Latest acquisition of urban water in the HHNK management area

69 kilometre of ditch maintenance in Edam-Volendam

The Hollands Noorderkwartier Water Board (HHNK) has taken over maintenance of the urban waterways in the municipality of Edam-Volendam. The water board was already maintaining 40 kilometre ditches here, and 69 kilometre have now kilometre that. By maintaining the ditches ourselves, we have greater control over the water system. Maintenance consists of mowing and dredging and is necessary to ensure the free flow of water. With the takeover of these waterways, the “Urban Water Takeover” project has been completed.  

Collaboration

Last Tuesday, Water Board Member Klazien Hartog (urban water) and Alderman Kees Schilder signed the agreement. Klazien Hartog: “The efficient drainage of water during periods of heavy rainfall is of great importance to us, especially now that the climate is changing and heavy rains are becoming more frequent. Moreover, we can carry out our mowing work efficiently because we outsource the work on a large scale in many areas.” Alderman Schilder is also enthusiastic: “It’s good to transfer this task to a single organization with extensive knowledge and experience of the water system.”

Maintenance Allocation

Together with the municipality of Edam-Volendam, we have reached agreements on which ditches are eligible for maintenance by HHNK. To establish a new division of maintenance tasks, all ditches in the area were surveyed. Experts from the municipality and HHNK then jointly assessed each ditch to determine which ones meet the conditions for transfer. HHNK only mows ditches that are easily accessible by machinery, as this aligns with the approach the water board uses throughout its entire management area—from the North Sea Canal to Texel. The municipality will continue to maintain watercourses that are not accessible by machinery. These are often smaller ditches. Furthermore, the municipality remains responsible for keeping surface waters clean, such as by removing litter.  

Acquisition of Stedelijk Water Completed

Over the past ten years, we have taken over the maintenance of urban water ditches throughout the management area, spanning 24 municipalities. This involves a total of 1,266 kilometre . Klazien Hartog is pleased with this milestone: “This marks the completion of the Urban Water Takeover project. As a water manager, we were already supervision ; now we’re also carrying out the work ourselves. This gives us even greater control over the water system, which benefits its management.”