Whistle stop tour of the Dutch Storm Surge Barriers
Ivan Haigh, Addina Inayatillah (Naya), and I have just returned from the Netherlands where we visited the 6 Dutch storm surge barriers and networked with Rijkswaterstaat employees. The purpose of our visit was to gain an understanding of the specific characteristics and diversity of Dutch storm surge barriers as well as to build connections.
The visit took place between the 08-12 November and consisted of visiting and touring each of the 6 storm surge barriers that are managed by Rijkswaterstaat (the Hollandsche IJssel Barrier, the Maeslant Barrier, the Hartel Barrier, the Eastern Scheldt barrier, the Haringvliet Barrier and the Ramspol Barrier). The trip was hosted by Marc Walraven, Senior Advisor of Storm Surge Barriers at Rijkswaterstaat. Each tour gave an insight into how the barriers are maintained and operated on a daily basis. The visit also included a presentation by Dr. Ivan Haigh on sea level rise, results from a previous project on the Thames Barrier, and preliminary findings about past and future closures of Dutch storm surge barriers. We also visited the Netherlands Water Management Centre which provided an insight into how forecasts are made and used for the Dutch water system. One of the highlights of the visit was an expert meeting where we discussed future projects and possible collaborations, with a focus on challenges in the near future regarding planning maintenance due to the changing climate.
