Frequently asked questions about changes to the Water Board Regulation

The Water Authority Regulations contain the rules that HHNK applies to protect its waterways, flood defenses, and roads. Amendments to the Water Authority Regulations are currently available for inspection. We have noticed that some of the amendments raise questions. On this page, we provide answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Inspection

Our executive committee has approved the draft amendments. They were available for inspection until November 17, 2024, viawww.officielebekendmakingen.nl and at our office at Stationsplein 136 in Heerhugowaard. The final amendments were adopted in December 2024 and came into effect on January 1, 2025.

Theme: Low-lying area

What does the designation 'low-lying area' mean?

Since the Omgevingswet came into force Omgevingswet on January 1, 2024), it has been mandatory to link every rule imposed by a government to an area where that rule applies. We refer to these as restricted areas or areas of application. In the Water Board Regulation, which is currently available for inspection, the 10% most flooded plots per polder in the event of extreme rainfall have been included as a new area of effect. These are the plots per polder where the largest volume of water temporarily ends up at ground level when the water system overflows its banks in the event of extreme rainfall. These plots are subject to a permit requirement for raising their level.

Including the area of application does not change the designated use or potential uses of the land. It means that the water board has indicated that, as of January 1, 2025, these plots may not be raised without compensatory measures (assuming that the new proposed rules come into effect on January 1, 2025). Without compensation, raising the land would eliminate the storage space currently available at that location during extreme rainfall, and the excess water would find another place to go, potentially causing even greater nuisance and damage. This would lead to a shift in flood risk.

By incorporating the new area of operation, the water board is establishing a fact. During extreme rainfall, it is inevitable that the water system will overflow its banks and temporarily occupy ground level. Based on model analysis and practical situations, the water board knows which areas will store the most water at ground level in such situations.

How was it determined which areas are designated as 'low-lying areas'?

The proposed change has a long history. In short, we used analyses for each polder to identify the cadastral parcels per hectare that receive the largest volume of water during extreme precipitation. These 10% of parcels per polder, where most of the water ends up at ground level, are marked on the map as 'Low-lying area'. 

We realize that in some cases the data may be six years old, as it comes from model analyses that ran from 2018 to 2021. We are also aware that spatial developments may have taken place in the intervening years, meaning that the map is no longer accurate in some locations. If you believe that certain plots have been incorrectly designated, please let us know. However, the fact remains that extreme precipitation will inevitably cause water to accumulate at ground level. Raising the level of these areas will simply shift the problem to other plots within the polder.

Below, we outline the process of how the proposed change came about. 

In 2017, a new methodology was developed to map the consequences of an exceptional downpour as accurately as possible using the latest instruments. 

In the period 2018-2021, according to this new methodology, the entire HHNK management area was calculated in a water system analysis and, using hydrological model analyses, an inundation picture was determined for the entire management area with recurrence times of once every 10, 100, and 1,000 years (based on the KNMI climate scenarios from 2014). The hydrological models include the entire water system (all watercourses, culverts, bridges, weirs, and pumping stations), the elevation model of our area based on the Current Elevation Database of the Netherlands (AHN), and the different soil types based on the soil map of the Netherlands. The results of this water system analysis are recorded in the report Bescherming Wateroverlast Noorderkwartier 2 (Protection against Flooding in Noorderkwartier 2, hereinafter: BWN2 study).  

The inundation images from the BWN2 study were compared with the various flood images that have occurred in practice in the HHNK management area in recent years. The flooding in June 2021 was the largest flood period, with approximately half of the HHNK management area experiencing extreme rainfall and water temporarily standing at ground level. This comparison confirmed that the inundation image from the BWN2 study corresponds very well with the practical situations of flooding. Both show the same places where the water first and longest reaches ground level. 

The insights gained from the water system analysis have been recorded in the Action Framework for Limiting Flooding. During the development of the Action Framework, it was also sent for consultation to interest groups and fellow authorities in the HHNK management area. At its meeting on April 13, 2022, the HHNK general board approved the Action Framework. 

On November 25, 2022, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management also published aletter to parliament entitledWater and Soil Steering. This letter to parliament contains a number of structural choices that will guide spatial developments in the coming decades. One of these choices is choice 13: "We reserve 5% to 10% of deep polders for water storage, preferably the deepest parts. This will prevent flooding as a result of prolonged rainfall or peak showers. No new construction is permitted here, unless it does not compromise the water storage capacity."

In accordance with the letter to parliament, HHNK drew up advisory maps at the beginning of 2023. These maps already stipulate that a C and D label will be given in terms of suitability for the most flooded locations.

With the publication of the letter to parliament, the inundation model from the BWN2 study was used to analyze which cadastral parcels per hectare in each polder would receive the largest volume of water in the event of extreme precipitation. The 10% of parcels per polder that would receive the most water at ground level were marked on the map as 'Low-lying areas'.

How were the owners of the plots of land classified as 'low-lying areas' able to take note of this?

In addition to designating low-lying areas, several changes have been included in the water board regulations. Each of these changes may lead to new permit requirements or, conversely, to the removal of existing permit requirements or to changes in the boundaries of the areas where the rules apply. All these changes will be announced by publication in the Waterschapsblad (Water Board Journal). The current amendment to the water board regulations has been published in draft form in the Waterschapsblad 2024, 21048 of October 4, 2024. Owners can submit their views on the proposed amendments between October 4, 2024, and November 17, 2024. During the public inspection period, the water board organized a number of information sessions for residents, government agencies, and interest groups. After the public consultation period, a response memorandum will be drawn up in which the comments made will be addressed. The responses submitted may lead to a change in the proposed decision. Those who have submitted opinions will be informed of how their opinions have been dealt with.

The step to include 'low-lying areas' in the water board regulations follows on from:

  • the action framework for limiting flooding adopted by the general board of the water board, which includes the rule of raising = compensating (adopted by CHI in April 2022);
  • theletter to parliament on Water and Soil from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (November 25, 2022);
  • the national policy recommendation following the disaster in Belgium and German Limburg in July 2021: 'Prevention is impossible, but preparation is possible' (December 19, 2022);
  • the Water and Soil advisory maps from HHNK (spring 2023).

The amendment is therefore in line with established and public policy. 

The areas of operation included are the 10% most flooded plots per polder in the event of extreme precipitation. In doing so, the water board is establishing a fact. Including the area of operation does not change the zoning or possible uses of the land, but indicates that from January 1, 2025 (when the new regulation comes into force), these plots may not be raised without compensatory measures.

Can you object to the designation of a plot of land?

No appeal may be lodged against a Water Board Regulation. This is because the Water Board Regulation is a decision containing generally binding provisions. Pursuant to Article 8:3, paragraph 1, preamble and under a of the General Administrative Law Act (hereinafter: Awb), no appeal may be lodged against such decisions. 

There may be an exception for designating a restricted area in a water board regulation. However, the case law on this is unclear, so it is possible that an appeal lodged could be declared inadmissible.

Are water board charges reduced if a plot of land is designated?

No, this change does not affect water board charges.

Is there financial compensation if plots of land decrease in value due to a designation?

Owners of plots designated as low-lying areas cannot submit a claim for compensation immediately after the water board regulation has been adopted. Compensation can only be claimed once a specific environmental permit for raising the ground level (with the condition for compensation) has been granted. Furthermore, the damage must actually have occurred. It is therefore not possible to receive compensation by applying for an environmental permit without doing anything with it. If a plot of land is sold after the adoption of the Water Board Regulation (e.g. to a developer), the damage is foreseeable for the new owner and is therefore not eligible for compensation. If an owner decides to raise a plot of land after the Water Board Regulation has been adopted on the basis of an environmental permit and he/she was already the owner before the Water Board Regulation was adopted, compensation for damage may be payable. In that case, the request for compensation for damage will be handled in accordance with the HHNK compensation for damage regulation applicable at that time (currently:HHNK Compensation for Damage Regulation 2022).

Is there a link where you can click on the plots and view their details? 

Here is a link to the'low-lying area' area of operation.

If you have had a dike or ridge on your land for several years, or a high ditch bank, can you use it for compensation if you lower it and the ground there becomes lower?

When someone raises a plot of land by lowering land on their own property or elsewhere, this could fulfill the compensation requirement. If an area that is already low-lying is further excavated and (with the soil that is released) other low-lying plots that are also prone to flooding are raised, the storage space at ground level will remain the same on balance and the compensation requirement will be met. However, this will have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis by means of a permit application.

Theme: Hard surface

Compensation; does that also apply to a farm track? Does that also apply to grass pavers?

A paved plot path is considered a hard surface, even if grass tiles are used for this purpose. 

Depending on the location and surface area of the paving to be laid, different rules apply: For laying paved surfaces in a flood defense (or its protection zone), a permit is required forareas larger than 25m². For the installation of paved surfaces outside this zone, a permit is required for areas larger than 2000m² (see Article 2.74 of the regulation). In these cases, the degree of compensation will be specified in the licence.

When installing a paved surface between 230 m² and 2000 m², the degree of compensation is determined by the general rule as set out in Article 2.77:

  1. Inareas without a water level monitoring requirement, water that drains from paved surfaces must be infiltrated into the soil and retained within the same restricted area.
  2. Inareas subject to water level control regulations, water will preferably be infiltrated into the soil, provided this does not lead to groundwater flooding on surrounding plots.
  3. If an infiltration facility is used, the conditions for this must be discussed with the water board.
  4. Insofar as infiltration pursuant to thefirst orsecond paragraph is not possible or desirable, the newly paved surface will be compensated for by excavating 15 percent of its surface area as widened or new surface water within the same level area.

Based on this general rule, it can be concluded that, insofar as the water that drains off the pavement is infiltrated into the soil, no surface water needs to be excavated as compensation (see paragraph 4 above). It therefore depends on the location and construction of the plot path whether this pavement needs to be compensated for by digging or widening surface water. If grass pavers are used, the chance of water infiltrating into the soil is greater than with dense pavement. The same applies to the construction of a plot path further away from the watercourse compared to a path directly next to the water. 

An initiator must make their own assessment of this and inform the water board of the planned activity and whether or not compensatory measures will be implemented by providing information. 

Theme: Compensation for damping

To compensate for muffling, you can lower a plot by excavating it, for example, if you have a high ridge along the ditch or if there has been a mound of soil (a kind of dike) on your land for years.

In order to comply with the general rules for the construction of an access dam, compensation is provided by widening an existing surface water body within the same water level area or by excavating new surface water with at least the same surface area. If an initiator wishes to compensate in a different way, a request for a customized regulation can be submitted. The water board will then assess whether the proposed method of compensation sufficiently meets the interests of the water board. 

Theme: Roads

Will water board charges decrease in the Edam-Volendam area because the roads are no longer managed by the Hollands Noorderkwartier Water Board (HHNK)?

HHNK only levies road tax in the municipalities where HHNK manages roads. The municipalities of Wormerland and Edam-Volendam will resume management and maintenance of the relevant roads as of January 1, 2025. This means that residents and owners in those municipalities will no longer find road tax on their HHNK tax assessment for the 2025 tax year. Water system charges and sewage charges will still be payable, but the total amount of the HHNK tax bill will decrease. The municipalities may have to increase their tax rates slightly in order to cover the costs themselves.