Questions and Answers
In this section you can find the most frequently asked questions about the Delta Programme. Click on a question to view the answer. After the fall of the Dutch Cabinet, the Lower House decided that several subjects would no longer be dealt with in this decommissioned cabinet term. The Delta Act is one of these 'controversial subjects’. After the Lower House elections on 9 June 2010 and the formation of a new Cabinet, the people’s representatives will take up these subjects again, including the Delta Act.
1. What is the Delta Programme?
The object of the Delta Programme is to protect the Netherlands against flooding and ensure a sufficient supply of freshwater. It is a concerted effort by the national government, provincial authorities, municipal authorities and water boards, with input from civil society organisations and the business community. Every year, the annual report on the Delta Programme with the planning for the years ahead is presented to the House of Representatives on Prinsjesdag [the state opening of parliament in September].
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2. What does the Delta Programme entail?
The object of the Delta Programme is to secure our safety in the current situation and to prepare for the future. It involves taking appropriate measures to ensure the Netherlands remains a safe and attractive country, with a sufficient supply of fresh water.
Five Delta Decisions are being prepared, which will be submitted to the government before the year 2015. These decisions pertain to the safety of our main dikes and other water defences, the availability and distribution of fresh water, the water level of the IJsselmeer, the manner in which the Rhine Estuary / Drechtsteden area can remain safe without losing its economic value and how we can factor in water when constructing residential neighbourhoods and districts. The decisions will form the basis for the “Delta Works of the Future”.
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3. Why is there a Delta Programme?
With the Delta Programme (a new Delta Plan), we aim to protect our country, now and in the future, against high water and to keep our freshwater supply up to standard. Many aspects come into play here, with regard to living environments and the economy, but also in the fields of nature, agriculture and recreation.
The Netherlands is a low-lying, prosperous and densely populated delta, which is vulnerable to flooding. If something goes wrong, the impact will be enormous: casualties, dozens of billions of euros in damage and a disrupted society. Our delta is too valuable not to take the necessary precautions. In the past, we have been taken by surprise quite regularly because our security measures were inadequate. Today, we are the best protected delta in the world. We would like to keep it that way. The Delta Programme needs to ensure that we are not taken by surprise again. In addition, the freshwater supply is important for our economy and this too must be secure in future dry spells.
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4. Why is it so important to have a Delta Programme?
Traditionally, the Netherlands is linked to water. We have created a good life between the sea and large rivers. Water brings with it prosperity and vitality but it can also be unpredictable and cause great misery.
Since the construction of the Delta Works, the Netherlands has been the world’s best protected delta. This is something we can be proud of. But it is only through continued investment in our delta that we can be certain that we and our children can keep on living and working in safety in our beautiful country.
Over the past centuries we have seen sea levels rise, subsidence occur and our climate become warmer. This trend is continuing. When planning our country we need to take heavier rainfall into account. Yet the summers may become drier, which will endanger our freshwater supply.
Our population has risen sharply over the past decades and the economic value of our country has increased due to a growth in prosperity. Flooding would therefore cause severe damage in both human and economic terms.
Currently, in 2011, the protection offered by our dikes and coastal dunes is based on standards from the 1960s. At that time, far fewer people lived behind the dikes, we had invested far less in those areas and revenues were far lower. Consequently, the interests to be protected were smaller. We are anxious to prevent situations like those of 1953 (the flood disaster in Zeeland, the islands of South Holland and Western Brabant) and the mid-1990s (high river levels and evacuations). This requires a lot of hard work. Our safety must be secured, now and in the future. It is essential that we find a solution to any problems we might face with regard to our future freshwater supply and that we ensure that the Netherlands can adapt to the consequences of climate change. A situation like we had in 1976 and 2003, with substantial droughts, must be prevented as it causes a great deal of damage. That is why we set up the Delta Programme.
The Delta Programme – the Delta Works of the Future – has been structured to ensure that our delta is up to standard now and we are well prepared – and in good time – for the effects of climate change that will take place during the course of this century. If the changes occur more rapidly than predicted, our plans will be ready; if the developments progress at a slower rate, we will not implement our plans until necessary.
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5. What is the basis of the Delta Programme?
The Delta Programme was set up with Dutch level-headedness; it is characterised by a safe but flexible approach. Regarding the future climate developments, the Delta Programme is based on measurements and KNMI [Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute] scenarios from 2006, which will be re-evaluated in 2013. Over the past century, we have seen sea levels rise, subsidence occur and our climate become warmer. The KNMI figures show that this trend is continuing. We need to take heavier rainfall into account in the spatial planning of our country Yet the summers may become drier, which will endanger our freshwater supply. The Delta Programme includes measures to secure the safety of our delta in the short term and constitutes a basis for our preparations for the future.
As we do not know exactly how the climate will change, flexibility is essential in the choice of measures. An example of such a flexible measure is sand suppletion along the shore. Sand is replaced based on the measured rise in sea level. If the sea level rises more rapidly, more sand will be replaced; if the rise lags behind the predictions, less sand will be required. The “Room for the River” programme is also characterised by an adaptive, flexible approach.
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6. What is the role of the Delta Commissioner?
The Delta Commissioner is a government commissioner whose position will be anchored in the Delta Act. The Delta Bill was submitted to the House of Representatives on 1 February 2010. The House of Representatives debated the bill on 20 June 2011 and adopted the bill for the Delta Act on 28 June. On 29 November 2011, the Senate unanimously approved the Delta Act. This meant that the Delta Programme, the Delta Fund and the position of Delta Commissioner have legal status. The expectation is that the Delta Act will take effect as of 1 January 2012. The position of Delta Commissioner was set down earlier in a Ministerial Order: Besluit betreffende de instelling van de deltacommissaris (Order Establishing the Position of Delta Commissioner) dated 1 February 2010; Official Gazette no. 1574. The Council of Ministers appointed Wim Kuijken in November 2009 and, at the request of the House of Representatives, he took office earlier (before the final approval of the Delta Act) in order to start his work as quickly as possible. The Cabinet instructed him to draw up an annual Delta Programme and to ensure that progress is achieved. In his job, Mr Kuijken serves as a liaison between ministries, the national government and regional bodies (provincial authorities, water boards and local authorities). He involves civil society organisations, knowledge institutes and the business community in the programme and monitors the cohesion between the different component parts of the Delta Programme. He ensures that decisions are taken at the right time so that our country is and remains protected against high water levels, in the long term as well, and there is a sufficient supply of fresh water during dry periods.
The Delta Commissioner falls under the political responsibility of the Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment.
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7. What is laid down in the Delta Act?
The Delta Act mandates that a Delta Commissioner is appointed, that an annual Delta Programme is drawn up and that progress reports are submitted. It constitutes the legal basis for the Delta Fund to be set up. The Delta Bill was submitted to the House of Representatives on 1 February 2010. The House of Representatives debated the bill on 20 June 2011 and adopted the bill for the Delta Act on 28 June. On 29 November 2011, the Senate unanimously approved the Delta Act. This meant that the Delta Programme, the Delta Fund and the position of Delta Commissioner have legal status. The expectation is that the Delta Act will take effect as of 1 January 2012.
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8. What is the state of affairs regarding the Delta Fund and the Delta Act?
The Delta Act mandates that an annual Delta Programme must be drawn up in order to ensure that the Netherlands is well protected from flooding and to secure a proper freshwater supply. The Act also mandates that a Delta Commissioner must be appointed to supervise and direct the drawing up and implementation of the Delta Programme. In addition, the Delta Act provides for a Delta Fund to fund the Delta Programme. From 2020, an annual sum of at least 1 billion euros will be deposited in this fund. Until that time, the Delta Fund is fed from the current resources earmarked for water safety, freshwater supply and “wet” management and maintenance.
The previous cabinet presented the bill for the Delta Act to the House of Representatives on 1 February 2010. The House of Representatives debated the bill on 20 June 2011 and adopted it unanimously on 28 June 2011. The Senate unanimously approved the Delta Act on 29 November 2011. This meant that the Delta Programme, the Delta Fund and the position of Delta Commissioner have legal status. The expectation is that the Delta Act will take effect as of 1 January 2012.
To bridge the gap between the bill being debated and the Act ultimately going into force – at the request of a wide majority in the House of Representatives – the cabinet set down the appointment of the Delta Commissioner in an Establishment Order and announced that a Delta Programme should be drawn up.
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9. Why will the annual deposits of at least 1 billion euros into the Delta Fund not commence until 2020?
That was arranged by the Balkenende IV Cabinet of Ministers in the Supplementary Policy Agreement (March 2009). This arrangement was inspired by the advisory report drawn up by the Second Delta Committee. The agreement to earmark an annual sum of at least 1 billion euros for the Delta Programme, with effect from 2020, is connected with the continuation of the Infrastructure Fund as laid down in the Supplementary Policy Agreement, from 2020 up to and including 2028. The current budgets will be used until 2020.
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10. What is the advantage of setting up a Delta Fund?
The fund provides continuity and certainty with respect to the available resources, without needing to compete with other spending purposes. It enables us to plan measures – over the long term as well – and provides certainty that we can carry them out if it proves necessary. This is essential because the work on keeping our delta safe and attractive is never finished. From the moment the Delta Fund is set up, the current resources earmarked for water safety, the freshwater supply and “wet” management and maintenance will be deposited into the fund.
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11. How will collaboration with other governments work within the Delta Programme?
The Delta Programme is a national programme implemented by the national and regional governments with contributions made by the business community, citizens, knowledge institutes and civil society organisations. The national government cannot operate without the regional authorities and vice versa. Water boards, for example, are essential for the implementation of (regional) water management and for the management and maintenance of our dikes and coastal dunes. Provincial and local governments are important for town and country planning and area development. That is why the national and regional governments work together with the water boards within the programme organisations. Their joint decisions are prepared in regional steering committees.
Water safety and fresh water are issues that affect us all. The Dutch water system is a coherent system; for that reason, the Delta Programme must be implemented in a coherent and integrated fashion. Integrated means that, wherever possible, key issues such as the natural environment, the economy and spatial quality need to be considered in the implementation of measures under the Delta Programme. Regional know-how and expertise is indispensable with regard to both the implementation of measures and the identification of key issues. In addition, spatial measures need to be effected in the municipalities and provinces.
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12. There will be collaboration with a wide range of governments, but how can ordinary citizens participate in thinking about/discussing the Delta Programme?
Citizens can participate, including through civil society organisations, in thinking about and discussing the Delta Programme at different junctures in the process, such as during the consultation rounds during which ideas on problems within the Delta Programme can be introduced and via the testing of, say, draft decisions. This testing is the formal end product of participation and gives citizens the opportunity to submit their views (cf. 3.4 General Administrative Law Act). In addition, within municipalities or provinces, citizens can actively participate in the components of the Delta Programme that are discussed at these government levels. Other opportunities for citizens to demonstrate their involvement include the website Rijksoverheid.nl that provides information regarding the Delta Programme (and its nine sub-programmes) and this website.
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13. What is the difference between the Veerman Committee and the Delta Programme?
In 2008, the Veerman Committee (chaired by former minister Cees Veerman) explored whether we can continue to live in the Netherlands, even under the most extreme scenarios with regard to climate change and rising sea levels, and submitted recommendations to the Cabinet. Its conclusion was that our continued existence here depends on timely investments in the protection and water supply of our country.
The Delta Programme is the Cabinet’s elaboration of and response to the recommendations of the Veerman Committee: bringing safety up to standard and being prepared for the future with five Delta Decisions. These Delta Decisions will not be based on the extreme scenarios of the Veerman Committee but rather, on changes measured and climate scenarios developed by the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI). Thus, the Delta Programme is the level-headed and realistic elaboration of the recommendations provided by the Veerman Committee. Every year, on Prinsjesdag [the state opening of parliament], an updated version of the Delta Programme will be published.
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14. Isn´t the government taking decisions / investing money that could prove unnecessary, because the climate is changing at a slower pace than expected?
The investments to be made in the coming years are aimed at securing our safety. This is something that is absolutely necessary independent of climate change, because we have to comply with statutory standards. Furthermore, the Delta Programme is structured so that we are prepared for any unforeseen effects of climate change. If climate change occurs more quickly than predicted, we will ensure that we already have plans on the table ready to be implemented. And if it progresses more slowly than predicted, we will not implement the plans until they are necessary. But we will not be taken by surprise.
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15. Aren’t the safety requirements for the Netherlands absurdly high? They are much lower in other countries.
The Netherlands has the world’s most stringent safety requirements geared to preventing flooding. These requirements were established after the Great Flood Disaster of 1953, in which more than 1,800 people lost their lives. These statutory requirements are stringent for good reason. The Netherlands is a densely populated country. A large number of people live behind the dikes and coastal dunes in the Netherlands (approx. 9 million) and an enormous amount of money has been invested in an area that could flood if we do not protect ourselves properly. We experienced the consequences of having an insufficient level of protection in the Netherlands in 1953 and during many other (near) disasters. For the Netherlands, a high level of protection is not a luxury but a necessity which also applies to flood plains around rivers.
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16. How do current programmes such as Room for the Rivers and Weak Links fit into the Delta Programme?
These programmes will simply continue as planned and will be completed around 2015 as part of the Delta Programme. When necessary, the Delta Commissioner will help to resolve any problems that arise. Other current programmes are the Meuse Works, Flood Protection Programme 2, Closure Dike, Restoration of Oosterschelde and Westerschelde stone revetments, the Sand Motor and Sand Suppletion along the coast.
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