Water Management in The Netherlands: Introduction to The 2004 Maps

The five maps of this year's series of "The Netherlands of Maps" will visualize some of the many dimensions of the fascinating topic of Dutch water management. In the Netherlands, space and water are inextricably bound up with one another. Not only is one fourth of the land surface of this "neder" (low) land situated below sea level (Meijer 1997), but the Netherlands is also clamped in between the water masses of the Northsea and of three large rivers flowing into the country from other European countries: * The Scheldt and Meuse rivers enter the Netherlands from the South, delivering huge amounts of water from catchment areas in Belgium and France that is transported to the North Sea in the West. * The Rhine river, with an extensive catchment area of over half of Germany as well as smaller albeit still impressive catchment areas in France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and even Austria, enters the Netherlands in the East. The Rhine water is partly transported to the North Sea in the West, and partly in northern direction through the IJssel river to the former South Sea (now IJsselmeer), and then through the Wadden Sea to the North Sea in the North. Large amounts of European water thus move through the Netherlands to the sea. These water masses are tapped off for drinking water and irrigation purposes, supplemented by domestically produced rainwater and - cleaned - waste water. The main rivers and connecting channels are also used for international freight transportation by boats. Through the ages, the Netherlands has specialized in various techniques to control these water flows as well as the seawater in coastal areas and inland water bodies. For centuries, the two main goals of water management and control were to regain or create – predominantly agricultural – land on the one hand, while at the same time to protect residents, businesses, farmland and infrastructures from flooding on the other hand. In the past century, the largest disaster was the 1953 flooding of large areas of the coastal province of Zeeland, where over 1,850 people drowned as a severe storm in combination with high tide caused many dikes to break. As a direct reaction to this flood, the Delta Works were developed – a large, multi-dimensional plan primarily aimed at the protection of the Southwestern region of the country. Because roads were constructed on the newly built dams connecting the islands and peninsulas of the province of Zeeland, the area was at the same time released from its isolated geographic and economic position. Also internationally well-known was the creation of the "Zuiderzee" polders in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. These polders, which together now constitute the province of Flevoland, have added 150,000 hectares of new land at the geographic heart (and close to the Randstad, the economic heart) of The Netherlands. The first of the three new polders was primarily created for agricultural purposes, with a settlement pattern resembling Walter