History of major rivers in NL
Description
The boards of the KIVI Department of the History of Technology and of the Histechnica Association have the pleasure of inviting you to attend a lecture to be given by ir. A. Burgers, entitled:
The dangerous river. The present tested against the past.
Summary of lecture:
The dangerous river. The present tested against the past.
Around 1800, all major hydraulic engineers thought the Netherlands would perish due to high river levels. Floods occurred frequently due to ice dams. The dykes could no longer be raised, as they would sink due to the poor subsoil. There was only one remedy left in their experience: the spreading of the water coming from above.
In 1850, a new approach arrived. The rivers were narrowed and deepened by building groynes. In addition, each river was given its own outlet to the sea. The dykes were raised and strengthened. The number of floods reduced drastically.
After 1953, the dykes were to be raised again. But there was great resistance to the planned reinforcements. Then came floods in Limburg and evacuations in Rivierenland. The credo became: there will be more water, the dykes cannot be higher, the water levels must go down. River widening and high-water channels were the new solutions.
But how do these measures compare with the past? Are the predictions in line with the facts? And are the chosen solutions logical in the light of physics?
You and your introducers are welcome to attend. There is no charge to attend the lecture.
To ensure the smooth running of the meeting, you do need to register in advance, no later than Saturday 3 March
Speaker(s)
ir. A. Burgers, Former employee Boskalis, Deltares, Royal Haskoning
Ton Burgers graduated as a civil engineer in 1970 from the Technical University of Delft.
He worked for Boskalis from 1972 to 1985, several years of which were spent in Zeebrugge and then on the design of artificial islands in the Canadian polar region. In 1985, he left for Hydraulic Laboratory WL/Delft Hydraulics in the Noordoostpolder; there he was director of the Ports, Coasts and Offshore Technology sector for six years. From 1996 - 2007, he worked at Royal Haskoning, first as director of the Abroad division, then Water.
After 2010, he wrote several books, including Dutch great rivers. Drie eeuwen strijd tegen overstromingen (Utrecht, 2014) and Sporen naar Arnhem Centraal (Utrecht, 2015)
Location
Mijnbouwstraat 120, 2628 RX Delft
Organiser
History of Technology
Histechnica
Name and contact details for information
Further information from Dr Paul van Woerkom (tel. 070 - 3070275 in the evening) or via the e-mail address below