The international challenges in the area of water management revolve around water for a healthy society. For the Netherlands, as a delta metropolis, the quality of the urban environment is a top priority. Water safety in metropolitan environments, as places where people can live, work and recreate in a healthy manner, is now increasingly under pressure. In delta areas we must have critical, future-proof dikes and robust storm surge barriers
But we also need resilient cities that can withstand weather extremes, including increasingly hot and dry summers for instance. For this reason, not only is water safety necessary, but so too is a continuous access to sufficient freshwater of the right quality. But climate change now means that these can longer be taken for granted. Resilient and future-oriented water management must therefore achieve an optimal balance between water safety and water security. Climate change and urbanisation magnify the uncertainties of the future. Scenario development, the design of resilient, robust and constantly traceable water infrastructure are taking on fundamental importance. This, within an increasingly digital world that demands that data is shared and combined in a secure and transparent digital environment. Think for instance of the increased number in types of sensors, the use of satellite data (spectral imaging), infra-connected BIM and parametric calculation. But in all of this, we naturally desire, as a society, to maintain complete control over our critical water infrastructure. As engineering consultants, we provide specific tool boxes and instruments that ensure these future adaptations.
