Today was a very exciting day for me as an engineering student since we got the opportunity to tour the engineering marvel that is the DeltaWorks project. This 30-year project was a response to the North Sea Flood of 1953, which laid waste to several Dutch towns and left around 1,800 people dead in its wake. The Dutch government decided to fund the DeltaWorks project, which is an intricately designed technology situated in several spots along the islands of the Netherlands. The DeltaWorks are sort of extremely temporary dams, as they are usually left open to not disturb the natural ecosystem in the water. However, when weather conditions are severe enough and the sea’s water levels rise to a dangerous level, the DeltaWorks lower down and close off the passage of water to the Dutch islands and limit the chances of any major floods occurring.

The completion of this project was much easier said than done, which is illustrated by the 30-year span that the project took. The DeltaWorks cost a grand total of 70 billion Euros, and required 15 million tons of imported stone, thousands of workers, and an entire basin was drained to build the individual pillars. The process included placing a nylon and stone mattress on the sea floor, building the gate pillars over six continuous years, placing them on the mattress, and then inserting the gates through the pillars and a road on top of the project. The DeltaWorks was such a huge uptaking by the Dutch government that Queen Beatrix, the former queen of the Netherlands, gave a speech after the DeltaWorks project was officially completed. However, it should be noted that the Dutch government still spends billions of euros on maintenance every year. The DeltaWorks is a huge investment from the Dutch government that prioritizes the safety of its citizens over the country’s wealth, while also allowing the marine ecosystem to function normally despite the implementation of the DeltaWorks technology.

The DeltaWorks exhibit that we toured gave a detailed explanation on how the DeltaWorks was built and how it functioned, and even gave us a boat tour to see the technology up close. At the same time, the exhibit also made sure to celebrate the marine life in the North Sea alongside the technological developments, as they had a full aquarium and a sea lion show.

After this entertaining and educational experience, Dr. Dukes and Dr. Kerzmann were kind enough to buy us ice cream and dinner, and I would like to give a huge thanks to them for this!