Flood safety
Dike reinforcement, the flood protection programme, storm surge barriers and investing under climate uncertainty.
- Projects
The Afsluitdijk has been delivered, but for its users it is not yet finished
On 1 October the minister commissioned the new pumping station and discharge sluices in the Afsluitdijk, officially completing the reinforcement. Anyone driving, cycling or sailing across the dam will notice little of that for now. We argue that a project is only finished when its users experience it that way, and that the remaining work deserves a stakeholder approach of its own.
Read more → - Analysis
Sand is not running out, the space to extract it is
On 19 August the government announced that coastal nourishment may take priority over commercial sand extraction if space on the North Sea runs out. Sand thereby becomes the third scarcity onshore infrastructure projects have to plan for, after nitrogen and grid capacity.
Read more → - Policy
A milder climate scenario is no reason to scale back dike reinforcement
Waterschap Zuiderzeeland is keeping its IJsselmeerdijk reinforcement on track, even as scientists drop the most extreme climate scenario. That is the right call. But the real challenge is not in the dike, it is in explaining it.
Read more → - Knowledge Base
Seven dilemmas of the dike worker: what the HWBP Dike Workers' Day 2026 teaches about stakeholder and environmental management
On 2 April, the Dutch Flood Protection Programme presented its 2026 Project Book and the Dike Workers' Day in Den Bosch once again put the persistent dilemmas facing dike reinforcement teams on the table. Seven lessons for stakeholder and environmental managers working on the largest dike reinforcement operation since the Delta Works.
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