Project IJsseldelta, in: International Journal of River Management (2011)

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Modern Integrated River Flood Management for Climate Change in

the Netherlands: the IJssel Delta Project

MARIUS SOKOLEWICZ, DHV B.V., P.O. Box 1132, 3800 BC Amersfoort, the

Netherlands

Email: [email protected]

TEUNIS LOUTERS, DHV B.V., P.O. Box 1132, 3800 BC Amersfoort, the

Netherlands

Email: [email protected]

ARJAN OTTEN, Province of Overijssel, P.O. Box 10078, 8000 GB Zwolle, the

Netherlands

Email: [email protected]

Abstract

This paper describes a planning process combining river flood management with

spatial planning. Within the IJssel Delta project, a river bypass in the river IJssel, one

of the major Dutch rivers, is planned to reduce the risk of flooding in view of

expected climate change effects. The challenge for this project was to combine

various developments (bypass, urban development, nature, leisure, infrastructure and

agriculture) in the area into a single integrated spatial development plan, acceptable to

all stakeholders. This included resolving spatial conflicts between separate

developments regarding (i) flood protection, (ii) infrastructure and (iii) housing.

During the planning process various bypass alternatives were considered to determine

the span width of possible solutions. Various technical issues related to the bypass

design have been studied using state-of-the-art methods. A participatory approach

involving public and private stakeholders has been used to secure a widely accepted

development plan. The plan has been adopted by the responsible authorities. It is now

in the final planning stage and is scheduled for execution from 2013 onwards.

Keywords: integrated river flood management, flood protection, spatial planning,

participatory approach, collaborative approach, climate adaptation

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1. Introduction

1.1 Modern Integrated River Flood Management

This article describes the implementation of modern integrated river flood

management in the IJssel Delta project in the Netherlands. Here, a participatory and

collaborative approach involving all relevant stakeholders has been applied. This was

combined with advanced technologies (hydraulic, morphological, geohydrological

modelling and probabilistic methods), and legal and economic assessments to pursue

an integrated spatial development plan. The main goal of this collaborative approach

was to achieve a sustainable development plan for the future, widely supported by the

stakeholders. Within this plan, a bypass will be constructed to adapt the river to the

expected climate change without constraining the urban and infrastructure

development in the area. The participatory approach, defined as “involving all

relevant stakeholders already in early stages of the planning process to achieve wide

support to the resulting spatial development plan” is the basis of the modern spatial

planning and river flood management in the Netherlands (Healey 1997), (VROM

2010).

Earlier stages of the planning process in the IJssel Delta project were published

between 2005 and 2009 in (Louters et al. 2005), (Hoeven et al. 2007) and (Otten

2009).

1.2 Project Background

The river IJssel in the Netherlands is a major branch of the river Rhine, the 3rd

largest river of Europe. It discharges into lake IJssel, which is a former sea

(Zuiderzee), closed off in 1932. The IJssel Delta (Figure 1) is a low-lying area that is

threatened by floods from both the river IJssel and from the lake IJssel. It is protected

from flooding by dikes with a high safety standard. The IJssel Delta is mainly an

agricultural area, with the city of Kampen (50,000 inhabitants) in its centre.

Several major spatial development schemes have been planned for the IJssel Delta

for the coming decades. Kampen plans to expand considerably and build 4,000

houses; a new railway line (the “Hanze” line) is under construction, and two highways

(N50 and N23) crossing the area will be reconstructed. Furthermore, as one of

measures of the national “Room for the River” programme (V&W 2006) aiming at

increasing safety against flooding along the river Rhine branches, construction of a

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bypass diverting a part of flow from the river IJssel during extreme flood conditions is

also planned in this area. All these separate, potentially conflicting spatial

developments are dealt with by the IJssel Delta project which aims at achieving a

single integrated spatial development plan (Hidding and Vlist 2009), acceptable to all

stakeholders.

Figure 1: Location of the IJssel Delta in the Netherlands

1.3 Partners and stakeholders

In 2004 the Province of Overijssel initiated the process of making a sustainable

development plan for the IJssel Delta area. The Province has played a coordinating

role in the planning process (Brink 2009). The development plan has been prepared in

close cooperation with other stakeholders: ministries, municipalities, neighbouring

provinces, water boards and many non-governmental organisations in the region. The

Municipality of Kampen, the Water Board Groot Salland and the Province of

Flevoland have been the most important partners. The national Government also

committed itself to this project and selected the IJssel Delta project as a pilot project

for modern integrated river flood management using the collaborative and

participatory approach principle with a strong focus on spatial planning (VROM

2010). The national ministries still involved are the Ministry of Infrastructure and

Environment, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation.

Furthermore, the public (a.o. local farmers and inhabitants of Kampen) has been

actively involved in the plan-making process.

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2. River flood management as a trigger for creating a river bypass

2.1 Safety standards in flood protection

The required safety standards for flood protection in the Netherlands are

imposed by law. These safety standards are expressed in terms of water level

exceedance probability and are related to the design river discharge and to the

corresponding design water levels. The dikes are required to withstand these water

levels (TAW 1998), (Anon 2009).

The river IJssel is a downstream river branch of the river Rhine in the

Netherlands. The design river discharge for the Rhine and its branches has an

exceedance probability of 1/1,250 per year. The IJssel Delta area forms a transition

zone between the lake IJssel and the river IJssel. Due to its location the area is

exposed to floods from the river IJssel and to storm-induced floods from the lake

IJssel. Therefore the safety standard of the area is set at 1/2,000 per year, with a

corresponding design discharge of 2,550 m³/s. The maximum damage caused by

flooding of the IJssel Delta is estimated at € 2 billion (Brinke et al. 2008), (Vermeulen

and Leenders 2009).

2.2 Climate change

In 1993 and 1995 extremely high river levels occurred in the Netherlands, creating

a nearly-catastrophic situation. More than 100,000 people along the Rhine branches

had to be evacuated. New research on the statistics of river discharges caused the

design discharge in the river Rhine to be increased from 15,000 m3/s to 16,000 m

3/s

(V&W 2006). For the downstream stretch of the river IJssel (a Rhine branch), this

caused an increase of the design water levels with 0.10 to 0.50 meters (Sokolewicz

and Hoeven 2005), (V&W 2006). The existing dikes are not designed for these higher

water levels, therefore short-term measures are necessary to keep the safety against

flooding at the level required by the law.

Considering the expected climate change as projected by IPCC (2007), an increase

of the design discharge of the Rhine to 18,000 m3/s and a sea level rise of 0.60 meter

in 2100 are taken into account in the national policy in the Netherlands (V&W 2006).

This would cause the design water levels in the downstream stretch of the river IJssel

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to rise with 0.20 to 0.60 meters (V&W 2006). Therefore, the climate change has to be

considered in today’s plans for the long-term development.

2.3 Room for the River

The increased design discharge along the Dutch rivers requires measures to

maintain the required safety against flooding. Instead of building higher and stronger

dikes a new strategy has been chosen in the Netherlands: to increase the conveyance

of the river system by creating more space for the flow. This strategy - a real

‘paradigm shift’ in water management - has been adopted in the national Dutch

programme ‘Room for the River’ (V&W 2006). Instead of a foe - that should be

tamed and conquered - water is becoming more and more a friend for the planners and

water managers. There is growing awareness among them that water and flood

protection measures create opportunities for spatial development, such as nature,

recreation and housing.

The primary goal of the Room for the River programme is restoring the safety

against flooding to the level required by law without raising the dikes. This means that

the increased design discharge of 16,000 m³/s has to be conveyed through the river

system without exceeding the old (pre-2001) design water levels. The secondary goal

is improving the “spatial quality” along the rivers by increasing the diversity between

the Rhine branches, strengthening the open character of the riverine landscape, and

nature development in the floodplains (V&W 2006).

The program consists of a large number of measures in the river Rhine system

in the Netherlands: 40 measures for the short-term (Figure 2), to be completed by

2015, and several long-term measures, to cope with the projected climate change

(increase of extreme river discharge and sea level rise). One of the most important

long-term measures in the downstream reach of the river IJssel is the so-called bypass

Kampen. The total budget available for the 40 short-term measures amounts to € 2.3

billion.

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Figure 2: Overview of the short-term measures envisaged within the Room for

the River program

2.4 Bypass Kampen

Within the framework of the “Room for the River” programme, creating a bypass

south of Kampen, as one of the options to increase the conveyance of the river IJssel,

was considered to be a very promising and sustainable solution for flood management

in the delta of the river IJssel. A new river branch will be created, connecting the river

IJssel through the lake Dronten to the lake IJssel (see Figure 1).

Figure 3. IJssel Delta during high river stage

Constructing the bypass will add 350 hectares to the floodplains in the delta of the

river IJssel. This means breaking with the past, because for centuries space has been

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taken away from the river. For example, in 1850 the floodplains of the big rivers in

the Netherlands had almost 3 times more space (Demon and Alberts 2005) compared

with the present situation.

In case of an extremely high discharge in the river IJssel 25% of the flow will be

diverted through the bypass to decrease the water level in the river IJssel below the

design level, and a significant decrease of water levels along more than 10 km of the

river will be achieved. Even when the design discharge in the river Rhine is increased

in the future from 16,000 to 18,000 m³/s as a result of the expected climate change,

the planned flood protection measures (especially the bypass) will keep the projected

water levels along this 10 km long downstream stretch of the river IJssel sufficiently

below design water levels to avoid large dike improvement works (Province Overijsel

2011). The project has therefore a large contribution to the climate adaptation of the

area.

3. Application of Modern Integrated Flood Management Approach

3.1 Developments and spatial conflicts

In the IJssel Delta project the combined opportunities for sustainable economic

development and for enhancing the spatial quality of the area have been explored

(Rooy 2009). In the coming decades, the inhabitants of the IJssel Delta area, south of

Kampen, will experience significant spatial changes in their surroundings. These

changes and the resulting spatial conflicts are shown in Figure 4 and described in

detail below.

Figure 4: Illustration of developments and potential spatial conflicts in the IJssel

Delta project

A. The river IJssel: For the safety of the IJssel Delta area, the discharge capacity

of the IJssel needs to be increased in the future. The expected increased design

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discharge cannot be conveyed within the present river profile. Therefore a bypass is

needed, with a capacity of about 700 m3/s. The bypass will provide safety against

flooding during extreme events with a probability of exceedance <1/500 per year. In

combination with other measures, the bypass should solve both the short-term and

long-term safety problems due to climate change. The preferred location for this

bypass is south of Kampen.

B. The Hanze railway line: The first phase of construction of the Hanze line, a

railway line from Amsterdam to Kampen and Zwolle (Figure 5), started in 2006.

According to project planning, the railway line would be in operation in 2013. At the

start of the IJssel Delta project it became clear that only very minor changes in the

alignment and the level of the railway would be possible. Major changes of the

railway would lead to an – unacceptable – delay as the necessary review of the

railway design would take too long.

C. Expansion of Kampen: The municipality of Kampen has now 50,000

inhabitants and covers an area of 162 km2, of which 27 km

2 consists of water.

Kampen is expected to expand considerably in the coming decades, with 4,000 houses

to be built in the next 20 years.

D. Spatial conflict: The above-described developments are to a certain extent

conflicting, as they all claim parts of the same area. The combination and

concentration of the spatial challenges in the south-western part of the IJssel Delta

will contribute to the preservation of the north-eastern part of the delta, which is an

area with high cultural landscape values (National Heritage). Though some of the

developments are expected to take place on a longer term, extra synergy can be

obtained between the developments by early master planning at this time.

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Figure 5: Hanze railway line under construction and N50 highway in the IJssel

Delta

3.2 Collaborative and adaptive process

Preparation of an integrated spatial development plan as in the case of the IJssel

Delta requires normally a long-lasting process involving many stakeholders. To obtain

sufficiently wide support for the plan, often many iterations in the planning process

are required. In the IJssel Delta project, being a pilot of modern river flood

management, a collaborative and participatory approach to the planning process (Kort

2009) has been adopted. All relevant stakeholders (inhabitants and more than 20

governmental and non-governmental organisations) have been involved already in

early stages of the planning process, and their concerns and requirements have been

thoroughly considered. This resulted in a relatively smooth plan development process

with only a minimum resistance to the plans, and in shortening the time span for the

planning and decision-making procedures. The planning process involved a

participatory approach with many interactions between designers, experts and

stakeholders, coordinated by the Province of Overijssel (Grijzen 2010). This process,

started in 2004, comprised a number of distinct steps:

Step 1: Exploration of possible bypass alternatives (2004). The relevant and

technically feasible routes of the bypass south of Kampen were studied, and the

solutions that would fulfil the project requirements were elaborated. This resulted in

five conceptual alternatives, spanning the range of possible solutions.

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Step 2: Public participation and consultation (2005). Inhabitants, entrepreneurs

and other stakeholders were invited to give their input for the alternatives (Figure 5).

An additional (6th

) bypass alternative was developed by the public and included in

further assessment and optimization. This alternative became an essential building

block for the preferred alternative and the Master plan (step 3 and 4).

Figure 6: Public consultations

Step 3: Decision making by the responsible authorities (2005). After public

consultations, the responsible authorities, i.e. the involved municipalities, provinces,

water boards and national ministries, have made their choice for a preferred

alternative.

Step 4: Further development of the preferred alternative (2005-2006). The

preferred scenario was elaborated in more detail in advanced studies, and reviewed on

technical, environmental, financial and legal feasibility. The most promising solutions

were selected. This involved regular feedback with administrators and representative

stakeholders.

Step 5: Adoption of the Master plan (2006). The Master plan was widely supported

by the public, as it was based on the 6th

alternative of the bypass that was proposed by

the public (mostly farmers, assisted by planners and professionals).

Step 6: Signing of the Covenant (2007). A binding agreement between the 11

major stakeholders was signed in January 2007, with a commitment to work together

towards implementation of the Master plan. Another 11 non-governmental

organizations supported the plan.

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Step 7: Review of the regional and local land use plan (2008-2011), together with

a Strategic Environmental (impact) Assessment (SEA) and an Environmental Impact

Assessment (EIA). In these impact assessments several design alternatives for the

plan were studied, including a so-called most environmentally friendly alternative.

This procedure has led to some adaptations of the Master plan. The current plan

(Figure 7) resembles in almost every aspect the most environmentally friendly

alternative of the SEA.

Step 8: Financial agreement and change of the scope of the IJssel Delta project

(2009). In 2009 an agreement was reached to finance the project. The most important

contributors to finance the total project’s cost of about € 325 million are the National

Government and the Province of Overijssel. Part of the financial agreement

constitutes a change in the scope of the project: the IJssel Delta project will be

implemented in two phases and will be combined with another adjacent “Room for

the River”-project: the deepening of the river IJssel over a length of 22 kilometers.

Combining the two projects enables a € 30 million cost reduction, as the sediment

dredged from the river can be used to construct the embankments of the river bypass

as well as a mound (as part of a “climate proof dike”) for housing development. One

of the most important reasons to modify the scope of the project was a recent change

in policy of the National Government (see par. 4).

Step 9: Preparation of the Detailed Design and Tender Documents. Recently, in-

depth studies (a.o. hydraulic, morphological, geotechnical, environmental

assessments) have been completed. With the results of these studies, detailed designs

for the plan are being made. Tender documents are being prepared parallel to the

detailed design. An Engineering and Construct contract is foreseen in order to provide

space for the Contractor for further optimisation. Studies, detailed design and tender

documents are to be completed in 2011.

Step 10: Final decisions and agreements (2011-2012). In the coming period

several extra administrative decisions and agreements have to be obtained (e.g. land

use plan, project agreement, implementation agreement, many licenses and permits).

The preparations for the decisions and agreements have already started.

Step 11: Implementation. After obtaining the final decisions and agreements, the

project will be implemented in two phases:

Phase 1: Construction of the physical part of the spatial development plan

consisting of dikes along the bypass, new nature areas, sailing channel and locks for

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small boats. The dredged sediments from the IJssel will be used to construct the dikes

along the bypass. The bypass will not be connected to the river system yet. The

implementation of Phase 1 is scheduled for the period 2013 - 2015.

Phase 2: Construction of the inlet and outlet structures. Once these structures are

in place, the bypass can be connected to the river and to the lake IJssel by opening the

weirs during floods. The start of the implementation of Phase 2 is scheduled in 2021.

Figure 7: Impression of IJssel Delta project

4. Coping with changing policy

The water level of the lake IJssel is controlled by large tidal flush gates

discharging to the North Sea. According to the present government policy, the lake’s

level will not fully follow the sea level rise, and only a minor water level rise of 0.23

meter in 100 years is foreseen in the coming century. This assumption was used as a

starting point when drafting the IJssel Delta project.

In 2007 the Government of the Netherlands requested an independent Committee

of State (the Delta Committee) to advise on flood protection in view of climate

change impacts in the Netherlands for the coming century (Delta Committee 2008).

Two main Committee’s recommendations are of major importance for the IJssel

Delta. The first one underlines the necessity to implement the long term “Room for

the River” measures – such as the river bypass – as soon as possible. The second one

is to gradually increase the level of the lake IJssel with a maximum of 1.5 meter in the

long term to cope with the increasing sea level and to provide a sufficient buffer of

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fresh water. These recommendations are expected to be incorporated in the

Government’s policy, although it is not clear when and to what extent this will be the

case. A large increase of the water level in the lake will affect the IJssel Delta and the

bypass. To cope with the possible change in the policy, a flexible approach is

followed in the design of the projected dikes: they are designed to the current (less

stringent) policy requirements, but the design includes sufficient flexibility to be able

to raise the dikes in the future. A part of the new dike will be constructed as a climate-

proof dike – a kind of unbreakable super dike – that can serve as an embankment for

housing development. As a no-regret measure, this climate-proof dike and all concrete

structures are designed for the future (higher) water levels in the lake IJssel. As the

implementation of the large inlet and outlet structures in Phase 2 is postponed till

2021, it will be possible to adapt their design to the decision of the National

Government about the increase of the water level in the lake IJssel that is expected to

be taken in 2015.

5. Lessons learnt

1. The regional government (as a director of the plan-making process) has a crucial

role to raise awareness for climate change and to gain public support for climate

adaptation measures in the area. In the case of project IJssel Delta an intensive,

bottom-up process of public participation has resulted in a new optional draft for

the bypass (a 6th

alternative) that was made by the public;

2. To make sure that climate adaptation measures are taken seriously and are being

implemented, a combination and integration with spatial planning and

development is recommended (“think beyond the water box”). An illustrative

example of this integrated approach is the combination of five spatial challenges –

housing, infrastructure, nature development, leisure, agriculture – with a river

bypass in the IJssel Delta project;

3. Thinking beyond the water box requires that new coalitions have to be made

(cooperation with other policy fields and levels, private investors and project

developers). This requires a reflexive, collaborative style of planning in which

communication between the stakeholders and joint fact finding are key elements

(Healey 1997);

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4. For this collaborative style of planning (which requires skills of facilitation,

advocacy, networking and negotiation), also strong and visionary leadership are

essential competences for the project leader and the responsible political

representatives (for instance in cases of impasses between the stakeholders);

5. The combination of water management with spatial planning has a potential to

generate additional sources to finance climate adaptation measures. Several

governmental bodies contribute to finance the IJssel Delta plan.

6. Conclusion

Creating a bypass to give the river more conveyance has been demonstrated to be

a very promising solution to flood hazards in the project area. While reducing flood

risks, it also creates opportunities to enhance the environmental quality. Climate-

proofing is a critical factor being taken into consideration in the project. The

challenge for the coming decades is to harmonize future spatial planning with flood

protection and creating “room for the river”.

The planning process followed in the IJssel Delta project required large flexibility

to adequately respond to the changing policies, climate change projections, interaction

with other projects. The project organisation was able to successfully introduce

necessary changes to the plans, make no-regret decisions, introduce phasing in the

implementation program, achieve large cost-reduction by combining two

neighbouring projects, and secure additional funding sources through integration

between sectoral activities.

The participatory and collaborative approach to spatial planning as applied in the

IJssel Delta project, with the support of a multidisciplinary expert team has proven to

be a successful practice in modern river flood management (Hajer et al. 2010). The

Dutch Government has selected the IJssel Delta project as a “best practice” (VROM

2010).

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their gratitude for the valuable comments and

contributions from Joost ter Hoeven, Guoping Zhang, Frank Dekker, Yvonne van

Kruchten and Jan Oomen.

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