WR corp omslag EN DEF - Waterschap Rivierenland · PDF fileBNO, Hilversum Fotography ... Foto...
Transcript of WR corp omslag EN DEF - Waterschap Rivierenland · PDF fileBNO, Hilversum Fotography ... Foto...
Safe, enough and clean
Water everywhere
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Water Board Rivierenland in briefWater Board Rivierenland is responsible for water control in one of
the most attractive areas of the Netherlands, the River Area. Some
700 staff work on the following (main) tasks of the water board:
Water management (maintenance, water levels, water quality)
Looking after the dikes and boezem (drainage) quays
The management and maintenance of roads outside the built-up
areas in the Alblasserwaard and the Vijfheerenlanden
The treatment of waste water
Muskrat and coypu control in Gelderland
Managing the waterways of, among others, the Linge,
Smoutjesvliet, Alblas, Giessen and Graafstroom
The provision of drinking water is not the responsibility
of the water board.
Water Board RivierenlandPO Box 599, 4000 AN Tiel, The NetherlandsTelephone + 31 (0)344 - 64 90 90Fax +31 (0)344 - 64 90 [email protected]
538 kmkm of high-pressure pipelines
km of dikes1070 km
575 km km of roads and
cycle paths
polder pumping stations
194
sewage treatment plants39municipalities
38
km of ditches and drainage canals
3992 km
km of waterways140 km
weirs1617
950.000inhabitants
sewage pumping stations
170
2 3
The earth is as wet as the universe is dusty and dry.
Water makes the earth fertile and therefore habitable.
We cant manage without water, but we also cannot
cope with too much. Melting polar ice caps and glaciers
are causing the water levels in the seas and oceans to
rise and more and more rain continues to fall in a short
time. The rivers can barely cope with all the rainfall. All
these factors make low-lying areas in particular, such as
the Netherlands, extremely vulnerable to fl ooding. Only
with careful water management can we literally keep
our heads above water.
Water is life
Water is life 3
Sharing waves with the neighbours 5
Working on water together 5
Attractive but vulnerable 6
The fresh water cycle 8
Pleasures and problems between rivers 9
Safety above all 10
Information, maintenance and supervision 12
Burrowing poses a risk 13
Enough water everywhere 14
Pump or be drowned 16
Clean water in a nice district 17
More space for water and nature 18
Quality control 19
We purify again what you fl ush away 20
Roads and waterways 22
The Linge, an artery in water control 22
Safe roads and cycle paths 23
Water Board Rivierenland in brief 24
Water Board Rivierenland in fi gures 24
Contents This brochure is about water in the River Area in the Netherlands. How important is it? And how does it affect you? It will also give you some indication of
the role played by Water Board Rivierenland. The
information has deliberately been kept concise.
If you would like to know more about certain
subjects, go to www.waterschaprivierenland.nl
Bookmark
4 5
Sharing waves with the neighboursHalf a metre of snow from Switzerland, a lengthy
downpour from France, a hailstorm from Belgium
and a mighty cloudburst from Germany. Every day
all the water from a large part of Western Europe
passes through the Netherlands. Because water pays
no attention to borders. It just flows from high to low.
Sometimes in huge quantities.
After the dike improvements of recent years, some 15
million litres of water per second can safely pass Lobith.
Our dikes can cope with this amount. However this is
not enough for the future. With climate change, even
greater quantities will come our way.
The problems that water brings with it can only be
solved by working together with our neighbouring
countries. To achieve this, the Water Board Rivierenland
is holding international discussions on water
management.
Rotterdam
The Meuse is 900 km long. The river drains
all the water from an area of 32,000 km2.
Of this, 6,000 km2 lies in the Netherlands.
The catchment area of the 1,320 kilometre
long Rhine covers an area of 185,000 km2.
About 25,000 km2 of this is in the Netherlands.
The water level in the Rhine is regarded as
being high when it rises to 15 metres above
NAP (Normal Amsterdam Level) at Lobith.
High water in the Meuse is when the level
at Maastricht reaches 45 metres above NAP.
Amsterdam
AntwerpenBrussels
Arnhem
Nijmegen
Tiel
CologneBonn
Koblenz
Straatsburg
Basel
Zurich
Meuse
IJssel
Rhine
Mosel
Rhine
Neckar
Main
Lake Constance
Ardennes
Ruhrgebiet
Alps
Working on water together
Water Board Rivierenland and the local authorities
in the River Area are working more closely together
all the time in the interests of better water control.
For example, we draw up water plans together. These
include agreements on how we will deal with water
in the future and what consequences this will have
for the building of new residential areas.We also make agreements about preventing pollution and improving the existing water quality, for example by removing contaminated dredged material. Thanks to this combining of expertise, many initiatives have a greater chance of success. It is the best guarantee that the water in our towns will be good and will remain good.
Nijmegen
Arnhem-Zuid
Tiel
Zaltbommel
Vianen
Gorinchem
Lek
Meuse
Waal
Pannerdens kanaal
Linge
Waal
Lower Rhine
Lower Rhine
Meuse
Druten
Culemborg
Bergse Maas
Nieuwe Merwede
Biesbosch
Kinderdijk
PapendrechtLek
Werkendam
Linge
Linge
Waal
Rhine
Polder pumping stations
Weirs
Sewage treatment plants
Wide rivers, rich clay and here and there a strip of sand.
An area created by fl oods. With endless winding dikes
and everywhere water, water, and yet more water. In
rivers, lakes, ditches, canals and drainage canals. All
this water makes our River Area vulnerable to fl ooding,
pollution and groundwater depletion. Dealing with
these threats is a task for Water Board Rivierenland.
Attractive but vulnerable
With dikes, weirs, locks and pumping stations, we
keep the rain and river water under control so that
our region remains safe and habitable. We also make
sure that the waste water, which we all produce, is
thoroughly cleaned in dozens of sewage treatment
plants. As a result, the surface water does not become
polluted.
8 9
The fresh water cycleEveryone has perhaps washed their feet or fl ushed the
toilet with it. All the fresh water on earth is re-used
again and again. We have to. The total supply is just a
few per cent. And that small amount is always on the
move. It starts and ends in the sea. The heat from the
sun evaporates seawater. The evaporated water forms
clouds. Cooling causes the evaporated seawater,
which has become fresh water, to return to earth in the
form of rain and snow. Some of it ends up in ditches
and rivers and fl ows back to the sea. Some of it sinks
into the soil.
Drinking water companies purify it and supply it to
homes and businesses via the mains water network.
Grazing cows on lush green meadows. Fields full
of crops. Greenhouses glinting in the sun. And an
abundance of fruit. The low-lying rich clay soils
between the rivers have always been extremely fertile.
And there is always water nearby. It plays an important
part in our river delta. In the form of drinking water,
industrial process water, water for cattle farming,
agriculture and horticulture, water for recreation
and for urban areas.
So the natural interplay with the rivers has its
advantages. But nature can be fi ckle. High water levels
over a long period make our area very waterlogged. But
long periods of drought show just how dependent we
are in our area on having enough water.
As a result of climate change our area is even more
vulnerable to fl ooding and groundwater depletion.
Water Board Rivierenland controls the water supply
both in wet and dry periods. By doing so we create the
conditions by which in the future as w