Climate change forces overhaul of Dutch water protection strategy

The Netherlands’ strategy for protecting itself from floods, securing freshwater and preparing for climate change is no longer sustainable, according to Delta Commissioner Co Verdaas. His advice to the cabinet calls for a different approach and a different mindset.

Over the coming decades, the country will need costly technical measures. But the report also says the Netherlands must learn to live with the effects of a changing climate, including prolonged drought and periods of intense rainfall. “We will not manage with technology alone,” Verdaas said in a statement presented to Infrastructure and Water Management Minister Vincent Karremans. “We need to adjust course and change the way we live in our delta. We are not ready for the future; we really need to get to work.”

The report is the six-year reassessment of the national Delta Programme for the coming decades. Verdaas said the challenges had become more urgent and complex, with drier summers, wetter winters, heavier downpours and continued sea-level rise.

Among the most prominent proposals are billions of euros for larger pumps at IJmuiden and the Afsluitdijk, allowing excess river water to be discharged even as sea levels rise. The report also calls for further study of the open connection between the sea and inland areas at the Nieuwe Waterweg, which can pose a threat when both sea and river levels are high and can contribute to saltwater intrusion when rivers carry little water.

To counter prolonged drought, Verdaas proposes increasing the capacity of the IJsselmeer and Markermeer by raising water levels by 30 centimeters, possibly followed by a 50-centimeter increase. During dry summers, however, levels could fall further. River water would also need to be distributed more effectively, including by adjusting the Driel weir, known as the “tap of the Netherlands,” and directing more water from the Pannerdens Canal toward the IJssel. The Volkerak-Zoommeer should store more freshwater, while the Maas should retain more water. The report adds that construction, including housing, must take greater account of water and soil conditions.

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We will not manage with technology alone. We need to adjust course and change the way we live in our delta. We are not ready for the future; we really need to get to work.