Maintenance of waterways and engineering structures: what you need to do

The management of watercourses and engineering structures, such as bridges and culverts, is important for a safe and healthy water system. Proper maintenance prevents flooding, blockages, and ecological damage, and ensures that water can flow freely. To make this possible, we as a water board have determined what is necessary to carry out maintenance. This is laid down in our Water Board Regulations.

On this page, you can read about when you need to take watercourse maintenance into account, what exactly you need to do to comply with this, and how you can report any problems or restrictions to us in good time. This is how we work together to ensure clean, sufficient, and safe water for everyone.

When are you responsible?

You should consider future maintenance if you:

  • own, use, and/or wish to redesign land along a watercourse;
  • constructs new waterways, bridges, or dams;
  • carries out maintenance on existing watercourses or engineering structures.

Action point: Check whether your activities or plans will affect the ability to carry out maintenance on watercourses and engineering structures. This could involve, for example, installing structures, making design changes, or carrying out work in or near watercourses.

What should you do?

The specific actions you need to take depend on how the maintenance is performed:

Maintenance from the shore

  • Check whether there is sufficient free space along a watercourse:
    • For watercourses narrower than 4 metre: ensure a strip of at least 5 metre of metre and passable space on one side.
    • For a watercourse 4 to 6 metre : ensure at least 5 metre of metre and passable space on both sides.
  • Space for vehicles: Check whether there is sufficient space at junctions and corners for maintenance vehicles to turn (turning circle of 21 metre). If this is not possible, provide a turning area.
  • Keep sufficient distance between structures: Ensure that there is at least 5 metre space between structures so that maintenance with the mowing basket remains possible. If new structures are installed, they can be connected directly to existing structures, as long as this does not impede maintenance of the watercourse.

Action point: Check whether your situation meets these requirements and remove any obstacles that could hinder maintenance.

Maintenance from the water

  • Check the dimensions of the watercourse:
    • Is the waterway at least 8 metre at the waterline and 1.2 metre ? This is required to enable maintenance boats to carry out maintenance in an ecologically responsible manner.
    • At junctions or sharp corners, the watercourse must be at least 10 metre .
  • Provide unloading areas for grass clippings: Ensure that there is metre unloading area every 200 metre that is accessible to vehicles. The unloading area must be at least 10 metre and the ground level may protrude a maximum of 50 cm above the water level.
  • Passage at dams and bridges: Waterways that are maintained by navigation must be navigable throughout, including at locations with structures such as dams and bridges. If you wish to deviate from this, you can discuss this with the water board. If passage is not possible throughout, turning areas must be constructed (diameter of 10 metre).

Action point: Check the watercourse and, where necessary, make adjustments to its width, depth, or turning and unloading points.

Maintenance of works of art

  • Accessibility: Check whether bridges, culverts, and other structures are accessible for maintenance equipment.
  • Clearance: The following applies to non-navigable structures (such as non-navigable culverts):
    • For maintenance from land: In order to carry out maintenance work, there must be at least 10 metre of metre space available on both sides of the structure, possibly on the dam itself.
    • For maintenance from the water: The waterway must be at least 10 metre on both sides of the non-navigable structure to allow for maintenance by boat.

Action point: Ensure that artworks remain accessible and that there are no obstacles that hinder maintenance.

What if you cannot meet the requirements?

In some situations, it is not possible to fully comply with the principles, for example due to limited space or special circumstances. In such cases, please contact us to discuss what is needed to make maintenance possible.

Action point: Report special situations or limitations in good time so that we can work together to find a solution. It is then possible to deviate from the rules by means of a customized prescription. See the page Customized prescription: what you need to know.

Summary of actions

  • Check that there is sufficient free space along the bank and around engineering structures.
  • Check the width, depth, and flow of the watercourse.
  • Ensure sufficient unloading areas and turning circles.
  • Report any special situations in which you are unable to comply with the principles in a timely manner.

Do you have any questions or need help?

Do you have questions about your responsibilities or are you unsure whether you comply with the guidelines? Feel free to contact us via our contact form or our Customer Contact centre KCC) at 072 582 8282. 

We are happy to help you. Together, we can ensure safe, clean, and sufficient water!