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PIONEERING WATER ROYAL NETHERLANDS EMBASSY

ROYAL NETHERLANDS EMBASSY PIONEERING WATER · 7 PIONEERING WATER ROYAL NETHERLANDS EMBASSY vigilant. While we inspect every meter of every dike, levee, gate, barrier, and sluice in

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PIONEERING WATER

ROYALNETHERLANDSEMBASSY

PIO

NEE

RIN

G

WAT

ER

RO

YAL

NE

THE

RLA

ND

SE

MB

AS

SY

23

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

FOR

EWO

RD

Th

e go

al o

f thi

s pu

blic

atio

n is

to

brie

fly d

escr

ibe

the

com

mon

thr

eats

and

op

port

uniti

es t

hat

the

US

and

the

Net

herla

nds

shar

e in

the

are

as o

f int

egra

ted

wat

er m

anag

emen

t, flo

od p

rote

ctio

n, d

isas

ter

resp

onse

and

clim

ate

chan

ge.

Hur

rican

e K

atrin

a re

min

ded

offic

ials

in b

oth

coun

trie

s th

at a

bsol

ute

safe

ty

is n

ot p

ossi

ble,

and

tha

t a

robu

st, m

ulti-

disc

iplin

ary

appr

oach

to

inte

grat

ed

wat

er m

anag

emen

t and

clim

ate

chan

ge is

nec

essa

ry. L

ivin

g w

ith w

ater

pre

sent

s

num

erou

s ch

alle

nges

and

incr

edib

le o

ppor

tuni

ties.

With

thi

s bo

okle

t w

e ho

pe

to s

timul

ate

the

read

er t

o im

agin

e ho

w t

he N

ethe

rland

s an

d th

e U

.S.—

two

of

the

wor

ld’s

old

est

frie

nds,

key

alli

es a

nd im

port

ant

trad

ing

part

ners

—ca

n fu

rthe

r de

epen

the

ir re

latio

nshi

p an

d jo

intly

sol

ve k

ey e

ngin

eerin

g, s

cien

tific

an

d pu

blic

pol

icy

ques

tions

.

The

cont

ents

of t

he b

ookl

et w

ere

deriv

ed fr

om v

ario

us s

ourc

es o

f pub

lic in

for-

mat

ion.

Any

faul

t w

ith t

he c

onte

nts

is a

ttrib

utab

le s

olel

y to

the

Em

bass

y. N

o rig

hts

or o

blig

atio

ns, e

xplic

it or

impl

ied,

are

affo

rded

by

or c

an b

e ta

ken

from

th

is p

ublic

atio

n.

The

Emba

ssy

wou

ld li

ke t

o ex

pres

s its

app

reci

atio

n to

the

follo

win

g en

titie

s:

Net

herla

nds

Min

istr

y of

Eco

nom

ic A

ffairs

Net

herla

nds

Min

istr

y of

Tra

nspo

rt, P

ublic

Wor

ks a

nd W

ater

Man

agem

ent

Net

herla

nds

Min

istr

y of

Hou

sing

, Spa

tial P

lann

ing

and

Envi

ronm

ent

Net

herla

nds

Wat

er P

artn

ersh

ip a

nd it

s su

ppor

ting

com

pani

esTh

e U

nite

d S

tate

s S

enat

eTh

e U

nite

d S

tate

s H

ouse

of R

epre

sent

ativ

esU

.S. A

rmy

Cor

ps o

f Eng

inee

rsU

.S. B

urea

u of

Rec

lam

atio

nC

alifo

rnia

Dep

artm

ent

of W

ater

Res

ourc

esC

alifo

rnia

Res

ourc

es A

genc

yLo

uisi

ana

Dep

artm

ent

of N

atur

al R

esou

rces

Loui

sian

a D

epar

tmen

t of

Tra

nspo

rtat

ion

and

Dev

elop

men

tS

outh

Flo

rida

Wat

er M

anag

emen

t D

istr

ict

45

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

“ WH

ILE

GO

D

CR

EATE

D

THE

EAR

TH,

THE

DU

TCH

C

REA

TED

TH

E N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S”

7

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

vigi

lant

. Whi

le w

e in

spec

t ev

ery

met

er o

f eve

ry d

ike,

leve

e, g

ate,

bar

rier,

and

slui

ce in

the

Net

herla

nds,

we

unde

rsta

nd t

hat

a ze

ro p

erce

nt r

isk

of fa

ilure

is

an

unat

tain

able

goa

l. W

e al

so k

now

tha

t im

agin

atio

n, in

nova

tion,

con

stan

t

mai

nten

ance

, new

tec

hnol

ogy,

bett

er r

isk

asse

ssm

ent

tool

s, a

nd p

repa

ring

fo

r “w

hat

if” s

cena

rios

are

cruc

ial t

o ou

r na

tiona

l sur

viva

l.

Hur

rican

e K

atrin

a’s

deva

stat

ion

shoc

ked

and

sadd

ened

the

wor

ld. T

he D

utch

w

ere

rem

inde

d of

the

ir ow

n te

rrib

le fl

ood

in 1

953 a

nd t

he U

.S. g

over

nmen

t’s

prom

pt d

ispa

tch

of h

elic

opte

rs a

nd a

id. T

o he

lp o

ur fr

iend

s in

Lou

isia

na a

nd

Mis

siss

ippi

, my

gove

rnm

ent

imm

edia

tely

dis

patc

hed

mob

ile p

umps

, nav

al s

hips

, fo

od, m

edic

ine,

and

oth

er s

uppl

ies

to the

U.S

. Gul

f Coa

st. S

ince

the

n, the

Dut

ch

have

dis

cuss

ed w

ith U

.S. p

ublic

and

priv

ate

sect

or o

ffici

als

how

Dut

ch e

xper

tise

and

tech

nolo

gy m

ight

str

engt

hen

U.S

. hur

rican

e an

d flo

od p

rote

ctio

n sy

stem

s.

Polic

ymak

ers

from

Cal

iforn

ia, F

lorid

a, N

ew Y

ork

and

the

Net

herla

nds

are

shar

ing

best

pra

ctic

es o

n w

ater

sys

tem

man

agem

ent,

clim

ate

chan

ge, e

nviro

nmen

tal

rest

orat

ion,

dis

aste

r and

em

erge

ncy

resp

onse

, and

sou

nd w

ater

front

dev

elop

men

t.

Dee

p an

d la

stin

g pa

rtne

rshi

ps—

gove

rnm

ent-t

o-go

vern

men

t, un

iver

sity

-to-u

nive

rsity

, bu

sine

ss-to

-bus

ines

s—an

d tw

o-w

ay, m

ulti-

disc

iplin

ary

inte

ract

ion

are

key.

The

Net

herla

nds

was

the

first

fore

ign

coun

try

to s

alut

e th

e U

.S. fl

ag in

177

6, a

nd

we

have

join

ed tog

ethe

r m

any

times

sin

ce to

conf

ront

com

mon

thr

eats

. Effe

ctiv

e w

ater

man

agem

ent

is n

ot a

new

cha

lleng

e, b

ut a

s th

e w

orld

’s c

limat

e ch

ange

s an

d br

ings

with

it n

ew p

robl

ems

and

oppo

rtun

ities

, clo

se D

utch

-Am

eric

an c

oop-

erat

ion

can

yiel

d ec

onom

ic e

ffici

enci

es a

nd s

afet

y be

nefit

s of

gre

at m

agni

tude

.

This

sm

all b

ookl

et p

rovi

des

a br

ief o

verv

iew

of t

his

very

frui

tful

and

gro

win

g

coop

erat

ion.

I w

elco

me

you

to c

onta

ct o

ur E

mba

ssy

or a

ny o

f the

Dut

ch o

rgan

i-za

tions

men

tione

d he

rein

for

mor

e in

form

atio

n or

gui

danc

e.

Cro

wn

Prin

ce W

illem

Ale

xand

er o

f the

Net

herla

nds

INTR

OD

UC

TIO

N

Wat

er is

a c

ruci

al fe

atur

e of

the

Amer

ican

land

scap

e. D

evel

opm

ent a

nd e

xpan

sion

on

and

nea

r th

e M

ight

y M

issi

ssip

pi, t

he H

udso

n, the

Mis

sour

i, th

e O

hio,

the

K

issi

mm

ee riv

ers

are

mile

post

mar

kers

on

the

road

map

of A

mer

ican

pro

gres

s.

New

Yor

k, N

ew O

rlean

s, S

an F

ranc

isco

, Chi

cago

, Bos

ton,

Sea

ttle

, St.

Loui

s an

d M

iam

i are

gre

at c

ities

bec

ause

of t

heir

prox

imity

to w

ater

.

Acro

ss t

he U

nite

d S

tate

s, p

ublic

aw

aren

ess

of e

ffect

ive

wat

er m

anag

emen

t is

gr

owin

g. H

urric

anes

, floo

ds, d

roug

hts,

and

wat

er s

hort

ages

, con

tam

inat

ion,

st

orag

e, a

nd c

onve

yanc

e cr

eate

uni

que

chal

leng

es fo

r Am

eric

an p

olic

ymak

ers.

O

ne o

f Am

eric

a’s

olde

st fr

iend

s—th

e N

ethe

rland

s—is

als

o co

nfro

ntin

g th

ese

sam

e ch

alle

nges

.

The

Net

herla

nds’

str

uggl

e w

ith w

ater

has

defi

ned

its h

isto

ry. W

ater

has

bee

n frie

nd a

nd fo

e al

ike—

a so

urce

of v

italit

y an

d a

sour

ce o

f dev

asta

tion.

Dem

ocra

tic

gove

rnm

ent fi

rst a

ppea

red

in a

bout

130

0 AD

whe

n D

utch

mer

chan

ts a

nd fa

rmer

s cr

eate

d lo

cal w

ater

boa

rds

to “

keep

peo

ple’

s fe

et d

ry.”

Eig

ht h

undr

ed y

ears

late

r, D

utch

wat

er b

oard

s, in

par

tner

ship

with

loca

l and

nat

iona

l gov

ernm

ent,

have

turn

ed

coas

tal s

wam

ps, h

uge

inla

nd la

kes,

and

low

-lyin

g bo

gs in

to p

rodu

ctiv

e la

nd u

sed

for f

arm

ing,

recr

eatio

n, fl

ood

cont

rol,

urba

n gr

owth

, com

mer

ce, h

ousi

ng, a

nd m

ore.

“Whi

le G

od C

reat

ed th

e Ea

rth,

the

Dut

ch c

reat

ed th

e N

ethe

rland

s” is

an

old

Dut

ch

sayi

ng. T

wo-

third

s of

the

cou

ntry

is a

t or

bel

ow s

ea le

vel,

subj

ect to

riv

er fl

oodi

ng

and

tidal

inun

datio

n. Y

et m

ore

than

11 m

illio

n pe

ople

—tw

o-th

irds

of a

ll D

utch

ci

tizen

s—liv

e in

, and

70 p

erce

nt o

f Dut

ch g

ross

-dom

estic

pro

duct

is p

rodu

ced

in, t

hese

floo

d-pr

one

area

s. O

ur w

orld

-cla

ss w

ater

man

agem

ent

prac

tices

and

in

nova

tive

flood

pro

tect

ion

infra

stru

ctur

e re

pres

ent a

mul

tifac

eted

, int

egra

ted,

an

d co

nsta

ntly

evo

lvin

g re

spon

se to

man

y ne

ar a

nd rea

l dis

aste

rs. W

e lik

e liv

ing

with

the

wat

er—

it is

a s

ourc

e of

gre

at p

rosp

erity

—bu

t w

e kn

ow w

e m

ust

rem

ain

Cro

wn

Prin

ce W

illem

Ale

xand

er

of t

he N

ethe

rland

s

8TA

BLE

OF

CO

NTE

NTS

EM

ER

GE

NC

Y

PLA

NN

ING

A

ND

DIS

AS

TER

R

ES

PO

NS

E

FLO

RID

A

DE

LTA

MA

NA

GE

ME

NT

C

HA

LLE

NG

ES

CO

NC

LUS

ION

CO

NTA

CTS

NE

W O

RLE

AN

SC

ALI

FOR

NIA

THE

NE

THE

RLA

ND

S,

CLI

MA

TE C

HA

NG

E,

AN

D C

LIM

ATE

PR

OO

FIN

GFO

RE

WO

RD

INTR

OD

UC

TIO

N

BY

CR

OW

N P

RIN

CE

W

ILLE

M A

LEX

AN

DE

R

RIS

K M

AN

AG

EM

EN

T IN

TH

E T

WE

NTY

-FIR

ST

CE

NTU

RY

THE

NE

THE

RLA

ND

S’

EX

PE

RIE

NC

E

THE

NE

THE

RLA

ND

S

AN

D T

HE

UN

ITE

D

STA

TES

10

11

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

THE

NET

HER

LAN

DS

EXPE

RIE

NC

EFL

OO

D C

ON

TRO

L Th

e to

pogr

aphy

of t

he N

ethe

rland

s ha

s m

ade

the

Dut

ch w

orld

-cla

ss e

xper

ts in

th

e pl

anni

ng, d

esig

n, c

onst

ruct

ion,

and

mai

nten

ance

of d

ams,

leve

es, s

urge

ba

rrie

rs, a

nd o

ther

floo

d co

ntro

l str

uctu

res.

Thr

ough

res

earc

h an

d ex

perie

nce,

th

e D

utch

hav

e ac

quire

d sp

ecia

lized

kno

wle

dge

in le

vee

failu

re m

echa

nism

s (p

ipin

g, s

eepa

ge, o

vert

oppi

ng, u

nequ

al p

ress

ures

, etc

.); h

ave

desi

gned

uni

que

soft

war

e an

d as

sess

men

t te

chni

ques

to

pred

ict

pote

ntia

l lev

ee fa

ilure

; and

ha

ve d

evel

oped

inno

vativ

e te

chni

ques

—m

ixed

in p

lace

, exp

andi

ng c

olum

ns,

nails

in le

vees

, aut

omat

ed c

ount

erba

lanc

e—to

str

engt

hen

wea

kene

d ur

ban

leve

es. M

oreo

ver,

the

Net

herla

nds

is u

niqu

e in

the

wor

ld fo

r its

use

of ‘

soft

’ m

easu

res

to e

nhan

ce w

etla

nds

and

prev

ent

eros

ion

alon

g its

coa

st.

THE

DEL

TA W

OR

KS

The

Net

herla

nds’

Del

ta W

orks

is t

he w

orld

’s la

rges

t flo

od p

rote

ctio

n pr

ojec

t.

Beg

un a

fter

the

dev

asta

ting

1953 fl

oods

in t

he p

rovi

nce

of Z

eela

nd in

the

so

uthw

este

rn N

ethe

rland

s, t

he D

elta

Wor

ks in

clud

e:

the

Eas

tern

Sch

eldt

Bar

rier,

a fiv

e-m

ile lo

ng s

torm

sur

ge b

arrie

r al

ong

the

Nor

th S

ea c

oast

tha

t re

sts

in t

he o

pen

posi

tion

to p

rese

rve

the

uniq

ue

ecol

ogy

of t

he e

stua

ry 1

800 m

iles

of p

rimar

y le

vees

and

8500 m

iles

of s

econ

dary

leve

es m

ore

than

300 s

econ

dary

dam

s—so

me

quite

larg

e—ga

tes

and

slui

ces

that

ha

ve s

hort

ened

the

exp

osed

Dut

ch c

oast

line

by t

wo-

third

s, t

he M

aesl

ant

Bar

rier,

two

larg

e sw

ingi

ng g

ates

—ea

ch t

he s

ize

of t

he E

iffel

To

wer

—co

mpl

eted

in 1

997

to p

rote

ct R

otte

rdam

, its

por

t and

sur

roun

ding

are

as

Thes

e st

ruct

ures

com

bine

to

prov

ide

the

Net

herla

nds

with

a v

ery

high

leve

l of

flood

pro

tect

ion.

Are

as t

hat

are

mos

t vu

lner

able

to

flood

ing

with

a h

igh

econ

om-

ic a

nd h

uman

val

ue h

ave

flood

pro

tect

ion

infr

astr

uctu

re d

esig

ned

to w

ithst

and

a 1 in

10,0

00 y

ear

flood

. The

Net

herla

nds,

how

ever

, is

cont

inua

lly r

efini

ng a

nd

upda

ting

flood

pro

tect

ion

polic

y, m

ost

rece

ntly

by

inco

rpor

atin

g ris

k m

anag

e-m

ent

conc

epts

into

tha

t po

licy.

Thi

s ne

w p

ract

ice

mov

es a

way

from

des

igni

ng

infr

astr

uctu

re t

o w

ithst

and

a th

eore

tical

sto

rm a

nd t

owar

d de

sign

ing,

insp

ectin

g an

d m

aint

aini

ng fl

ood

prot

ectio

n to

red

uce

the

actu

al p

roba

bilit

y of

floo

ding

in

any

and

all a

reas

. The

pol

icy

also

hel

ps o

ffici

als

set

prio

ritie

s an

d m

ake

mor

e in

form

ed d

ecis

ions

abo

ut w

here

to

inve

st r

esou

rces

in a

ny g

iven

yea

r.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n, s

ee w

ww

.del

taw

erke

n.nl

/eng

lish.

13

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

WAT

ER M

AN

AG

EMEN

T EX

PER

TIS

E D

utch

exp

ertis

e w

ith w

ater

is n

ot li

mite

d to

floo

d co

ntro

l. It

exte

nds

to s

ever

al

area

s of

wat

er m

anag

emen

t, pa

rtic

ular

ly t

he o

nes

men

tione

d be

low.

INTE

GR

ATED

WAT

ER M

AN

AG

EMEN

T In

tegr

ated

wat

er m

anag

emen

t: w

ater

gov

erna

nce

and

sust

aina

ble

use

of

wat

er r

esou

rces

Par

tner

ship

s: b

uild

ing

natio

nal a

nd in

tern

atio

nal p

artn

ersh

ips

and

wat

er

netw

orks

Inst

itut

iona

l dev

elop

men

t: in

stitu

tiona

l cap

acity

bui

ldin

g (a

dmin

istr

ativ

e,

legi

slat

ive,

and

man

ager

ial),

tra

inin

g an

d ed

ucat

ion,

kno

wle

dge

exch

ange

DEL

TA T

ECH

NO

LOG

Y W

ater

man

agem

ent:

mon

itorin

g of

gro

undw

ater

and

sur

face

wat

er, i

rrig

atio

n,

drai

nage

, drin

king

wat

er s

uppl

y an

d sa

nita

tion

Flo

od p

rote

ctio

n/m

anag

emen

t of

floo

d ris

ks H

ydra

ulic

eng

inee

ring:

dre

dgin

g; la

nd rec

lam

atio

n, p

ort,

dike

, and

dam

co

nstr

uctio

n, m

aint

enan

ce o

f sof

t sa

ndy

coas

ts S

pati

al p

lann

ing

usin

g w

ater

as

a gu

idin

g pr

inci

ple

for

spat

ial d

evel

opm

ent:

m

ultif

unct

iona

l lan

d us

e in

den

sely

pop

ulat

ed a

reas

, com

bine

d ur

ban

deve

lop-

men

t an

d w

ater

sto

rage

, the

dev

elop

men

t of

nat

ure

rese

rves

and

rec

reat

iona

l ar

eas,

coa

stal

zon

es a

nd e

stua

ries

Env

ironm

enta

l con

serv

atio

n: e

colo

gica

l res

tora

tion

of r

iver

s an

d co

asta

l zon

es,

wet

land

man

agem

ent,

prot

ectio

n of

bio

dive

rsity

and

wat

erfo

wl

habi

tats

, and

the

wis

e us

e of

wet

land

s, m

angr

oves

, and

cor

al r

eefs

WAT

ER T

ECH

NO

LOG

Y W

ater

sup

ply

for do

mes

tic

and

indu

stria

l use

s: th

e N

ethe

rland

s’ p

ublic

drin

king

w

ater

sup

plie

s re

ach

alm

ost

100 p

erce

nt o

f the

pop

ulat

ion,

pro

vidi

ng w

ater

of

the

hig

hest

qua

lity

with

out

the

use

of d

isin

fect

ants

or

chlo

rinat

ion.

Man

y in

dust

ries

can

use

recy

cled

wat

er w

here

qua

lity

is a

djus

ted

to m

eet

the

need

s of

key

pro

duct

ion

proc

esse

s W

aste

wat

er t

reat

men

t an

d sa

nita

tion

To le

arn

mor

e ab

out

wat

er m

anag

emen

t in

the

Net

herl

ands

, con

tact

the

Net

herl

ands

W

ater

Par

tner

ship

at

info

@nw

p.nl

w

ww

.nw

p.nl

w

ww

.wat

erin

then

ethe

rlan

ds.o

rg

The

Mae

slan

t an

d Ea

ster

n S

chel

dt

barr

iers

pro

tect

D

utch

del

ta a

nd

citie

s from

Nor

th

Sea

sto

rm s

urge

.

14

15

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

Dut

ch h

isto

ry c

an b

e m

arke

d by

rep

eate

d, a

nd o

ften

ove

rwhe

lmin

g, fl

oods

. The

af

term

ath

of e

ach

flood

saw

a s

tren

gthe

ning

of fl

ood

defe

nses

and

impr

ovem

ents

to

sup

port

ing

infr

astr

uctu

re. I

ndee

d, t

he o

vera

ll le

vel o

f pro

tect

ion

from

floo

ding

in

the

Net

herla

nds

is q

uite

hig

h. T

he h

ighe

st le

vel o

f pro

tect

ion—

prov

ided

to

citie

s an

d ar

eas

with

a h

igh-

dens

ity o

f hum

an a

nd e

cono

mic

cap

ital—

in t

he

Net

herla

nds

is d

esig

ned

to w

ithst

and

a 1 in

10,0

00 y

ear

flood

. The

low

est

leve

l of p

rote

ctio

n—de

sign

ed fo

r in

land

, rur

al a

nd s

pars

ely

popu

late

d ar

eas

—is

des

igne

d to

with

stan

d a

1 in

1,2

50 y

ear

flood

.

In r

ecen

t ye

ars

Dut

ch o

ffici

als

have

beg

un t

o in

corp

orat

e ris

k m

anag

emen

t

conc

epts

into

floo

d po

licy. B

y do

ing

so, t

he D

utch

gov

ernm

ent i

s ab

le to

pro

tect

its

citi

zens

mor

e ef

fect

ivel

y an

d ef

ficie

ntly.

One

asp

ect

of r

isk

man

agem

ent

is the

div

isio

n of

the

land

into

dik

e rin

g co

mpa

rtm

ents

tha

t ha

ve d

iffer

ent ris

k le

vels

of fl

oodi

ng. A

noth

er c

hang

e ha

s be

en to

mov

e aw

ay fr

om d

esig

ning

infra

-st

ruct

ure

to w

ithst

and

a th

eore

tical

sto

rm a

nd t

owar

d de

sign

ing,

insp

ectin

g an

d m

aint

aini

ng fl

ood

prot

ectio

n to

red

uce

the

actu

al p

roba

bilit

y of

floo

ding

in a

ny

and

all a

reas

. Goo

d da

ta p

rovi

ded

by r

outin

e, m

anda

tory

insp

ectio

ns is

cru

cial

to

thi

s ch

ange

. Ris

k m

anag

emen

t con

cept

s al

so h

elp

esta

blis

h pr

iorit

ies

in a

ny

give

n ye

ar b

y ta

rget

ing

reso

urce

s on

the

wea

kest

link

s in

the

cha

in.

Goo

d ris

k m

anag

emen

t al

so r

equi

res

evol

ving

bes

t pr

actic

es. G

ood

wat

er m

an-

agem

ent

is n

ot a

sta

tic p

roce

ss. D

utch

wat

er m

anag

emen

t po

licy

cons

tant

ly

adap

ts t

o do

mes

tic, i

nter

natio

nal,

and

atm

osph

eric

dev

elop

men

ts. F

or e

xam

ple,

ne

w p

roce

dure

s en

able

Dut

ch o

ffici

als

to b

ette

r un

ders

tand

the

cos

t-ben

efit

aspe

cts

of fl

ood

prot

ectio

n de

cisi

ons.

The

Dut

ch n

atio

nal g

over

nmen

t, pr

ovin

cial

go

vern

men

ts, a

nd lo

cal w

ater

boa

rds

will

join

tly im

plem

ent

the

new

“S

afe

N

ethe

rland

s R

oadm

ap,”

whi

ch r

equi

res:

RIS

K M

AN

AG

EMEN

T IN

TH

E TW

ENTY

-FIR

ST

CEN

TUR

YW

hat

Pro

tect

ion

At

Wha

t C

ost?

16

17

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

man

dato

ry in

spec

tions

of a

ll flo

od p

rote

ctio

n in

fras

truc

ture

no

less

tha

n on

ce

ever

y fiv

e ye

ars

ass

essm

ents

of a

ll po

ssib

le fa

ilure

mec

hani

sms—

whe

ther

cau

sed

by n

atur

al

or h

uman

fact

ors

of t

he in

fras

truc

ture

—in

the

dik

e rin

g co

mpa

rtm

ents

cal

cula

tions

of t

he p

roba

bilit

y of

floo

ding

sho

uld

failu

re o

ccur

GIS

tec

hnol

ogy,

dem

ogra

phic

and

insu

ranc

e da

mag

e “c

urve

s” tha

t he

lp p

redi

ct

pote

ntia

l floo

d da

mag

e, b

oth

hum

an a

nd e

cono

mic

, fro

m p

artic

ular

failu

res,

and

rigo

rous

cos

t-ben

efit a

naly

ses

that

cry

stal

lize

polic

y al

tern

ativ

es, g

uide

dec

isio

ns,

and

expl

ain

to t

he p

ublic

the

rat

iona

le b

ehin

d de

cisi

ons

Suc

cess

ful r

isk

man

agem

ent

begi

ns w

ith c

omm

unic

atin

g to

the

pub

lic a

nd

key

stak

ehol

ders

wha

t th

e w

ell-d

efine

d, a

ccep

tabl

e le

vels

of r

isk

are.

Bro

adly

sp

eaki

ng, a

ccep

tabl

e ris

k is

the

sci

entifi

cally

est

ablis

hed

prob

abili

ty o

f los

s of

life

and

eco

nom

ic d

amag

e th

at w

ill r

esul

t fr

om t

he fa

ilure

of a

n en

gine

ered

sy

stem

, suc

h as

dam

s, le

vees

, gat

es, w

eirs

, or

the

wat

er s

yste

m’s

abi

lity

to

tem

pora

rily

abso

rb o

r di

vert

exc

ess

wat

er. “

How

saf

e is

saf

e?”

and

“How

muc

h m

oney

will

a s

peci

fic le

vel o

f saf

ety

cost

?” a

re im

port

ant

engi

neer

ing

and

polic

y qu

estio

ns t

hat

guid

e ac

cept

able

ris

k de

term

inat

ions

. In

orde

r to

impr

ove

risk

asse

ssm

ent

prac

tices

and

to

refin

e le

vels

of a

ccep

tabl

e ris

k, t

he D

utch

col

labo

-ra

te w

ith t

heir

coun

terp

arts

in c

ount

ries

arou

nd t

he w

orld

, inc

ludi

ng t

he U

nite

d S

tate

s, w

here

the

y co

nsul

t w

ith e

xper

ts in

the

Arm

y C

orps

of E

ngin

eers

, the

B

urea

u of

Rec

lam

atio

n, a

nd in

man

y st

ate

gove

rnm

ents

.

Floo

ding

in the

N

ethe

rland

s in

1953 a

nd in

1993.

18

19

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

In M

ay 2

004, t

he U

.S. A

rmy

Cor

ps o

f Eng

inee

rs (U

SAC

E) a

nd t

he D

utch

R

ijksw

ater

staa

t (RW

S) s

igne

d a

Mem

oran

dum

of A

gree

men

t (M

OA)

to c

olla

bora

te

on p

olic

y an

d w

ater

res

ourc

es p

lann

ing

and

man

agem

ent. T

he R

ijksw

ater

staa

t is

pa

rt o

f the

Net

herla

nds

Min

istr

y of

Tra

nspo

rt, P

ublic

Wor

ks a

nd W

ater

Man

agem

ent

and

is re

spon

sibl

e fo

r floo

d pr

even

tion

and

for t

he m

ain

road

, wat

er tr

ansp

ort a

nd

traf

fic a

rter

ies.

US

ACE

is a

cou

nter

part

of R

WS

in t

he U

nite

d S

tate

s in

the

fiel

d of

wat

er m

anag

emen

t.

With

in t

he M

OA,

US

ACE

and

RW

S h

ave

held

rec

urrin

g te

chni

cal w

orks

hops

on

a va

riety

of t

hem

es in

clud

ing

wat

er m

anag

emen

t, le

vees

, eva

cuat

ion,

and

dam

age

miti

gatio

n. T

he M

OA

also

faci

litat

es m

any

othe

r ac

tiviti

es. A

t th

e co

rpor

ate

leve

l, a

join

t stu

dy is

com

parin

g an

d co

ntra

stin

g th

e w

ater

man

agem

ent hi

stor

y of

bot

h co

untr

ies.

At

a st

rate

gic

leve

l, hi

gh-le

vel m

anag

emen

t an

d to

p sp

ecia

lists

from

U

SAC

E an

d RW

S r

egul

arly

exc

hang

e an

d pa

rtic

ipat

e in

eac

h ot

her’s

cou

ncils

, co

nfer

ence

s, a

nd w

orki

ng g

roup

s.

The

afte

rmat

h of

Hur

rican

es R

ita a

nd K

atrin

a ha

s gi

ven

part

icul

ar fo

cus

and

vita

lity

to t

his

part

ners

hip.

Bot

h pa

rtie

s ar

e us

ing

the

less

ons

that

dis

aste

rs

of t

his

mag

nitu

de t

each

to

lear

n fr

om o

ne a

noth

er o

n is

sues

rel

ated

to

coas

tal

zone

pro

tect

ion

and

man

agem

ent.

The

ir co

oper

ativ

e ef

fort

s be

gan

with

the

N

ew O

rlean

s ar

ea, b

ut t

hey

have

gro

wn

to in

clud

e th

e ar

ea a

roun

d S

acra

men

to,

Cal

iforn

ia a

s w

ell.

Mor

eove

r, di

scus

sion

s ar

e un

derw

ay t

o de

term

ine

whe

ther

co

oper

atio

n w

ith F

lorid

a w

ould

be

frui

tful

.

THE

NET

HER

LAN

DS

A

ND

TH

E U

NIT

ED S

TATE

SW

orki

ng T

oget

her

in W

ater

Man

agem

ent

The

Mae

slan

t B

arrie

r, sh

own

here

in a

clo

sed

posi

tion,

pro

tect

s th

e Po

rt

City

of R

otte

rdam

. Eac

h

of it

s m

assi

ve a

rms

are

the

size

of t

he E

iffel

Tow

er.

20

21

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

“ KEE

P

PEO

PLE’

S

FEET

DR

Y”

22

23

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

NEW

OR

LEA

NS

The

low

er M

issi

ssip

pi R

iver

Del

ta a

nd t

he lo

wer

Rhi

ne R

iver

Del

ta in

the

N

ethe

rland

s ar

e qu

ite a

like.

Bot

h de

ltas

drai

n la

rge

part

s of

the

ir re

spec

tive

cont

inen

ts; b

oth

are

key

loca

tions

for

com

mer

ce, s

hipp

ing,

fish

ing,

and

oth

er

econ

omic

act

ivity

; bot

h se

rve

as h

ubs

for

near

by o

il an

d ga

s de

velo

pmen

t; a

nd

both

are

bea

utifu

l, ec

olog

ical

ly r

ich

and

envi

ronm

enta

lly s

ensi

tive

area

s. B

oth

area

s, m

oreo

ver,

are

hom

e to

cul

tura

lly r

ich

com

mun

ities

tha

t lie

bel

ow s

ea

leve

l and

are

vul

nera

ble

to p

erio

dic,

oft

en c

atas

trop

hic,

floo

ding

.

KAT

RIN

A R

ESP

ON

SE

With

in h

ours

aft

er H

urric

ane

Kat

rina

mad

e la

ndfa

ll, t

he D

utch

gov

ernm

ent

disp

atch

ed m

obile

pum

ps, c

ivil

engi

neer

s, a

nd a

Roy

al N

avy

frig

ate,

a q

uick

re

spon

se m

ade

poss

ible

by

the

Mem

oran

dum

of A

gree

men

t be

twee

n th

e

U.S

. Arm

y C

orps

of E

ngin

eers

and

the

Dut

ch R

ijksw

ater

staa

t.

Post

-Kat

rina,

the

Mem

oran

dum

has

ena

bled

furt

her

inte

ract

ion

betw

een

the

Cor

ps a

nd D

utch

exp

erts

in N

ew O

rlean

s an

d th

e su

rrou

ndin

g ar

ea, i

nclu

ding

: in

spec

tion

of t

he fe

dera

l Hur

rican

e Pr

otec

tion

Sys

tem

leve

es p

rote

ctin

g N

ew

Orle

ans

by t

he D

utch

firm

s Ar

cadi

s, F

ugro

, Has

koni

ng, a

nd D

HV

geo

tech

nica

l ana

lysi

s of

sub

soils

and

hyd

rom

orph

ic c

ondi

tions

alo

ng t

he

low

er M

issi

ssip

pi r

iver

by

Fugr

o, D

HV,

and

Has

koni

ng d

esig

n as

sist

ance

on

emer

genc

y re

pairs

to

dam

aged

leve

es a

nd fl

ood

cont

rol

stru

ctur

es b

y Ar

cadi

s an

d H

asko

ning

con

cept

ual s

tudi

es fo

r tw

o la

rge

stor

m s

urge

bar

riers

to

prot

ect

New

Orle

ans

by A

rcad

is a

nd W

L D

elft

Hyd

raul

ics,

and

a D

utch

per

spec

tive

on t

he L

ouis

iana

Coa

stal

Pro

tect

ion

and

Res

tora

tion

plan

Dut

ch g

over

nmen

t, ac

adem

ic, a

nd p

rivat

e se

ctor

exp

erts

are

als

o in

clo

se c

onta

ct

with

offi

cial

s from

the

Lou

isia

na D

epar

tmen

t of

Tra

nspo

rtat

ion

and

Dev

elop

men

t, th

e Lo

uisi

ana

Dep

artm

ent o

f Nat

ural

Res

ourc

es, t

he L

ouis

iana

Coa

stal

Pro

tect

ion

and

Res

tora

tion

Auth

ority

, and

the

New

Orle

ans

City

Cou

ncil.

Day

s af

ter K

atrin

a,

Jaap

van

Wis

sen

of

Dut

ch R

ijksw

ater

staa

tas

sem

blin

g D

utch

pu

mps

tha

t he

lp to

dew

ater

New

Orle

ans.

24

25

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

LOU

ISIA

NA

CO

ASTA

L P

RO

TEC

TIO

N A

ND

RES

TOR

ATIO

N (

LAC

PR

)In

late

200

5, th

e U

.S. C

ongr

ess

man

date

d th

at th

e U

.S. A

rmy

Cor

ps o

f Eng

inee

rs

subm

it to

Con

gres

s a

deta

iled,

long

-term

pla

n to

pro

vide

pro

tect

ion

for N

ew O

rlean

s ag

ains

t a

Cat

egor

y 5 h

urric

ane.

Thi

s pr

otec

tion

wou

ld b

e ov

er a

nd a

bove

the

al

read

y ex

istin

g, b

ut n

ot y

et fu

lfille

d, req

uire

men

t fo

r th

e C

orps

to

prov

ide

1 in

100 y

ear st

orm

pro

tect

ion

for N

ew O

rlean

s.

The

Cor

ps h

as e

ngag

ed a

tea

m o

f Net

herla

nds

Wat

er P

artn

ersh

ip m

embe

rs—

incl

udin

g th

e R

ijksw

ater

staa

t, Ar

cadi

s, F

ugro

, DH

V, In

fram

, WL

Del

ft H

ydra

ulic

s,

HK

V an

d H

asko

ning

—to

del

iver

a c

once

ptua

l stu

dy o

f how

Dut

ch e

ngin

eers

w

ould

pro

vide

Cat

egor

y 5 p

rote

ctio

n fo

r N

ew O

rlean

s. T

he D

utch

tea

m a

nd

vario

us m

embe

rs o

f the

Cor

ps h

ave

held

num

erou

s in

tera

ctiv

e w

orks

hops

, an

d bo

th C

orps

and

Dut

ch o

ffici

als

prai

se thi

s in

tera

ctio

n fo

r de

epen

ing

the

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

cha

lleng

es in

New

Orle

ans

and

the

cost

s/be

nefit

s of

var

ious

po

licy

alte

rnat

ives

. The

stu

dy—

tent

ativ

ely

entit

led

“The

Dut

ch P

ersp

ectiv

e on

Lo

uisi

ana

Coa

stal

Res

tora

tion

and

Prot

ectio

n”—

will

be

incl

uded

as

an a

ppen

dix

to the

Cor

ps’ s

ubm

issi

on to

Con

gres

s.

SPA

TIA

L P

LAN

NIN

GPr

otec

ting

New

Orle

ans

from

futu

re fl

ood

disa

ster

s w

ill req

uire

str

onge

r, ar

mor

ed

leve

es, r

esto

red

coas

tal w

etla

nds,

and

effe

ctiv

e pu

mp

stat

ions

. Cre

atin

g a

safe

an

d re

vita

lized

New

Orle

ans

mea

ns a

lso

inco

rpor

atin

g co

ncep

ts o

f saf

ety,

risk

miti

gatio

n, a

nd fl

ood

prot

ectio

n re

dund

ancy

into

pub

lic in

fras

truc

ture

and

urb

an

and

econ

omic

red

evel

opm

ent pl

ans.

This

is a

lso

bein

g do

ne in

the

Net

herla

nds,

whe

re p

rovi

ncia

l and

loca

l gov

ernm

ents

an

d pr

ojec

t de

velo

pers

mus

t pr

ovid

e a

wat

er s

afet

y pl

an fo

r ev

ery

resi

dent

ial,

co

mm

erci

al, i

ndus

tria

l, an

d ag

ricul

tura

l dev

elop

men

t pr

ojec

t. L

ocal

wat

er

boar

ds, p

ublic

saf

ety

offic

ials

, city

pla

nner

s, la

ndsc

ape

arch

itect

s an

d pr

ojec

t de

velo

pers

col

labo

rate

to

ensu

re tha

t al

l new

dev

elop

men

t is

inte

grat

ed in

to,

and

does

not

sub

trac

t from

, cur

rent

floo

d pr

otec

tion

leve

ls.

In p

ract

ice,

this

mea

ns th

at in

frast

ruct

ure

addi

tions

—ro

ads,

rail,

brid

ges,

cul

vert

s,

sew

ers,

and

eve

n pu

blic

tran

sit s

tatio

ns—

shou

ld e

nhan

ce w

ater

div

ersi

on, s

tora

ge

and

abso

rptio

n ca

paci

ties

and

prov

ide

redu

ndan

cy t

o ex

istin

g flo

od p

rote

ctio

n st

ruct

ures

. Lan

dsca

pe a

rchi

tect

s ca

n de

sign

, and

eve

n re

desi

gn, a

dev

elop

-m

ent’s

“w

ater

foot

prin

t,” m

itiga

ting

its im

pact

on

loca

l floo

d pr

otec

tion

whi

le

enha

ncin

g ae

sthe

tic a

nd e

cono

mic

val

ues.

Civ

il ar

chite

cts

and

deve

lope

rs

can

crea

te s

afe

resi

dent

ial c

omm

uniti

es w

here

acc

ess

to w

ater

is a

key

sel

ling

poin

t. Saf

ety,

recr

eatio

n, m

ixed

land

use

and

env

ironm

enta

l goa

ls c

an b

e m

utua

lly

rein

forc

ing

whe

n on

e ad

opts

a L

ive-

with

-the-

Wat

er a

ppro

ach.

The

Amer

ican

Pla

nnin

g As

soci

atio

n, t

he N

ew O

rlean

s C

ity C

ounc

il, a

nd t

he N

ew

Orle

ans

Red

evel

opm

ent

Auth

ority

hav

e tu

rned

to

Dut

ch la

ndsc

ape

arch

itect

s,

civi

l eng

inee

rs, t

he N

ethe

rland

s In

stitu

te fo

r H

ousi

ng a

nd S

patia

l Pla

nnin

g, a

nd

Dut

ch g

over

nmen

t of

ficia

ls fo

r ad

vice

and

ass

ista

nce

on p

ost-K

atrin

a re

build

ing

and

rede

velo

pmen

t.

STO

RM

SU

RG

E B

AR

RIE

RS

Purs

uant

to

a re

ques

t fr

om t

he U

S A

rmy

Cor

ps o

f Eng

inee

rs in

New

Orle

ans,

W

L D

elft

Hyd

raul

ics—

a le

adin

g te

chni

cal r

esea

rch

and

cons

ultin

g in

stitu

te

base

d in

the

Net

herla

nds—

and

Arca

dis—

a la

rge

Dut

ch-A

mer

ican

eng

inee

ring

firm

—pr

ovid

ed a

con

cept

ual d

esig

n st

udy

expl

aini

ng h

ow t

wo

mov

eabl

e st

orm

su

rge

barr

iers

in N

ew O

rlean

s’ In

ner

Nav

igat

ion

Can

al a

nd t

he G

ulf I

ntra

coas

tal

Wat

erw

ay c

ould

be

used

to

subs

tant

ially

dec

reas

e st

orm

sur

ge a

nd w

ave

leve

ls

in a

nd a

roun

d N

ew O

rlean

s.

26

27

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

EMER

GEN

CY

PLA

NN

ING

A

ND

DIS

AST

ER R

ESP

ON

SE

Are

Kat

rina

’s L

esso

ns a

nd t

he U

nite

d S

tate

s’

Expe

rien

ces

Rel

evan

t to

Eur

ope?

Hur

rican

e K

atrin

a w

as t

he U

nite

d S

tate

s’ w

orst

nat

ural

dis

aste

r. It

over

whe

lmed

pr

otec

tive

infra

stru

ctur

e an

d ex

pose

d w

eakn

esse

s in

exi

stin

g em

erge

ncy

resp

onse

an

d di

sast

er p

repa

redn

ess

proc

edur

es. M

any

peop

le in

the

Net

herla

nds

have

as

ked

how

Dut

ch p

repa

redn

ess

mea

sure

s w

ould

per

form

dur

ing

and

afte

r a

stor

m li

ke K

atrin

a. A

fter c

onsi

derin

g th

is q

uest

ion

and

obse

rvin

g Kat

rina’

s im

pact

, th

e N

ethe

rland

s’ o

verw

helm

ing

focu

s on

dis

aste

r pr

even

tion

has

evol

ved

to a

lso

incl

ude

mor

e ro

bust

dis

aste

r res

pons

e, e

vacu

atio

n an

d co

mm

unic

atio

ns te

chni

ques

to

miti

gate

the

har

mfu

l con

sequ

ence

s of

a d

isas

ter.

In s

hort

, Kat

rina

conv

ince

d th

e D

utch

tha

t pl

anni

ng p

rimar

ily to

prev

ent a

disa

ster

was

no

long

er s

uffic

ient

, an

d th

at p

lann

ing

for th

e af

term

ath

of a

dis

aste

r w

ould

als

o be

req

uire

d. K

atrin

a ha

s ha

d a

sim

ilar

effe

ct o

n em

erge

ncy

plan

ning

in o

ther

Eur

opea

n ca

pita

ls.

As p

art

of it

s co

oper

ativ

e ef

fort

s w

ith t

he U

nite

d S

tate

s, D

utch

gov

ernm

ent

offic

ials

and

dis

aste

r re

spon

se e

xper

ts h

ave

aske

d th

eir

peer

s in

Lou

isia

na,

Cal

iforn

ia, a

nd W

ashi

ngto

n, D

C, t

he fo

llow

ing

ques

tions

:

1. W

hat

less

ons

mig

ht E

urop

eans

ext

ract

from

the

act

ual e

xper

ienc

e th

e U

nite

d St

ates

has

in p

lann

ing,

pre

parin

g, r

espo

ndin

g, a

nd r

ecov

erin

g fr

om t

hese

kin

ds

of s

uper

-sto

rms?

2.

Doe

s Eu

rope

an r

emot

e se

nsin

g, e

arth

obs

erva

tion

, ear

ly w

arni

ng, a

nd p

ublic

br

oadc

asti

ng t

echn

olog

y ho

ld a

ny b

enefi

ts fo

r th

e U

nite

d St

ates

and

the

in

tern

atio

nal c

omm

unit

y-at

-larg

e?

3. W

hat

is t

he c

urre

nt s

tate

of,

and

wha

t a

re t

he fu

ture

per

spec

tive

s on

, tra

nsat

lan-

tic

coop

erat

ion

in c

risis

man

agem

ent?

4.

Wou

ld p

erha

ps a

‘mer

ger’

of U

.S. a

nd E

urop

ean

know

ledg

e an

d ex

perie

nce

in

cris

is m

anag

emen

t be

ben

efici

al t

o ot

her

low

-lyin

g pa

rts

of t

he w

orld

?

Join

t co

oper

atio

n an

d th

e sh

arin

g of

bes

t pr

actic

es in

thi

s ar

ea w

ill p

ay h

uge

divi

dend

s. S

ome

proj

ects

und

erw

ay in

clud

e:

The

Inte

rnat

iona

l Kat

rina

Boo

k (I

KB

) pr

ojec

t se

eks

to m

obili

ze fo

cuse

d fe

edba

ck

from

diff

eren

t co

untr

ies,

pro

fess

ions

, dis

cipl

ines

, and

the

priv

ate

and

publ

ic

sect

ors

on a

con

cret

e “w

ar g

ame”

typ

e sc

enar

io. T

he r

esul

ts w

ill b

e pu

blis

hed

in a

non

-tech

nica

l boo

k en

title

d ¨S

torm

ove

r Eu

rope

—K

atrin

a in

the

Net

herla

nds¨

. Fo

r m

ore

info

rmat

ion

on t

his

proj

ect,

see

ww

w.s

torm

over

euro

pe.o

rg.

28

29

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

A D

utch

-Am

eric

an-In

tern

atio

nal C

entr

e fo

r Wat

er a

nd E

mer

genc

y M

anag

emen

t (D

AIC

-WEM

) w

ill s

tart

ope

ratio

ns in

ear

ly 2

008. I

t is

a c

lear

ingh

ouse

for

both

ex

istin

g an

d ne

w r

esea

rch,

kno

wle

dge,

and

exp

erie

nce

betw

een

U.S

. ent

ities

(D

isas

ter

Res

earc

h C

ente

r at

the

Uni

vers

ity o

f Del

awar

e; N

atur

al H

azar

d C

ente

r at

the

Uni

vers

ity o

f Col

orad

o at

Bou

lder

; Ins

titut

e fo

r C

risis

, Dis

aste

r, an

d R

isk

Man

agem

ent

at t

he G

eorg

e W

ashi

ngto

n U

nive

rsity

), D

utch

ent

ities

(N

ethe

rland

s M

inis

try

of T

rans

port

, Pub

lic W

orks

, Tra

nspo

rtat

ion

and

Wat

er

Man

agem

ent;

CO

T In

stitu

te fo

r S

afet

y, S

ecur

ity a

nd C

risis

Man

agem

ent)

, an

d ot

her

inte

rnat

iona

l par

tner

s.

This

info

rmat

ion

is c

ourt

esy

of E

elco

H. D

ijkst

ra o

f th

e In

tern

atio

nal E

mer

genc

y

Man

agem

ent

Init

iati

ve a

t th

e In

stit

ute

for

Cri

sis,

Dis

aste

r an

d R

isk

Man

agem

ent

(IC

DR

M)

at T

he G

eorg

e W

ashi

ngto

n U

nive

rsit

y, w

ww

.gw

u.ed

u/~

icdr

m.

Rob

ust

pum

p st

atio

ns

and

dike

s, s

ound

wat

er

man

agem

ent an

dte

sted

em

erge

ncy

resp

onse

tec

hniq

ues

ar

e cr

ucia

l to

prot

ectin

g

the

Net

herla

nds.

30

31

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

CA

LIFO

RN

IA

Whi

skey

is f

or D

rink

ing,

W

ater

is f

or F

ight

ing

Ove

r

The

2004 A

ceh

Tsun

ami a

nd H

urric

anes

Kat

rina

and

Rita

eig

ht m

onth

s la

ter

caus

ed s

o m

uch

dest

ruct

ion

and

disl

ocat

ion

that

pol

icym

aker

s in

the

Net

herla

nds,

as

wel

l as

in o

ther

par

ts o

f the

wor

ld, w

ere

forc

ed t

o re

thin

k an

d co

nfro

nt t

heir

own

wat

er v

ulne

rabi

litie

s. T

he d

isas

ters

alo

ng the

US

Gul

f Coa

st a

lso

stim

ulat

ed

Cal

iforn

ia o

ffici

als

to re

new

thei

r floo

d co

ntro

l effo

rts

in C

alifo

rnia

’s C

entral

Val

ley.

Two

mai

n riv

ers,

the

Sac

ram

ento

and

San

Joa

quin

rive

rs, a

nd th

eir m

any

trib

utar

ies

drai

n th

e C

entr

al V

alle

y of

Cal

iforn

ia. T

hese

riv

ers

conv

erge

in t

he C

alifo

rnia

Bay

D

elta

bef

ore

flow

ing

out

to s

ea v

ia S

an F

ranc

isco

Bay

. The

Cal

iforn

ia B

ay D

elta

is

a c

ruci

al h

ub fo

r th

e C

alifo

rnia

n ec

onom

y an

d th

e C

entr

al V

alle

y ec

osys

tem

. It

is a

pris

tine

natu

ral a

rea

rich

in a

quat

ic a

nd o

ther

wild

life.

It is

als

o an

impo

rtan

t ag

ricul

ture

are

a, a

key

tran

sit p

oint

for e

nerg

y, pe

ople

, and

goo

ds, a

nd is

bec

omin

g he

avily

urb

aniz

ed a

t its

mar

gins

. The

Del

ta a

lso

prov

ides

drin

king

wat

er fo

r ar

id

cent

ral a

nd s

outh

ern

Cal

iforn

ia. B

ut t

he D

elta

is b

elow

sea

leve

l and

sits

ato

p ac

tive

seis

mic

faul

ts, m

akin

g it

high

ly v

ulne

rabl

e to

nat

ural

dis

aste

rs.

The

leve

es p

rote

ctin

g B

ay D

elta

“is

land

s”—

pock

ets

of la

nd s

urro

unde

d by

leve

es

—ar

e po

orly

des

igne

d an

d co

nstr

ucte

d. A

maj

or le

vee

failu

re in

the

Del

ta, t

rigge

red

by e

xces

s w

ater

inflo

ws

or b

y an

ear

thqu

ake,

wou

ld c

ause

mas

sive

hum

an,

envi

ronm

enta

l and

eco

nom

ic d

amag

e. S

alt w

ater

from

the

San

Fra

ncis

co B

ay

wou

ld in

trud

e de

eply

into

the

low

-lyin

g D

elta

, har

min

g ag

ricul

ture

, aqu

atic

spe

cies

, na

viga

tion

and

com

mer

ce, a

nd fo

rcin

g th

e w

ater

pum

ps s

uppl

ying

sou

ther

n C

alifo

rnia

to

shut

dow

n.

Ups

trea

m fr

om t

he D

elta

, the

Sac

ram

ento

Riv

er a

nd it

s tr

ibut

arie

s ca

n tu

rn

from

dec

eptiv

ely

plac

id ri

vers

into

ragi

ng to

rren

ts o

f wat

er. D

urin

g th

e m

id-1

800s

, th

e riv

ers

wer

e ch

anne

led

to fa

cilit

ate

com

mer

ce a

nd h

ydra

ulic

(gol

d) m

inin

g

in t

he S

ierr

as. A

fter

win

ter

stor

ms

in t

he S

ierr

as, w

ater

vol

umes

cou

rsin

g do

wns

trea

m c

an g

row

by

a fa

ctor

of 2

0. W

eak

and

dam

aged

leve

es, i

ncre

asin

g ur

bani

zatio

n, a

nd g

row

ing

wat

er fl

ow v

olat

ility

dem

and

new

pol

icie

s, p

ract

ices

, an

d in

vest

men

ts. A

ckno

wle

dgin

g th

ese

fact

s, a

nd a

ccep

ting

that

clim

ate

chan

ge

will

like

ly e

xace

rbat

e pr

oble

ms

alon

g th

e riv

ers

and

in t

he B

ay D

elta

, Gov

erno

r S

chw

arze

negg

er, t

he C

alifo

rnia

Ass

embl

y, an

d C

alifo

rnia

vot

ers

have

set

asi

de

billi

ons

of d

olla

rs t

o en

sure

the

long

-term

hea

lth a

nd v

iabi

lity

of t

he C

entr

al

Valle

y’s u

niqu

e w

ater

sys

tem

.

Low

-lyin

g de

ltas

are

rich,

di

vers

e, p

rodu

ctiv

e bu

t

also

vul

nera

ble

ecos

yste

ms.

32

33

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

DEL

TA V

ISIO

N A

ND

DEL

TA P

LAN

II

The

Dut

ch D

elta

and

the

Cal

iforn

ia B

ay D

elta

are

qui

te a

like,

min

us t

he s

eism

ic

even

ts. M

oder

n D

utch

floo

d co

ntro

l pol

icy

date

s ba

ck t

o Th

e D

elta

Act

of 1

958,

whi

ch w

as a

res

pons

e to

the

dev

asta

ting

flood

s of

1953 in

whi

ch 1

800 p

eopl

e di

ed a

nd 5

0,0

00 h

omes

wer

e de

stro

yed.

The

inte

grat

ed fl

ood

cont

rol p

olic

y se

t fo

rth

in t

he A

ct c

ontin

ues

to p

rote

ct t

he N

ethe

rland

s to

day,

but

clim

ate

chan

ge,

sust

aina

bilit

y, ad

apta

tion,

and

Hur

rican

e K

atrin

a’s

rem

inde

r of

the

nec

essi

ty o

f et

erna

l vig

ilanc

e ar

e m

otiv

atin

g D

utch

pol

icy-

mak

ers

to d

evel

op a

Del

ta A

ct II

. Th

e ne

w A

ct, a

ssem

bled

by

a pa

nel o

f exp

erts

and

the

n tr

ansl

ated

into

a s

erie

s of

pol

icy

actio

ns, w

ill g

uide

Dut

ch w

ater

man

agem

ent

polic

y in

the

21st

Cen

tury

.

Cal

iforn

ia is

pur

suin

g a

sim

ilar

stra

tegy

for

sim

ilar

reas

ons.

The

Cal

iforn

ia

Bay

Del

ta a

nd t

he C

entr

al V

alle

y ar

e ke

y en

viro

nmen

tal a

nd e

cono

mic

ass

ets

conf

ront

ed b

y hu

ge c

limat

e ch

ange

and

floo

d th

reat

s. C

alifo

rnia

’s D

elta

Vis

ion

proj

ect

will

gui

de B

ay D

elta

mul

tiple

-use

and

sus

tain

abili

ty p

olic

y fo

r th

e ne

xt

50 y

ears

. Pol

icy

exch

ange

s, w

orks

hops

, eng

inee

ring

inte

ract

ion,

and

pol

itica

l ou

trea

ch a

re n

ow u

nder

way

to

inco

rpor

ate

Cal

iforn

ia’s

exp

ertis

e in

to t

he D

utch

D

elta

Act

II p

roce

ss a

nd D

utch

exp

ertis

e in

to C

alifo

rnia

’s D

elta

Vis

ion

proc

ess.

‘RO

OM

FO

R T

HE

RIV

ER’

Thro

ugho

ut t

he c

entu

ries,

bot

h in

Cal

iforn

ia a

nd in

the

Net

herla

nds,

riv

er a

nd

flood

pla

ins

have

bec

ome

mor

e co

nstr

icte

d. T

he r

iver

s—w

heth

er t

he F

eath

er,

Bea

r, Yu

ba, A

mer

ican

or

Sac

ram

ento

riv

ers

in C

alifo

rnia

or

the

Rhi

ne, M

aas,

or

Waa

l riv

ers

in t

he N

ethe

rland

s—ar

e ch

anne

led

betw

een

high

leve

es, w

hile

land

be

hind

tho

se le

vees

is b

ecom

ing

mor

e ur

bani

zed,

or

subs

idin

g, o

r bo

th. F

lood

ev

ents

und

er t

hese

con

ditio

ns w

ould

exa

ct a

hug

e ec

onom

ic a

nd h

uman

cos

t.

To c

reat

e m

ore

capa

city

for

the

river

s to

abs

orb

and

safe

ly d

isch

arge

exc

ess

w

ater

, the

new

Dut

ch S

patia

l Pla

nnin

g po

licy

entit

led

‘Roo

m fo

r th

e R

iver

’ was

re

cent

ly a

dopt

ed. I

ts m

ain

obje

ctiv

es a

re e

nhan

ced

flood

pro

tect

ion

by 2

015

an

d im

prov

ed o

vera

ll en

viro

nmen

tal q

ualit

y in

the

riv

er b

asin

. ‘R

oom

for

the

Riv

er’ w

ill w

iden

and

dee

pen

the

flood

pla

in in

man

y ar

eas,

cre

atin

g ad

ditio

nal

spac

e fo

r w

ater

“st

orag

e” d

urin

g pe

riods

of h

igh

wat

er le

vels

, and

faci

litat

e qu

icke

r w

ater

dis

char

ge b

y re

mov

ing

man

-mad

e an

d na

tura

l obs

tacl

es fr

om

the

flood

pla

in. C

alifo

rnia

fede

ral,

stat

e, a

nd lo

cal o

ffici

als

will

eva

luat

e ‘R

oom

fo

r th

e R

iver

’ pro

ject

s an

d de

term

ine

whe

re a

nd h

ow t

hey

may

be

rele

vant

for

en

hanc

emen

ts to

the

maj

or S

acra

men

to R

iver

(Yol

o an

d Sut

ter)

bypa

ss s

yste

ms.

Wat

er is

the

cru

cial

fe

atur

e in

Cal

iforn

ia’s

va

ried

land

scap

e.

34

35

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

“ PR

EPAR

ING

FO

R ‘W

HAT

IF’

SCEN

AR

IOS

A

RE

CR

UC

IAL

TO O

UR

N

ATIO

NA

L

SUR

VIVA

L”

36

37

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

DEL

TA M

AN

AG

EMEN

T C

HA

LLEN

GES

in

Cal

iforn

ia, L

ouis

iana

, an

d th

e N

ethe

rlan

ds

Imm

ense

cha

lleng

es t

o en

sure

saf

e, c

lean

and

sus

tain

able

use

of t

he s

oil,

su

bsoi

ls, a

nd w

ater

in d

elta

s co

nfro

nt g

over

nmen

ts in

Cal

iforn

ia, L

ouis

iana

, an

d th

e N

ethe

rland

s. S

ocie

tal,

econ

omic

, and

infr

astr

uctu

re d

evel

opm

ent

in

the

delta

s co

mpe

te w

ith t

he s

usta

inab

le m

anag

emen

t an

d ex

ploi

tatio

n of

a

high

ly c

ompl

ex s

ubsu

rfac

e an

d its

nat

ural

res

ourc

es, i

nclu

ding

hyd

roca

rbon

s an

d gr

ound

wat

er. U

rban

dev

elop

men

t in

del

tas

ofte

n in

crea

ses

the

risk

of la

nd

subs

iden

ce a

nd fl

oodi

ng. I

ndus

tria

l and

agr

icul

tura

l act

iviti

es m

ay a

ffect

the

su

btle

, nat

ural

bal

ance

in th

e de

lta s

ubsu

rface

, cre

atin

g en

viro

nmen

tal p

robl

ems

an

d pu

ttin

g bo

th p

eopl

e an

d pr

oper

ty a

t in

crea

sing

and

, in

the

long

ter

m,

unac

cept

able

ris

k.

To r

educ

e th

ese

prob

lem

s in

the

Geo

-reso

urce

s ar

ea, t

he D

utch

and

Am

eric

ans

can

coop

erat

e on

res

ourc

e ex

plor

atio

n, s

usta

inab

le p

rodu

ctio

n te

chno

logi

es,

envi

ronm

enta

l pro

tect

ion,

geo

-sta

tistic

al r

esou

rce

anal

ysis

, and

vis

ualiz

atio

n of

the

sub

surf

ace

to e

nsur

e an

inte

grat

ed a

ppro

ach

to la

nd-u

se p

lann

ing

and

deve

lopm

ent.

In t

he G

eo-h

azar

ds a

rea,

sub

side

nce

caus

ed b

y hy

droc

arbo

n or

gro

undw

ater

ex

trac

tion

may

trig

ger

sea

and/

or r

iver

floo

ding

, int

rusi

on o

f sal

ine

grou

ndw

a-te

r, an

d fo

unda

tion

failu

res.

Oth

er g

eo-h

azar

ds in

clud

e la

ndsl

ides

and

coa

stal

er

osio

n, b

oth

likel

y to

be

aggr

avat

ed b

y cl

imat

e ch

ange

. Map

ping

tec

toni

c st

ruct

ures

and

def

orm

atio

ns a

nd m

odel

ing

subs

urfa

ce b

ehav

ior

is n

eces

sary

to

prop

erly

est

imat

e co

nstr

uctio

n ris

ks. T

he D

utch

are

lead

ers

in la

nd s

ubsi

denc

e pr

edic

tion,

com

plex

gro

undw

ater

mod

elin

g an

d ris

k as

sess

men

t, an

d pr

edic

ting

the

stab

ility

of s

ub-u

rban

soi

ls.

In t

he G

eo-e

nviro

nmen

t ar

ea, g

roun

dwat

er p

ollu

tion

and

soil

cont

amin

atio

n ar

e

com

mon

feat

ures

in d

ense

ly p

opul

ated

and

indu

stria

lized

are

as, l

ike

the

Cal

iforn

ia,

Loui

sian

a, a

nd D

utch

del

tas.

The

Dut

ch h

ave

deve

lope

d in

nova

tive

(in s

itu)

soil

rem

edia

tion

tech

nolo

gies

and

hyd

raul

ic e

ngin

eerin

g pr

oced

ures

tha

t ar

e im

plem

ente

d w

ith c

ost-e

ffect

ive

tech

niqu

es t

o m

onito

r an

d pr

edic

t im

pact

s

and

outc

omes

.

38

39

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

FLO

RID

AIN

TEG

RAT

ED W

ATER

RES

OU

RC

ES M

AN

AG

EMEN

TFl

orid

a W

ater

Man

agem

ent

Dis

tric

ts, l

ike

thei

r D

utch

Wat

er B

oard

pee

rs, a

re

requ

ired

to e

ffici

ently

, and

sus

tain

ably,

man

age

com

petin

g w

ater

res

ourc

e ne

eds.

Flo

rida,

like

the

Net

herla

nds,

is b

ecom

ing

mor

e de

nsel

y po

pula

ted,

an

d ag

ricul

ture

rem

ains

a k

ey c

ompo

nent

of t

he e

cono

my.

Sto

rm w

ater

run

off,

poin

t an

d no

n-po

int

pollu

tion,

sal

twat

er in

trus

ion,

and

the

nat

ural

form

atio

n of

dan

gero

us c

hem

ical

s, h

owev

er, a

re t

hrea

teni

ng d

rinki

ng a

nd g

roun

d w

ater

su

pplie

s. B

oth

the

Net

herla

nds

and

Flor

ida

need

new

wat

er s

uppl

y an

d st

orag

e ca

paci

ty t

o m

eet

incr

ease

d de

man

d w

hile

mai

ntai

ning

cru

cial

floo

d pr

otec

tion

and

eco-

syst

em b

alan

ce. B

oth

mus

t the

refo

re d

evel

op c

uttin

g-ed

ge te

chno

logy

, ad

vanc

ed re

sear

ch, n

ew too

ls a

nd a

dapt

ive

appr

oach

es t

o sy

stem

-wid

e w

ater

re

sour

ces

man

agem

ent to

mee

t th

ese

futu

re d

eman

ds. M

oreo

ver,

sust

aina

bilit

y go

als

and

clim

ate

chan

ge e

ffect

s, s

uch

as e

xtre

me

wea

ther

var

iatio

ns, a

dd a

ne

w le

vel o

f com

plex

ity t

o ef

fect

ive

wat

er m

anag

emen

t. T

here

are

at

leas

t th

ree

area

s in

whi

ch D

utch

and

Flo

ridia

n ex

pert

ise

can

be c

ombi

ned

to y

ield

sub

stan

-tia

l ben

efits

.

THE

CEN

TRA

L A

ND

SO

UTH

FLO

RID

A F

LOO

D C

ON

TRO

L P

RO

JEC

TTh

e C

entr

al a

nd S

outh

Flo

rida

Floo

d C

ontr

ol P

roje

ct (C

SFF

CP)

is a

mas

sive

pl

umbi

ng o

pera

tion

desi

gned

to

prot

ect

Flor

idia

ns fr

om h

urric

ane

and

rain

fall-

driv

en fl

oodi

ng a

nd fr

om w

ater

sho

rtag

es d

urin

g pe

riods

of d

roug

ht. C

SFF

CP

enco

mpa

sses

1800 m

iles

of le

vees

, can

als,

and

floo

d co

ntro

l str

uctu

res

and

prov

ides

drin

king

wat

er, i

rrig

atio

n w

ater

, nav

igat

ion

chan

nels

, and

rec

reat

ion

oppo

rtun

ities

for

mill

ions

of F

lorid

ians

, as

wel

l as

cruc

ial w

ater

flow

s fo

r th

e Fl

orid

a Ev

ergl

ades

. Whi

le fl

ood

cont

rol i

s a

prim

ary

goal

of C

SFF

CP,

envi

ronm

enta

l re

stor

atio

n, w

ater

qua

lity,

and

ecos

yste

m b

alan

ce a

re a

lso

high

prio

ritie

s fo

r th

e pr

ojec

t. C

SFF

CP

stre

tche

s from

the

lake

s ar

ound

Wal

t D

isne

y W

orld

nea

r O

rland

o do

wn

to M

iam

i and

Flo

rida

Bay

and

from

Wes

t Pa

lm B

each

on

the

Atla

ntic

to

Fort

Mye

rs o

n th

e G

ulf o

f Mex

ico.

A

US

nat

iona

l tre

asur

e,

the

Flor

ida

Ever

glad

es

and

trad

ition

al w

ater

flow

s ar

e be

ing

rest

ored

for

both

env

ironm

enta

l and

w

ater

man

agem

ent go

als.

40

41

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

HER

BER

T H

OO

VER

DIK

EIn

the

Net

herla

nds,

the

Zui

derz

ee n

orth

of A

mst

erda

m w

as a

larg

e sa

ltwat

er

lake

res

pons

ible

for nu

mer

ous

flood

s th

roug

hout

Dut

ch h

isto

ry. I

n th

e ea

rly

1930s,

the

Zui

derz

ee w

as c

lose

d of

f fro

m the

Nor

th S

ea b

y a

20-m

ile lo

ng d

ike,

cr

eatin

g a

new

inla

nd fr

eshw

ater

lake

—th

e Ijs

selm

eer.

Toda

y, th

e Ijs

selm

eer

is

a 4

50 s

quar

e m

ile w

ater

sto

rage

, nat

ure

pres

erve

, and

rec

reat

ion

area

, su

rrou

nded

by

high

dik

es a

nd fl

ood

cont

rol s

truc

ture

s th

at h

ave

subs

tant

ially

re

duce

d flo

od ris

k in

and

aro

und

Amst

erda

m a

nd the

eas

tern

Net

herla

nds.

Th

e Ijs

selm

eer’s

cou

nter

part

in F

lorid

a is

Lak

e O

keec

hobe

e.

Lake

Oke

echo

bee

is t

he s

econ

d-la

rges

t la

ke in

the

Uni

ted

Sta

tes,

cov

erin

g 730

sq

uare

mile

s an

d pr

ovid

ing

wat

er s

tora

ge fo

r so

uth

Flor

ida.

Lak

e O

keec

hobe

e w

as the

sou

rce

of rep

eate

d an

d de

vast

atin

g flo

ods

betw

een

the

late

1880s

and

1940s.

To

cont

rol t

his

flood

ing,

con

stru

ctio

n be

gan

on the

20 fo

ot h

igh

Her

bert

H

oove

r D

ike

to e

nclo

se thi

s “B

ig L

ake”

in 1

948.

Lake

Oke

echo

bee

suffe

rs fr

om a

num

ber of

cha

lleng

es. I

ts in

flow

cap

acity

ex

ceed

s its

out

flow

cap

acity

. Hur

rican

e-dr

iven

win

ds c

ause

lake

wat

er t

o sl

osh

and

pile

-up

agai

nst th

e di

ke w

alls

, and

the

incr

easi

ngly

err

atic

sou

th F

lorid

a w

eath

er is

acc

eler

atin

g su

bsid

ence

aro

und

and

desi

ccat

ion

of t

he d

ike’

s al

read

y w

eak

surf

aces

. The

Her

bert

Hoo

ver D

ike

Res

tora

tion

Proj

ect

is a

20-y

ear,

$900

m

illio

n pr

ojec

t de

sign

ed to

stre

ngth

en the

dik

e’s

perfor

man

ce a

nd p

rovi

de

long

-term

sta

bilit

y. V

ario

us le

vee

cons

truc

tion,

str

engt

heni

ng, m

aint

enan

ce, a

nd

“bes

t pr

actic

es”

tech

niqu

es u

sed

in the

Net

herla

nds

are

rele

vant

to

the

dike

re

stor

atio

n pr

ojec

t. M

ore

coop

erat

ion

betw

een

Dut

ch e

xper

ts a

nd t

heir

Arm

y C

orps

of E

ngin

eers

and

Sou

th F

lorid

a W

ater

Man

agem

ent

Dis

tric

t pe

ers

will

lik

ely

prod

uce

incr

ease

d ef

ficie

ncy

and

cost

-ben

efit ga

ins

for

this

pro

ject

and

fu

rthe

r ce

men

t D

utch

-Am

eric

an fl

ood

prot

ectio

n co

oper

atio

n.

CO

MP

REH

ENS

IVE

EVER

GLA

DES

RES

TOR

ATIO

N P

RO

GR

AM

(C

ERP

)Th

e Ev

ergl

ades

is a

larg

e, 4

0-m

ile w

ide,

100-m

ile lo

ng w

et “

river

of g

rass

” in

so

uth

Flor

ida

that

beg

ins

at L

ake

Oke

echo

bee

and

flow

s in

to t

he G

ulf o

f Mex

ico

at F

lorid

a B

ay. A

s so

uth

Flor

ida

was

set

tled

in t

he la

te 1

880s,

larg

e po

rtio

ns o

f th

e Ev

ergl

ades

wer

e dr

aine

d an

d re

clai

med

for

agric

ultu

ral a

nd la

nd d

evel

op-

men

t. T

he C

SFF

CP

furt

her

degr

aded

the

Eve

rgla

des’

eco

syst

em b

y su

bsta

ntia

lly

alte

ring

the

flow

of w

ater

thr

ough

thi

s co

mpl

ex s

yste

m. T

oday

, onl

y 50 p

erce

nt

of t

he o

rigin

al E

verg

lade

s re

mai

ns p

rote

cted

by

the

Ever

glad

es N

atio

nal P

ark,

w

ildlif

e re

fuge

s, a

nd w

ater

con

serv

atio

ns a

reas

.

The

Com

preh

ensi

ve E

verg

lade

s R

esto

ratio

n Pr

ogra

m (C

ERP)

is a

35-y

ear,

$11 b

illio

n jo

int

fede

ral a

nd s

tate

und

erta

king

to

rest

ore

hist

oric

wat

er fl

ows

back

to

the

Ever

glad

es, r

evita

lize

nativ

e pl

ant,

aqua

tic, a

nd w

ildlif

e sp

ecie

s an

d

habi

tats

, and

rev

erse

dec

lines

in s

oil q

ualit

y/qu

antit

y an

d so

il ox

idat

ion.

CER

P ha

s id

entifi

ed 6

8 p

roje

cts,

eac

h fa

lling

with

in o

ne o

f the

six

follo

win

g ca

tego

ries:

a

quife

r st

orag

e an

d re

cove

ry s

urfa

ce w

ater

sto

rage

sto

rmw

ater

tre

atm

ent

see

page

man

agem

ent

she

etflo

w b

arrie

r re

mov

al, a

nd w

aste

wat

er r

euse

The

Flor

ida

Sta

te G

over

nmen

t ha

s ap

prov

ed fu

ndin

g fo

r a

num

ber

of s

tate

-su

ppor

ted

“Acc

eler

8”

proj

ects

tha

t w

ill ju

mp-

star

t C

ERP,

and

thes

e ar

e al

read

y pr

oduc

ing

stro

ng a

nd m

easu

rabl

e ea

rly b

enefi

ts. T

he N

ethe

rland

s vi

ews

CER

P as

an

inno

vativ

e, s

usta

inab

ility

-driv

en r

espo

nse

to e

cosy

stem

and

oth

er n

eeds

, de

ploy

ing

adap

tive

man

agem

ent

tech

niqu

es t

o ba

lanc

e co

mpl

ex a

nd c

ompe

ting

wat

er r

esou

rce

goal

s. D

utch

exp

erts

are

kee

n to

par

ticip

ate

in r

elev

ant

CER

P pr

ojec

ts, fi

rm in

the

belie

f tha

t the

kno

wle

dge

gain

ed fr

om s

uch

join

t coo

pera

tion

will

be

rele

vant

to fu

ture

eco

syst

em c

halle

nges

in th

e N

ethe

rland

s an

d el

sew

here

ac

ross

the

glo

be.

42

43

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

THE

NET

HER

LAN

DS

, C

limat

e C

hang

e, a

nd C

limat

e P

roofi

ng

Polic

ymak

ers

in t

he N

ethe

rland

s an

d el

sew

here

use

d to

bel

ieve

tha

t cl

imat

e ch

ange

cou

ld b

e pr

even

ted

or t

hat

it w

ould

occ

ur s

low

ly. C

oncr

ete

actio

ns a

nd

toug

h de

cisi

ons

wer

e of

ten

dela

yed

and

post

pone

d. R

ecen

t de

velo

pmen

ts

sugg

est

that

clim

ate

chan

ge is

occ

urin

g m

ore

rapi

dly,

brin

ging

with

it m

ore

va

riabl

e, o

ften

extrem

e w

eath

er c

ondi

tions

and

qui

te d

iver

gent

, loc

aliz

ed im

pact

s.

Bec

ause

ret

urns

on

inve

stm

ent

deci

sion

s m

ade

now

—in

infr

astr

uctu

re, i

n ur

ban,

hou

sing

and

com

mer

cial

dev

elop

men

t, in

spa

tial p

lann

ing—

will

be

part

ly

cont

inge

nt u

pon

futu

re c

limat

ic c

ondi

tions

, the

Net

herla

nds

has

adop

ted

a

num

ber

of p

olic

ies

to a

dapt

to

the

chan

ging

clim

ate

as w

ell a

s to

miti

gate

th

e ca

uses

the

reof

. Mor

eove

r, w

e ar

e st

artin

g to

app

ly r

obus

t, fo

rwar

d-lo

okin

g

cost

-ben

efit

anal

ysis

to

our

publ

ic, p

lann

ing

and

infr

astr

uctu

re in

vest

men

t

deci

sion

s an

d ar

e en

cour

agin

g in

tegr

ated

, sec

tor-w

ide

resp

onse

s.

As y

ou m

ight

imag

ine,

the

Net

herla

nds

is e

xtre

mel

y vu

lner

able

to c

limat

e ch

ange

im

pact

s, b

ut it

is n

ot a

lone

in it

s vu

lner

abili

ty. S

ome

of t

he p

redi

cted

effe

cts

of

clim

ate

chan

ge—

such

as

sea-

leve

l ris

e, p

eak

river

dis

char

ges,

mor

e ex

trem

e w

eath

er e

vent

s, a

nd d

roug

hts—

pres

ent

maj

or c

halle

nges

to

each

of t

he w

orld

’s

delta

reg

ions

, inc

ludi

ng t

he M

issi

ssip

pi R

iver

and

Cal

iforn

ia B

ay d

elta

s. A

nd

whi

le s

ome

of t

hese

effe

cts

are

clea

rly n

egat

ive,

it is

impo

rtan

t to

rem

embe

r th

at c

limat

e ch

ange

als

o cr

eate

s ne

w o

ppor

tuni

ties

for

appl

ied

rese

arch

, dev

el-

opm

ent,

inve

stm

ent

and

depl

oym

ent

of s

usta

inab

le t

echn

olog

ies,

pro

cess

es

and

polic

ies.

Bot

h th

e N

ethe

rland

s an

d th

e U

nite

d S

tate

s ha

ve m

uch

to g

ain

by e

ncou

ragi

ng

part

ners

hips

bet

wee

n th

eir

lead

ing

scie

ntis

ts, u

nive

rsiti

es, a

nd r

esea

rch

in

stitu

tes.

Dis

cuss

ions

are

und

erw

ay t

o fo

rm s

uch

part

ners

hips

bet

wee

n th

e U

nive

rsity

of C

alifo

rnia

, the

Uni

vers

ity o

f Lou

isia

na, L

ouis

iana

Sta

te U

nive

rsity

, th

e U

nive

rsity

of D

elaw

are,

and

the

Del

ft, W

agen

inge

n an

d Rot

terd

am u

nive

rsiti

es

in t

he N

ethe

rland

s. F

acili

tatin

g in

tera

ctio

n be

twee

n th

e U

.S. N

atio

nal A

cade

my

of S

cien

ces

and

the

Net

herla

nds

Inst

itute

for

Appl

ied

Res

earc

h is

like

wis

e

taki

ng s

hape

.

44

45

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

The

Net

herla

nds

gove

rnm

ent

has

deve

lope

d tw

o pr

ogra

ms

to s

timul

ate

coop

era-

tion

betw

een

land

-use

pla

nner

s, c

limat

e ch

ange

sci

entis

ts, p

olic

ymak

ers,

aca

dem

ia,

and

the

priv

ate

sect

or: t

he C

limat

e C

hang

es S

pati

al P

lann

ing

(CC

SP)

prog

ram

and

th

e N

atio

nal P

rogr

am fo

r th

e A

dapt

atio

n of

Spa

ce a

nd C

limat

e (A

RK

). U

nder

CC

SP

and

ARK

, clim

ate

chan

ge a

nd c

limat

e va

riabi

lity

are

desi

gnat

ed a

s fir

st p

rinci

ples

fo

r lan

d-us

e pl

anni

ng in

the

Net

herla

nds

and

else

whe

re. P

lann

ers,

dev

elop

ers

and

gove

rnm

ent

offic

ials

mus

t no

w in

corp

orat

e cl

imat

e ch

ange

impa

cts

into

the

ir pr

ojec

ts a

nd u

se a

dapt

ive

man

agem

ent

tech

niqu

es t

o en

sure

tha

t su

ch p

roje

cts

do n

ot je

opar

dize

saf

ety,

sust

aina

bilit

y or

eco

syst

em n

eeds

. Mor

eove

r, by

cre

atin

g

low

-em

issi

on h

ousi

ng, c

omm

erci

al rea

l est

ate

and

phys

ical

infr

astr

uctu

re,

enha

ncin

g la

nd-u

se p

lann

ing

with

res

pect

to

sour

ces

and

sink

s of

gre

enho

use

gase

s, a

nd in

crea

sing

the

ada

ptiv

e ca

paci

ty o

f agr

icul

ture

, nat

ural

res

ourc

es

and

wat

er w

ill a

ll in

crea

se th

e sa

fety

of o

ur p

eopl

es a

nd o

ur e

cono

mie

s.

The

Net

herla

nds

is a

lso

look

ing

to m

ake

its e

cono

mic

and

phy

sica

l inf

rast

ruct

ure

clim

ate

proo

f. Th

is is

don

e by

focu

sing

on

hots

pots

, whi

ch a

re a

reas

tha

t ar

e hi

ghly

vul

nera

ble

to t

he n

egat

ive

impa

cts

of c

limat

e ch

ange

—ar

eas

that

hav

e hi

gh h

uman

, soc

ial a

nd e

cono

mic

act

ivity

. By

wis

ely

plan

ning

for

and

inve

stin

g

in a

var

iety

of i

nfra

stru

ctur

e im

prov

emen

ts, a

n ar

ea’s

saf

ety

leve

l—fo

r ins

tanc

e in

re

gard

to fl

oodi

ng --

nee

d no

t be

jeop

ardi

zed

by c

limat

e ch

ange

. In

the

Net

herla

nds,

Am

ster

dam

, Rot

terd

am a

nd the

are

a ar

ound

Sch

ipho

l Airp

ort ha

ve b

een

deem

ed

to b

e ho

tspo

ts. T

here

are

num

erou

s ho

tspo

ts in

the

U.S

., in

clud

ing

the

sout

heas

t

coas

t of L

ouis

iana

, sou

th F

lorid

a, C

hica

go, N

ew Y

ork,

Sea

ttle

and

the

Puge

t Sou

nd,

and

the

Cal

iforn

ia B

ay D

elta

. By

part

nerin

g w

ith o

ffici

als

in t

hose

are

as, t

he

Dut

ch h

ope

to im

prov

e ev

eryo

ne’s

app

reci

atio

n fo

r th

e C

limat

e Pr

oofin

g co

ncep

t.

Dut

ch e

ngin

eerin

g:

win

d po

wer

for re

new

able

en

ergy

and

wat

er

man

agem

ent. F

loat

ing

hous

es a

re a

gro

win

g fe

atur

e of

Dut

ch u

rban

de

velo

pmen

t.

46

47

PIO

NEE

RIN

G W

ATER

ROYA

L N

ETH

ERLA

ND

S E

MB

ASS

Y

CO

NC

LUS

ION

Esse

ntia

l for

life

, im

port

ant

to t

he e

cono

my,

mag

nific

ent

in it

s be

auty

—w

e

cann

ot li

ve w

ithou

t w

ater

. But

as

we

live

with

it, w

e al

so m

ust

resp

ect

it.

Wat

er is

a p

reci

ous

reso

urce

, but

as

both

the

Net

herla

nds

and

the

Uni

ted

Sta

tes

know

, it

can

also

be

a de

adly

com

pani

on.

The

stru

ggle

with

wat

er h

as d

efine

d th

e hi

stor

y of

the

Net

herla

nds

and

mar

ked

the

hist

ory

of t

he U

nite

d S

tate

s. T

his

stru

ggle

con

tinue

s to

day

and

will

affe

ct

our

futu

res

as w

ell.

As t

he N

ethe

rland

s an

d th

e U

nite

d S

tate

s co

pe w

ith t

he

chal

leng

es a

nd t

hrea

ts t

hat

stem

from

geo

grap

hy a

nd t

opog

raph

y an

d fa

ce

the

new

glo

bal t

hrea

ts p

osed

by

clim

ate

chan

ge, w

e bo

th s

houl

d be

hea

rten

ed

that

we

no lo

nger

face

the

se t

hrea

ts a

lone

. As

we

shar

e in

form

atio

n ab

out

our

sepa

rate

exp

erie

nces

and

effe

ctiv

e po

licie

s, a

s w

e w

ork

toge

ther

to

crea

te a

nd

perf

ect

cutt

ing-

edge

tec

hnol

ogie

s an

d te

chni

ques

, we

are

findi

ng n

ew, m

ore

effe

ctiv

e w

ays

to m

anag

e w

ater

in o

ur c

ount

ries,

way

s th

at c

ould

pre

vent

futu

re

trag

edie

s, w

ays

that

cou

ld b

ette

r th

e liv

es o

f our

citi

zens

, way

s th

at c

ould

eve

n im

prov

e th

e he

alth

of t

he w

orld

.

48

CO

NTA

CT

INFO

RM

ATIO

N A

ND

WEB

SIT

ESFo

r m

ore

info

rmat

ion,

ple

ase

cont

act th

e R

oyal

Net

herla

nds

Emba

ssy

in

Was

hing

ton,

D.C

. Ass

ista

nce

can

be p

rovi

ded

by the

Tra

nspo

rt, P

ublic

Wor

ks,

and

Wat

er M

anag

emen

t Div

isio

ns t

el 2

02

27

4 2

73

6 em

ail w

as-v

ws@

min

buza

.nl

or the

Eco

nom

ic D

ivis

ion

tel 2

02

27

4 2

61

5 em

ail w

as-e

a@m

inbu

za.n

l.

A nu

mbe

r of

web

site

s pr

ovid

e m

ore

deta

iled

info

rmat

ion.

The

Roy

al N

ethe

rland

s Em

bass

y

Was

hing

ton,

DC

ww

w.n

ethe

rlan

ds-e

mba

ssy.

org

The

Net

herla

nds

Wat

er P

artn

ersh

ip

w

ww

.nw

p.nl

The

Net

herla

nds

Min

istr

y fo

r Tr

ansp

ort,

Pu

blic

Wor

ks a

nd W

ater

Man

agem

ent

ww

w.m

inve

nw.n

l

The

Net

herla

nds

Min

istr

y fo

r H

ousi

ng,

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