A floating house built by Balance d'eau in Delft, the Netherlands combines the pleasures of urban living with a natural ambience. The water is used as a reservoir to prevent flooding.
An exterior view of the floating house, which can be accessed from land via a ramp. The floor of the house is concreted, and the facility has sewerage and all modern comforts. The concept has led to a project to create floating housing in Manila, Philippines.
As part of Flood Proof Holland's initiatives, many portable solutions for water control have been built for global use. These box barriers (to be filled with water) can be laid at the rate of 100 metres per hour by 3 people, at a cost of 175 euros per metre.
A SlamDam made of EPDM, a synthetic material, shows how it can hold water at a cost of 225 euros a metre. It offers the additional prospect of creating small dams for agriculture in the Indian context, making the most of the monsoon.
A Tube Barrier, another variation of the water storage technologies, fills with water through small holes at the bottom. The one metre-high barrier costs about 250 to 275 euros per metre.
The concept of the floating house and the geodesic dome of Buckminster Fuller come together at Rotterdam to create an exhibition area on water. It is used for several green events, and BMW recently launched an electric car from these iconic globes.
At research institution Deltares, an indoor area houses facilities to test the strength of dikes, and efficacy of other innovations. Holland is building newer facilities to test higher water levels that may accompany climate change.
Traditional windmills along a dike (left) and a canal, in the Netherlands. A large network of canals are used to keep excess water that is then pumped out every day in the country which is almost seven metres below sea-level at the lowest point.
This scene of houses in the polder (at left) and a river at right with the protective dike separating them captures the reality of geography in the Netherlands.
The low-lying lands of Holland, known as polders are widely used foragriculture and habitation. This productive area is along the Diefdijk, a dike that protects the Western parts from flooding from the East.
Jan Dorst and Jan Wesdorp pose at Stavenisse, in the province of Zeeland which was the site of a terrible flood in 1953, which killed 153 people. The Dutch government has strengthened dikes and protected low-lying land with several measures since.
A massive dike under construction under the Zeeweringen project in Zeeland, in Western Holland facing the North sea. The one billion euro project will protect lands from a 1:4000 year storm surge possibility.
A view of the land below sea level at right from the dike, and the sea at left, along the Zeeland coast. Dike technologies include use of a clay base, a filter layer, a geotextile cover, and specially designed concrete blocks on top. The revetment is estimated to last 50 years.
On the coast of Zeeland, windmills form a backdrop to agriculture fields on the left, protected by the dike at right from flooding from the sea.
The Grensmaas project in Limburg province, a consortium approach enabling the restoration of the ecology of the Maas river and more water flow, involves removal of millions of tonnes of gravel. The natural resource thus available is commercially used. Picture shows processing of gravel on a floating factory.
At Werkendam, a massive dike is being built to enable new habitat developmentson the river Waal. There are facilities for vehicles to use the dike, and for housing developments.The groynes in the commercially busy river will be lowered to take in more water for shipping.
In Rotterdam, which has Europe's biggest port, urban spaces are redesigned to take in water when it rains so that the low-lying city does not go underwater. This dry basketball court and recreational area in Benthemplein will become a water storage area during a wet spell.
Students gather at the Benthemplein on a grey Friday morning. This vast area with steel-lined channels that bring in rain flows can hold 1,700 cubic metres of water.
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