Flood protection

The importance increases

Sea levels are rising, and the weather increasingly proves to be more erratic and extreme, which sometimes forces rivers to discharge much more water in a short period of time. This plays into the fact that drought and ecological values are becoming increasingly important aspects. In short, the importance of flood protection is increasing in many parts of the world.

Leveraging our expertise

Witteveen+Bos is involved in many aspects of the flood safety task. We are involved in safety assessment and design of flood defences, analysis of and policy-making for water safety, and planning studies of dyke reinforcement. We also advise on river widening and area planning. Furthermore, we are involved in research programmes on failure mechanisms of flood defences.

Our project teams consist of a combination of diverse disciplines, each with their own expertise. This allows us to take a multidisciplinary approach to issues and projects to arrive at the best solution.

System knowledge, climate focus and innovation

Besides engineering, climate-proof solutions, life-cycle design, project environment and administrative decision-making are central to our approach. We consider it our duty to actively promote a climate-robust design in projects, also for renovations and redevelopments (‘build back better’). We perform our work based on expertise and experience, but we also like to consider innovative and sustainable solutions.

A comprehensive vision for the sea and river region must combine tasks and developments related to water safety, navigability, freshwater availability, water quality and nature and spatial-economic development. We strive for solutions that reconcile all these interests as much as possible. This requires a thorough, comprehensive understanding of the systems we make adjustments to.

Ecology

In recent decades, awareness has grown that flood protection measures also (may) have significant ecological consequences. And that these consequences require ever stricter and more comprehensive considerations. Safe living is paramount in our wetland environment, and the challenge is to achieve this while retaining the natural values. That is why we are one of the founding members of Ecoshape, the foundation dedicated to the application of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). Monitoring and improving biodiversity is a key focal point for us.