Today, I may have seen the most advanced form of engineering I have seen in my entire life. We took a trip to Deltaworks today, which is the Dutch dike project to protect against flooding. In 1952, there was a devastating storm where water rose 4.2 meters above sea level and flooded a large portion of the country, claiming over 1800 lives. After this, the country knew it needed to change something. We were taught about the construction process of the Deltaworks project, and it is honestly incomprehensible how engineers could manage to do something like this. First, they created a plastic lining with rocks and rubble in between, but a softer outside to allow it to roll up. This was placed as a base on the ocean floor. Then they had to create a series of large piers, each weighing well over 18k tons, on land within a ditch that was under sea level. After construction, seawater was brought in, and once they were all almost fully submerged, a “U” boat would come in to pick them up off the ground and transport them onto the plastic tarp. Using computer analytics, they were able to precisely place each individual pier in perfect order with perfect spacing and only a few centimeters of variance at the most. They then could come in and place the steel wall that can be lowered or raised on command when necessary, depending on sea levels. All in all, this process took over 30 years and $6 billion, but to see it in person was marvelous.

This was a completely new concept to me. In the U.S, I am used to only seeing dams; in fact, I didn’t even know dikes existed. After seeing how much more work goes into constructing them, though, I understand why. Nevertheless, after the tour and everything I learned, I realize how much better dikes are for the environment. Allowing the flow of nature to continue thriving, as well as boat travel still being possible, although difficult, the ability to restrict water only when necessary is one that could be very helpful in many places in the US. Especially in water management fields, I believe a project like this could contribute greatly to our society. Well, that’s it for now, see ya!