Water Construction Day 2017

When:

23 November 2017

09:30 Hour - 17:45 Hour

Location:De Doelen
Kruisplein 40
3012 CC Rotterdam

Event organizer:Hydraulic engineering

Pricing Lid KIVI / ie-net:€232,00

Pricing Niet-leden:€295,00

Pricing Studenten:€41,00

Pricing 65 plussers:€107,01

Description

The topic of climate change has become part and parcel of everyday life. Increased flooding in low-lying deltas, the transition to clean energy and the Paris climate agreement ensure permanent media attention. In doing so, they contribute to social awareness around this topic. How much are sea levels and river discharges rising? And what does this mean for the hydraulic engineering sector?

The expected long-term development will determine our actions tomorrow. That is precisely what explains the urgency of this subject and the choice of the theme "Building in Rising Water".

An important question is how sea levels are rising. Satellite measurements of water levels show an acceleration of the rate of sea level rise in many parts of the world. Over the last 20 years, the global average rise is about 3-3.5 mm/year, where the 1970-2010 measurement period recorded a rise of 2 mm/year. However, there are significant regional variations, with outliers up and down. To date, no clear acceleration has been detected in sea level measurements off the Dutch coast.

The question is whether we are at the beginning of a rapid, further increase in the rate of sea level rise. Recent research on the melting of the Antarctic polar caps reveals new processes that have so far not been included in global sea level rise models. If you do, you end up with much higher values: KNMI researchers consider a rise of more than 2 metres for the Netherlands in 2100, in the most extreme case, not out of the question. This puts the extreme scenarios used by the second Delta Committee in 2008 (which were received with a lot of scepticism at the time) in a new perspective.

Of course, the recent results have been the subject of debate, with KNMI itself stating that the robustness of the latest calculations still needs to be confirmed. At the same time, new measurements are rapidly becoming available and knowledge is developing rapidly.

Bottom line, it is not up to us water engineers to determine the climate scenarios for the future. However, it is important to be aware of what is going on and to anticipate various scenarios in our designs. After all, the lifespan of hydraulic works is generally 50 to 100 years and the design of delta areas also focuses on such time scales and longer. In that time scale, climate change may cause major changes in the design boundary conditions for water levels, waves, precipitation and river discharge. Or trigger irreversible processes, such as the drowning of tidal flats in the Wadden Sea due to accelerated sea level rise. What solutions are there to anticipate uncertainties in the effects of climate change?

At the Water Construction Day 2017, we will try to find an answer to that question. Among other things, by looking at the potential of natural solutions that can grow along with sea level rise. But we also consider the significance of climate change for hard hydraulic infrastructure such as locks and dams and for dyke reinforcements. In the plenary programme, we will also discuss current events, such as the lessons learned from the situation around the Grave barrage.

Ultimately, as a hydraulic engineering sector, we are striving for future-proof solutions for the design and management of delta areas, and in particular for ensuring flood protection. The Water Construction Day 2017 will provide a picture of the ideas and solutions that have been conceived in the sector.

We look forward to an entertaining and inspiring Water Construction Day 2017 and hope to welcome you on 23 November at De Doelen in Rotterdam.