News - November

As seen in the ANWB magazine Kampioen:

• A triangular design from Jean Paul de Garde to solve space issues by combining ditches with bike paths:

The magazine De Ingenieur has a full length article about the redesigning of the Dutch Delta area near Rotterdam by visiting Harvard students, winning the Delta competition organised by engineering agency Royal Haskoning. More>>>

The magazine H2O reports:

• The new government:
  • The new government has decided that water boards will remain to exist.
  • Water board officials will be elected by city councils, rather than voted by the public.
  • All the current plans to finish deferred maintenance will also be executed to guarantee safety.
  • Future plans made by the Delta commission are under review.

• The Water Education day organised by UNESCO-IHE:

Professor Thea Hilhorst from Wageningen university showed an example of cultural differences. In Mozambique, earning money is often spatially divided but polygamy might prove a solution to climate change. A woman in the flood plains might provide food during droughts while a second woman in the hills provides during the wet season.

• The Deltaconference in Rotterdam:

Prince Willem van Oranje emphasized that we could be proud to have no flood victims since the storm surge of 1953, but now was the time to keep investing in a safe future. The costs of another flood, that might occur in 50 or 60 years, might not be affordable if we neglect this.

• A new book:

'Gebiedsontwikkeling in woelig water', a water governance book by Arwin van Buuren and others. More>>>

• New secretary of state for Infrastructure and environment promises clarity

At the first National Delta Conference the secretary of state for the new ministry of Infrastructure and Environment promised that water safety is an important building stone of the water policies of the current government. This year it would be made clear which investments are necessary to guarantee the safety in the Netherlands in the future. This year it will be decided if the norms for safety are to be adjusted and what this will cost. The current proposed funds advised by the Delta Act are 1 billion euro, to be spent from 2022 onwards.

Video of the prince (water ambassador) and more here.

• Ministries and provinces are determined to plan the Main Ecological Structure (Ecologische HoofdStructuur)

Within now 9 months it should become clear what the Main Ecological Structure (EHS) will look like in 2018. It was originally designed as a series of connected natural areas, but problems have risen with buying all of the envisioned connecting areas. More >>>

• New regulations for floating houses

The ministry of Traffic, Spatial planning and the Environment has released a document explaining all the regulations concerning floating houses, aimed at developers, builders and municipal plan testers.

Download it here.