Integrative Framework For Redesign Of The Water System In The Netherlands – Dealing With Aging Of Hydraulic Infrastructure.

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Saskia van Vuren, Vera Konings, Thijs Jansen, Maarten van der Vlist, Kim Smit

Wednesday 1 july 2015

12:15 - 12:30h at Africa (level 0)

Themes: (T) Water engineering, (ST) River and coastal engineering

Parallel session: 9F. Engineering - River

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During the last century many hydraulic structures, like sluices, weirs, storm surge barriers and pumping stations, were built within the main water system of the Netherlands. These hydraulic structures nowadays provide safety against flooding, sufficient and clean water and a thriving navigational network. The main water network comprises approximately 650 hydraulic structures which were designed for lifetime of 80 or 100 years. If it is no longer economically efficient to maintain these structures or if they can no longer fulfil their functional requirements, they reach their end of lifetime. A large number of these hydraulic structures are nearing their end of lifetime in the coming decades, making replacement or renovation necessary. The fact that hydraulic structures operate in a complex water network (main and regional water system) with many functions and stakeholders, makes the redesign of the infrastructural assets a complex task. At the same time, the replacement of a key hydraulic structure gives stakeholders the opportunity to re-think the water system as a whole by adding or subtracting functionality to structures. Therefore, a framework is in development that integrates the forecasts of replacements/renovation of hydraulic structures and the process of possible functional redesign of the main water system. The integrative framework consists of two components: (1) an approach for estimating the remaining end of life of hydraulic structures, distinguishing between functional and technical end-of lifetime, and (2) an approach to identify strategies for the replacement and renovation of hydraulic structures, based on the principle of ‘Adaptive Delta Management’. This planning principle requires sequencing a set (or more than one set) of possible actions and measures through time, to respond in a flexible manner to uncertain developments over time, new opportunities and insights: so-called adaptation pathways. Early stakeholder involvement appears to be of utmost importance when compiling these adaptation pathways. The potential of the approach is illustrated by a case, the Discharge Sluice and Pumping Station of IJmuiden.