Flooding, River Management and Emergency Legislation Experiences of the accelerated reinforcement of dikes in the Netherlands

Abstract

In early 1995 the Netherlands was faced with extremely high water levels on some of its major rivers. An emergency situation arose due to the threat of dikes being breached. As a result, during 1995 and 1996 the dikes along major rivers have been subjected to large‐scale reinforcement. So that this could be achieved, a special Act was brought into force to make possible a fast realisation of the operation. In spite of expeditious implementation, factors other than safety concerns were taken into account, such as the interests of ecology and the landscape. The approach adopted towards dike reinforcement in the Netherlands proves that fast decision‐making in complex policy situations, does not per se have to be detrimental to precision, regarding procedures and the balancing of different interests.