Water Authority Ordinance 2027 Available for Public Inspection

Dijkgraaf Remco Bosma: “The Water Board Ordinance contains the rules we follow to protect waterways, flood defenses, and roads. It is updated every year. Some of the changes serve to make our rules clearer.”

The changes include, among other things:

• When to provide compensation for land elevation; the new Section 2.1.28 includes a permit requirement for elevating parcels of land. The purpose of this is to preserve natural water storage capacity, prevent water being shifted elsewhere, and maintain the predictability of flood risks.
• No mixing of discharge water with clean water; Article 3.3(2)(f) clarifies that the emission limit value must be based on undiluted wastewater.
• Start/stop notification for groundwater withdrawals; a start/stop notification has been added to Article 4.4 to enable more targeted supervision .
• Scope of in-channel maintenance: An area of operation has been added that includes the waterways for which HHNK is responsible for in-channel maintenance. This area of operation is taken into account when assessing the minimum required dimensions of culverts and bridges.
• Distance of cables and pipelines from culverts and bridges; in Article 2.131(5), the minimum required distance between cables, pipelines, and service connections to be installed and culverts and bridges has been reduced to ensure more appropriate and practical standards.
• Adjustment of the closed season period; the closed season period will be aligned with the period used by Rijkswaterstaat (October 1 – April 1). However, for the activity subject to a permit—seasonal beach structures—and the activity subject to a reporting requirement—grazing of animals—the period October 15 – April 15 will continue to apply.
• Relaxations for Temporary Structures (on high-ground areas); Articles 2.11 and 2.12 include a relaxation for temporary structures on flood defenses in areas designated as high-ground areas. For structures with a useful life of less than twelve months, general rules are sufficient, provided that the flood defense can be restored to its original condition upon expiration.

Permit Requirements for Subdividing Lots

Following a careful public engagement process, the revised Water Board Regulation now includes a permit requirement for the entire management area for raising the elevation of parcels of 4,000m²or larger by 15 cm or more (Section 2.1.36). This permit requirement ensures the preservation of natural water storage capacity, prevents water runoff, and maintains the predictability of flood risks. During extreme rainfall, it is inevitable that water will accumulate at ground level. The current water management system is not designed to handle this. Research shows that in recent years, land elevation—for example, due to residential construction or agriculture—has displaced 1.2 million m³ of water storage capacity, thereby increasing the risk of flooding for adjacent parcels. This is why HHNK is introducing a permit requirement.

More information

The proposed amendments to the HHNK 2027 Water Board Ordinance, along with the accompanying documents, will be available for public review from August 26 through October 6, 2026, at our headquarters, Stationsplein 136 in Heerhugowaard, and online at . In addition, there will be an online information session on Wednesday, September 9, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., where you can ask questions. You can register viaomgevingswet@hhnk.nl or by phone on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at 072-5828282.

Opinions 

During the public review period, you may comment on the proposed changes. You may submit your comments to the board of the dike reeve and dike commissioners in the following ways: 

• In writing by mail. Please send your comments to the Hollands Noorderkwartier Water Board, attn: Omgevingswet Team, Postbus 250, 1700 AG Heerhugowaard. 
• Submit your comments online via the "Submit Comments" page.
• In person. You can schedule an appointment by emailing omgevingswet@hhnk.nl. A record will be made of your comments.