Room for the River: Flood Reduction in the Netherlands

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1 Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC World Rivers in the 21st Century World River Day Room for the River: Flood Reduction in the Netherlands Fredrik Huthoff Southern Illinois University Carbondale Follow this and additional works at: Fredrik Huthoff is an engineering physicist with particular interest in fluid mechanics and rivers. Currently he is a postdoctoral researcher in hydro- and morphodynamics of rivers at the Geology Department of Southern Illinois University. Before moving to Illinois, Fredrik worked for nearly 10 years for the Dutch engineering firm HKV Consultants, where he was project engineer and project manager for a multitude of river engineering projects, mostly under contract for the Dutch and German waterways authorities. He received his MSc in physics from the University of Amsterdam in and his PhD in river engineering on the topic of "Hydraulic modeling of floodplain vegetation" from the University of Twente. Recommended Citation Huthoff, Fredrik. "Room for the River: Flood Reduction in the Netherlands." (Nov 2011). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the World River Day 2011 at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in World Rivers in the 21st Century by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact opensiuc@lib.siu.edu.

2 Room for the River River management in the Netherlands Fredrik Huthoff, PhD World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 1

sea level: Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague Areas

3 Flood threat in the Netherlands Netherlands Netherlands 2/3 of the country is threatened by floods Cities below sea level: Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague Areas threatened by river floods North Sea World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 2

4 Flood safety standards Based on estimated losses in case of flood Cost-benefit approach: optimal balance between flood protection investment and flood risk Flood simulations Losses Flood risk World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 3

5 Recent flood threats in 1993 and 1995 Climate change projections are: peak river discharges will increase 7% sea level will rise 1 to 2 ft World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 4

6 In the past, flood protection mainly focused on construction of levees World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 5

7 Higher levees?..and in the year 2250 Next year, when they add those extra inches we ll feel safe again! World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 6

8 Room for the River A flood prevention program with a long-term view Focus on river-rehabilitation measures Also: increase nature and recreation space keep river navigation safe and efficient Started in 2007, to be completed in 2015 World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 7

9 Room for the River - types of measures - Lowering of floodplains Deepening main channel Removing obstacles Dike relocation Lowering of wing dikes New side-channels World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 8

10 Room for the River Planning Kit All measures with their (individual) flood-lowering effects Combine measures Hydraulic task World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 9

11 The Room for the River design 39 locations What are the consequences for navigation? World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 10

12 Impact on navigation channel Flow response Sediment transport Update bed level World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 11

13 Impact on navigation channel Flow response Sediment transport Update bed level Bed level change after 1 year World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 12

14 Impact on navigation channel Flow response Sediment transport Update bed level Bed level change after 10 years World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 13

15 Summary Room for the River is a program to redesign the Dutch rivers to: increase flood safety for the long run stimulate nature and recreation values maintain good navigation conditions The river engineering measures are set up in a flexible way to allow changes after construction World Rivers Workshop, CARBONDALE 14

16 Thank you for your attention New situation Lowering of wing dikes in progress Old situation World Rivers Workshop, carbondale 15

The climatic weather forecast

The climatic weather forecast More mild winters with more and heavier rainfall. Warmer and drier summers with more intense thunderstorms. The Netherlands: general policy on mitigation measures against