RIVERSandLAND: Dikes for eternity, an ace up our sleeve

This investigation is aimed at creating an alternative concept of living with water and required flood safety for the large Dutch rivers, which concept can be realised over some hundred of years. It has provided the opportunity for frank and open thinking and discussion, and should lead to a concept that can be also used in other areas. An important starting point was that many people in the Netherlands must still be able to live, work and enjoy recreation in that area under comparable conditions with regard to prosperity and welfare as they do today. The concept that was developed, now called the RiversandLand safety concept, gives water all the space it needs, by which even the highest imaginable discharge wave in the big rivers will cause only a relatively slight increase in water level. The consequence is that this area will then look completely different from the current river landscape. The very low-lying areas will be permanently under water, while there will be other areas that will never or almost never be flooded. The areas in-between will become wet or dry depending on how high the land lies. Flooding will occur between once a year and several times a century.TAW/EN