperation

Multi layer safety approach in the Netherlands• Prevention
Limit the risk of a flood disaster(dikes, dunes and barriers)• Sustainable spatial planning
Limiting the effects offlooding• Crisis management
Reducing the consequencesof a flood

Multi layer approach - Prevention• Adequate monitoring andassessment of primary flooddefenses• Adopting risk approach fordike rings replacing theoverload approach for dikesections• Reinforcement programs
using a risk based approach

Multi layer approach - Spatial planning• Combining water management
and spatial planning at every
administrative level• Infrastructure concepts– Room for rivers– ‘Unbreachable’ Delta dykes

The ‘blue connection’ is a passageway between the area of Jsselmonde andthe Zuiderpark that enables a connection over water as well as new
ecological and economic opportunities.
Green - Water and greenery blue - Living near water

Multi layer approach - Crisis management• Adequate monitoring and datacollection to enable early warning• Long term reliable predictions• Decisive crisis management• Tailor made information forauthorities and publicImproving flood protection along therivers; prepare(1995 – present)• > 800 km dike
improvement 400 M€• ‘Room for the river’ 2200
M€

Innovation: Room for the Riveraround 1850
around 2000

Prepare: secondary river channel at
Nijmegen/Lent: room for the river

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Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat

1 november 2019

34

Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat

1 november 2019

Water quality• Law to reduce pollution
surface water (1970)• Construction of seweragesystem by municipalities• Construction of waste watertreatment plants (industriesand water boards)

Waste water treatment plants(97% of all households in the NL are connected to thesewerage network)Thank you for your attention

For more information:
Robbert.Moree@minienw.nl37