I've had some interesting discussions about Dutch water management, in which one theme persists:
Why don't others listen to the Dutch about water management?I've got three reasons:
- The Dutch have been learning how to manage water -- and cooperate (via the Polder model) for 500+ years. You can't export those institutions.
- The Dutch have to manage TOO MUCH water. Most parts of the world suffer from scarcity (an end of abundance), not surplus.
- Dutch solutions are built to last for 50-100 years (or longer), which makes them expensive to people used to short run thinking (the US, developing countries) instead of investing in durable quality.
3 comments:
In addition, water managers always think they know better. They are not good in listening.
Read Leon Hermans' PhD thesis here [PDF]
I agree with some of your perspectives on exportability of Dutch expertise. That said, they won’t stop trying.
There are dikes and levies. Levies like in New Orleans. A barrier of probably construction debries about six ft high or a 12 inch wide 10 ft tall concrete wall do not hold water back when needed. A 30 ft high dike with a base that is probably 100 ft wide WILL hold water back when needed. There is a cheap solution plus the prayers a hurricane will not hit in the same area or there is a permanent solution. In the US one tends to go for the cheap solution.
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