Delta Works

A Civil Engineering Wonder

Delta Works is considered a Civil Engineering Wonder because this series of constructions represents the largest flood protection project and includes dikes, sluices, locks, dams, storm surge barriers, levees.

You’ll notice with a Europe map that the area of the Netherlands is bordered by the North Sea and it counts with a changeable climate that is why before the construction of the Delta Works, Netherlands was a really vulnerable area because many floods damaged the country, its coastline has changed considerably and more than 50 000 people died during the natural disasters.

The construction of the Delta Project

Dutch government decided to start the project of Delta Works after one of the most destructive floods happened in order to protect the country against future disasters; the construction lasted almost 50 years. During the construction of the Delta Project, many changes occurred specially in development of new areas for nature to replace those that were damaged before.  

Nowadays, the Delta Works are indispensable for people in Netherlands and in time, due to the climate change and the sea-level rise the dikes will have to be reinforced and they have to be made higher to protect people from many natural disasters; but it represents only a temporal victory in the battle against the sea; because the government advised that they will need a new building program to fortify their defenses against the sea and the effects of global warming.

Travel to the Netherlands

If you’re planning to travel to the Netherlands, you cannot leave out of your travel planning a visit to Rotterdam, one of the largest harbors of the world, or a boat tour through this wonderful destination. However, before you decide where to go we recommend you look for information on marina safety, weather, facilities and other useful information; it could be helpful to find a Marinas Directory or to see a free webcam which will give you visual information.

In 2008, the government created the Delta commission, which has the responsibility of examining the level of protection of the coastal region of the Netherlands over the next century.

The Oosterscheldekering

The most famous point in the Delta Works is the Oosterscheldekering with nine kilometer-long, which was the most difficult to build and most expensive of the 13 series that form the Delta works. The dam is controlled by human operators but in case that they fail, the system will take control using a backup. The government established some laws that regulate the use and control of all the series of the Delta Works.