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Rijkswaterstaat

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Rijkswaterstaat
Rijkswaterstaat
Logo of Rijkswaterstaat

Rijkswaterstaat headquarters in Utrecht.
National agency overview
Formed1798
JurisdictionGovernment of the Netherlands
HeadquartersUtrecht, the Netherlands
MottoWater, wegen, werken. Rijkswaterstaat (water, roads, works. Rijkswaterstaat)
Employees5001-10000
Annual budget5 000 000 000 eu
National agency executives
  • Martin Wijnen, Director-General
  • Patricia Zorko, Deputy Director-General
  • Sylvia Bijl, Chief Financial Officer
  • Erica Slump, Chief Engineer-Director Traffic and Water Management
  • Bob Demoet, Chief Engineer-Director Programs, Projects and Maintenance
  • Louis Schouwstra, Chief Operational Officer
  • Ron Kolkman, Chief Information Officer
Parent departmentMinistry of infrastructure and water management
Websitehttps://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl

Rijkswaterstaat,[1] founded in 1798 as the Bureau voor den Waterstaat and formerly translated to Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management, is a Directorate-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands. Its role is the practical execution of the public works and water management, including the construction and maintenance of waterways and roads, and flood protection and prevention. The agency was also involved in the construction of big railway projects such as the Betuweroute and the HSL-Zuid.

The mission statement of the organisation reads: "Rijkswaterstaat is de rijksdienst die werkt aan droge voeten, schoon en voldoende water én aan de vlotte en veilige doorstroming van het verkeer" (Rijkswaterstaat is the national agency that provides dry feet, clean and sufficient water and a quick and safe flow of traffic). The agency is divided in 10 regional, 6 specialist services and 2 special services.

The current director-general of Rijkswaterstaat is Martin Wijnen, who assumed office on 1 January 2024.[2] Since 1 January 2006, Rijkswaterstaat has been an (executive) agentschap (agency).

Name

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The Dutch word waterstaat denotes the condition of an area in relation to the level and the condition of surface and groundwater, including all relevant natural and artificial features.[3] The component 'rijks' translates as 'national'.

Organization structure

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Rijkswaterstaat is divided into regional and specialist services, formerly known as directies. Each service is managed by a hoofdingenieur-directeur (HID), who together form the board of Rijkswaterstaat.

Regional services

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Vehicle of a road inspector

The regions are divided in local water- en wegendistricten (water and road districts), formerly known as dienstkringen. In the past, every province had its own regional organisation, but the directies Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe were merged, forming the service Noord-Nederland, the directies Overijssel and Gelderland were merged to form the service Oost-Nederland, the directies IJsselmeergebied and Utrecht were merged to form the service Midden-Nederland and the directies Noord-Brabant and Limburg were merged to form the service Zuid-Nederland. The following regional services exist:

Specialist Services

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The vessel Maeslant, of Rijkswaterstaat

Project Directorates (Special Services)

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Former (specialist) services

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Notable employees

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Elze van den Ban[4][5]

References

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  1. ^ "Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management". Government of the Netherlands. 27 October 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  2. ^ "Martin Wijnen". www.rijkswaterstaat.nl (in Dutch). Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  3. ^ Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal.
  4. ^ "De horizon zien – Strandlab Almere" (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-11-09.
  5. ^ "Gezinsblad van Elze Frederika van den Ban". www.humanitarisme.nl. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
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