Rijkswaterstaat
Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the Bureau voor den Waterstaat, is part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the former Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Its role is the practical execution of the public works and water management, including the construction and maintenance of waterways and roads, and -importantly- flood protection and prevention . The agency was also involved in the construction of big railway projects such as the Betuweroute and the HSL-Zuid.
The mission of the organisation is: "Rijkswaterstaat is de rijksdienst die werkt aan droge voeten, schoon en voldoende water én aan de vlotte en veilige doorstroming van het verkeer" (Rijkswaterstaat is the national agency that provides dry feet, clean and sufficient water and a quick and safe flow of traffic). The agency is divided in 10 regional, 6 specialist services and 2 special services.
The director-general (DG) of Rijkswaterstaat is as of 1 February 2010 mr. ing. Jan Hendrik Dronkers.
As of January 1, 2006, Rijkswaterstaat is an (executive) agentschap (agency).
Regional services
Rijkswaterstaat is divided in regional services, formerly known as directies. Every regional service is managed by a hoofdingenieur-directeur (HID). The regions are divided in local water- en wegendistricten (water and road districts), formerly known as dienstkringen. In the past, every province had its own regional organisation, but the directies Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe are merged, forming the service Noord-Nederland; and the directies Overijssel and Gelderland are merged to form the service Oost-Nederland. The following regional services exist:
- RWS Noord-Nederland (located in Leeuwarden)
- RWS Noord-Holland (located in Haarlem)
- RWS IJsselmeergebied (located in Lelystad)
- RWS Oost-Nederland (located in Arnhem)
- RWS Utrecht (located in Utrecht)
- RWS Zuid-Holland (located in Rotterdam)
- RWS Zeeland (located in Middelburg)
- RWS Noord-Brabant (located in 's-Hertogenbosch)
- RWS Limburg (located in Maastricht)
- RWS Noordzee (located in Rijswijk)
Specialist Services
- Data-ICT-dienst, Service for Data and IT (located in Delft)
- Dienst Verkeer en Scheepvaart, Service for Traffic and Ship Transport (located in Delft)
- Dienst Infrastructuur, Service for Infrastructure (located in Utrecht)
- Waterdienst Water Service (located in Lelystad)
- Corporate Dienst, Corporate Service (located in Utrecht)
Projectdirecties (Special Services)
- Ruimte voor de Rivier, Room for the River (located in Utrecht)
- Projectdirectie Maaswerken, Tomorrow's Meuse (located in Maastricht and Roermond)
- Projectdirectie HSL-Zuid, High Speed Line South (located in Zoetermeer)
These last two Projectdirecties were ended in 2010 as the projects are concluded.
Former (specialist) services
- Waterstaatskerken
- Deltadienst
- Rijksdienst voor de IJsselmeerpolders, National Institute for polders in the IJsselmeer
- Rijksinstituut voor Kust en Zee, National Institute for the Coast and Sea (located in The Hague)
- Rijksinstituut voor Integraal Zoetwaterbeheer en Afvalwaterbehandeling, National Institute for integral Fresh Water management and Waste Treatment (located in Lelystad)
- Dienst voor Weg en Waterbouwkunde, Service for Road- and Waterarchitecture (located in Delft)
- Adviesdienst Verkeer en Vervoer, Advisory service Traffic and Transport (located in Delft)
Related Dutch institutes
- Deltares (located in Delft and Utrecht)
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rijkswaterstaat. |