Our day mostly consisted of visiting Delta Works. This morning we took a bus to the site, and got to see the barriers put in place to prevent flooding of the mostly below-sea-level Zeeland, a province of the Netherlands. We first watched a movie on how the storm surge barriers were constructed. After the flood in 1953 that we learned about at the Watersnood museum, the Dutch government decided that it was of the utmost importance to protect their people so they started to construct the Delta Works. These are a series of dams, locks, dikes, storm surge barriers, and more that were put in place to protect the land around the delta from the North Sea. This movie focused on how the storm surge barriers were constructed. An artificial island was built to help with the construction of the barrier, and is now where the museum is. The storm surge barrier is based on 65 concrete pillars, and has steel walls that can come down to prevent water from entering to the delta from the North sea. It is meant to last over 200 years and has yet to fail them since its completion in 1986.
After the movie, a tour guide brought us around the museum and again explained come of the construction process of the delta works. He also explained how the steel plates come down to prevent flooding and told us that they have been closed 32 times ever. We then went out to look at the actual barrier where the guide detailed the heavy maintenance required for the storm surge barrier. They have 100 to 150 people working on it at one time to make sure that it’s operating and is ready to be used. These delta works tie back to sustainability because the Dutch rely on much of this for farming and it could easily be flooded without these. Having the flood barriers in place ensures that the current lifestyle in the Netherlands is sustainable.
These projects remind me of the levees system in New Orleans that are meant to prevent the flooding of the below-sea-level city. These failed during hurricane Katrina ,however, so I don’t think that the U.S. is advanced as the Netherlands in Flood control. Our tour guide even said that people from countries all over the world come to the Dutch on advice for how to manage water and flooding.
After the tour was completed we walked back to the museum and went through a really neat 4D panoramic experience that demonstrated the flood in 1953. This made it much more clear to me how terrifying the experience would have been for the people there during the flood. I got to see how fast the water was moving and how easily someone could have been pulled under. After that we got lunch at the museum. Then, we had some free time to explore some of the other areas there. We saw seals and sea lions in outdoor tanks, and went to a small aquarium with a petting tank. We then all went on a boat into the north sea where we could see the storm surge barrier more easily.
The visit underscored the deep-rooted Dutch commitment to water management, a critical aspect of their culture due to the country’s low-lying geography. The Delta Works epitomize the Dutch values of innovation, resilience, and environmental protection. This cultural emphasis on water management is a response to historical challenges and a reflection of the Dutch people’s ingenuity in transforming their vulnerabilities into strengths.