Thank you that are very usefull information...
Do you know what the tasks of the Waterschap are ?
Do they things like coastal/environmental protection ?
Like controling dikes and dunes and coastal maintenance ?
The "Waterschap" bodies are the official (semi-)governmental bodies for Water Management and engineering on a regional scale. They are entitled to manage all water infrastructure (including ground water), as well as some related other infrastructure (a road over a dyke, for example). Mostly, they are not in charge of the main coastal and main rivers protection, this part is exclusively assigned on a national scale to Rijkswaterstaat, the state agency for all national infrastructure. The "Waterschap" bodies are however assigned to protect the regional areas from flooding and other water-related problems. This includes for example dykes along canals, small rivers and other water infrastructure. Also, they are in charge of controlling water levels in periods of heat, to avoid extensive use of water by farmers, and they have environmental duties to inspect water quality to avoid water pollution. One of their main tasks nowadays is to de-canalize the waterinfrastructure. In small to regional scale projects, water bodies and waterways are reconstructed to follow a natural path through the landscape. This provides for a better buffering of water in times of high water levels as well as periods of drought. It's absolutely an interesting field of expertise, considering the fact that there are mostly a lot of stakeholders, from local and regional governments to farmers to neighboring "Waterschappen".
I ask because I want to study Engeneering or ecological
study paths with focus on coastal and environmental protection
concentrating on the dutch area and northsea.
Is the Rijkswaterstaat the right adress for this ?
Are engineers and ecologists work for them especially in the area of coast protection ?
What does the Rijkswaterstaat ? Controling and maintenance of dikes and dunes ?
(...)
Rijkswaterstaat is the state agency for all national infrastructure, and roughly, they have a "dry part" in charge of the highways network, and a "wet part" in charge of the national waterways (for instance the Rhein), the North Sea, IJsselmeer and Waddenzee. If you are interested in coastal protection and coastal engineering, Rijkswaterstaat could be the organization you end up with after studies. Water engineers and ecologists may work directly for Rijkswaterstaat, or be hired via one of many consultancy firms, such as Arcadis or RoyalHaskoningDHV. The tasks of Rijkswaterstaat are varied; anything that has to do with management of the (coastal waters) - and beyond - is in their list of tasks. That ranges from traffic management to ecology and environment, and from emergency management to spatial planning. Especially in die Niederlände, of which a large and important part is below sea level, it is a continuous process to identify the risks associated with water and to implement fitting measures accordingly.
