• 30thJan 2012

    Doubts about safety standards Dutch dikes

    Monday 23 jan 2012
    (Translation from http://nos.nl/artikel/332742-twijfel-aan-veiligheidsnorm-dijken.html)

    The water authorities (waterschappen) in the Netherlands doubt whether the safety standards of the Dutch dykes are still up-to-date. These standards date from the sixties and have not been updated ever since.

    Research conducted by knowledge institute Deltares shows that currently there are at least three areas in the Netherlands with inadequate protection against flooding, the large rivers area, the city of Almere and the Dordrecht region.

    "In Almere and Dordrecht, many homes, and (industrial) companies have been built over the years. This means that the dikes need to be made stronger." says Jan Luck of the Union of Water Boards.

    New developments
    Joop Atsma, State Secretary for Infrastructure and Environment, is convinced that the safety standards used for dikes should always be monitored closely. "I am proud that the Netherlands is the most secure delta in the world, but you should never close your eyes for new developments, such as rising sea levels," he said.

    Evacuate
    Atsma understands the warning of the water authorities. "When the water authorities signal that something serious is wrong, you can´t do anything else than closely look into that."

    "But," says Atsma, "that does not mean that all the dykes should be raised. You can also see whether it is possible to evacuate people from a particular area in time, in case of an emergency."

    Given recent problems with dikes in Groningen, in the North of the Netherlands, and the expected rise in sea level, the water authorities want to have a discussion regarding the current safety norms.

    VIDEO (in Dutch)

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