Safety

Flood protection is the core task of the regional water authorities. The “low countries”, as the Netherlands are sometimes aptly called, are constantly threatened by both sea and rivers and protection against floods is literally and figuratively “a matter of life and death”.

But economic interests must also be protected: behind the dikes lies € 2.000 billion of invested capital. Together, the national government and the regional water authorities are responsible for the management of water barriers.

The government is in charge of the protection of the coastline and the maintenance of the dams which close off the major sea-arms in the west of the country. The other water barriers (dikes, dunes and quay-walls) are managed by the regional water authorities.