“Room for the River” webinar with Pim Nijssen

Wed, Oct 18 - Wed, Oct 18  2017

On Wednesday, October 18, the Dutch “Room for the River” program presents a modern approach to managing high water levels in the Netherlands with Pim Nijssen. 

About the Webinar

The Dutch ‘Room for the River’ Program was developed to help prevent inland or riverine flooding following heavy rains. Following an intense series of floods in 1993-1995, huge volumes of water flooded downstream towards the deltas in the Netherlands. There was little “room” for the river to overflow without causing serious damage. In the decades after, the “Room for the River” project was created to help reduce flood risk in dozens of places in the Netherlands and at the same time create new value. Now, this program is widely hailed as a more “modern” approach for managing High Water levels. The featured speaker for this webinar is Pim Nijssen, advisor at Twynstra Gudde, who has worked on the planning and implementation of the project. For the Room for the River project at Nijmegen, he received the International Waterfront Award in New York. To view the webinar visit https://nucoe.webex.com and enter event number: 668812686 with Password: SAGE2017

A new paradigm for flood risk management in the Netherlands is presented. Known as the ‘Room for the River’ program, this approach acknowledges the force of nature and the necessity to live with it, especially in a populous, vulnerable and prosperous delta such as the Netherlands. It’s also an approach that embraces the opportunities our rivers bring, by using flood risk measures to add quality to the natural and urban landscapes surrounding them. This new approach will be described, illustrating the various aspects of the program, like its governance set up, the intended goals and various technical characteristics of implementation using case studies of the projects that have been completed, almost all within time and budget. Pim Nijssen studied planning and management science at the Radboud University Nijmegen (the Netherlands) and currently works as a principle for the leading independent firm Twynstra Gudde. His field of experience lies in building coalitions between organizations and people in the field of water management and spatial planning. Pim has worked for a variety of national and international clients whose projects address the complex impacts of climate change. He has worked in Florida, Bangladesh, and various European countries. For the Room for the River project at Nijmegen, he received the International Waterfront Award in New York.