Two Centuries of Central Water Management in the Netherlands

Abstract

For two centuries the Rijkswaterstaat has been responsible for public works in the Netherlands. Founded in 1798, this national government agency, which now numbers twelve thousand employees, has left its mark on the country. The river landscape has been completely re-created. Deep-sea inlets and large inland saltwater lakes such as the Zuider Zee have been cut off from the sea, reducing the country's coastline by about 2,800 kilometers (from 3,400 to 650). More than 350,000 hectares of land have been reclaimed. The Rijkswaterstaat has also been involved in infrastructure development. At present there are in the Netherlands 3,000 kilometers of railway lines, around 4,000 kilometers of navigable waterways, 18,000 kilo meters of cycle paths, and more than 100,000 kilometers of asphalt roads. Numerous structural works, as they are known in civil engineering parl ance, dominate the Dutch landscape: weirs, locks, storm surge barriers, bridges, viaducts, cloverleafs, tunnels, overpasses, and the like. Such struc tures have taken the place of other features?church spires, windmills, pol lard willows, poplars?that once dotted the horizon. The Rijkswaterstaat cannot claim full credit or responsibility for all these structures. Many other actors influence public works and infrastruc ture. Water boards, for instance, are responsible for local water control and for maintaining water quality. The Rijkswaterstaat operates in a complex environment. It has to deal with the various administrative bodies (the state, provinces, municipalities, and water boards) responsible for similar types of public works and infrastructure. It inhabits an ambiguous area between government and private enterprise, since many tasks can be car ried out by private companies. Furthermore, the agency sees itself as a civil service organization confronted by numerous political parties and social