Delta Commissioner pays working visit to Alblasserwaard-Vijfheerenlanden
Responding to the invitation of Mr Hemmen, Mayor of Sliedrecht, also extended on behalf of the Chair of the Physical Environment Consultative Body and the Mayor of the municipality of Molenwaard, Mr van der Borg, the Delta Commissioner was warmly received in Alblasserwaard-Vijfheerenlanden on 5 February.
Sliedrecht is one of the cities making up the Noordelijke Drechtsteden (Sliedrecht, Papendrecht and Alblasserdam). These Noordelijke Drechtsteden have joined the Alblasserwaard-Vijfheerenlanden Partnership for the Delta Programme. This partnership covers the whole of dike ring 16. The problems and possible solutions within dike ring 16 are high on the agenda, and directly involve the Noordelijke Drechtsteden. From this perspective, the working visit to Sliedrecht was extended to include the region covered by the Alblasserwaard Vijfheerenlanden Partnership.
The measures needed to raise the flood protection level for the people and economic value behind the dike is a focus area for the region in the years ahead. It is likely that the protection standards will have to be raised due to climate change, among other things.
The greatest challenge is that in some places there is no room – within and outside the dike – for strengthening the dike, due to an abundance of buildings and economic activity. Traditional dike strengthening is consequently no longer possible in some places. During the working visit, the current impact of this issue was made clear. A well-thought-out, time-phased approach is needed and will be included in the preferred strategy of the Rhine Estuary-Drechtsteden sub-programme. The Delta Commissioner emphasised the importance of a clear communication strategy in this regard, to which he will lend support.