DELTARES MAGAZINE NO.

1, JANUARY 2014

WATER MINISTER SCHULTZ TALKS ABOUT THE DUTCH APPROACH TEMPORARY CHANGES IN LAND USE THE CONCEALED STRENGTH OF CORAL MAXIMISING RETURNS FROM ATES SYSTEM

OYSTERS
INFOGRAPHIC THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL DIKE: NOW AND IN THE FUTURE

DEFEND THE COAST

FRONT COVER
They measure just a few centimetres and the delicate taste has been appreciated for centuries. But oysters also play an important role in ood protection. Oysters spend their lives without moving and so they can live in high concentrations. The resulting oyster banks can be used as substitutes for hard structures such as rock or concrete breakwaters to protect the coast and mitigate erosion. This natural approach to coastal protection is already being used in many countries. There are many more ways of using nature to improve ood protection, often in combination with traditional hard structures. Global interest in 'building with nature' is on the rise. It ts in well with the continuing increase in the population in coastal areas, deltas and river basins, which requires more ood protection and improvements in the sustainability of the living environment. The time seems to be ripe for the large-scale application of the concept. See page 9 onwards.

DUTCH APPROACH GOES GLOBAL

Water Minister Schultz explains the signicance of Bringing in the Dutch.

DOSSIER BUILDING WITH NATURE

Making the most of growing enthusiasm for building with nature.

THE CONCEALED STRENGTH OF CORAL

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The costs of replacing lost coral could be as much as one million euros per square kilometre every year.

And also
03. Deltares in brief 10. A  lliance of engineers and ecologists highly productive 12. F  rom ambition to practical execution: three recommendations for managers 13. E  arning model makes eco-engineering more successful 14. Building with nature in practice 16. Infographic: the multifunctional dike 18. Using land temporarily in sustainable ways 22. T  esting ground: optimisation of design for underwater screens 23. Knowledge in operation: biosealing 24. From black box to overview 26. Maximum returns from ATES system 28. Deltares software 29. Deltares organisation

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Delta Life is published by Deltares, an independent institute for applied research in the eld of water, subsurface and infrastructure. Throughout the world, we work on smart solutions, innovations and applications for people, environment and society. Our main focus is on deltas, coastal regions and river basins.

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Editing desk P.O. Box 177 2600 MH Delft, The Netherlands tel. +31 (0)88 335 8273 info@deltares.nl A subscription is free and can be requested or cancelled by sending an e-mail to info@deltares.nl Delta Life is issued free of charge to all qualied subscribers.

Text: Deltares Design and layout: Maters en Hermsen Journalistiek Print: Koninklijke BDU, Grasch Bedrijf bv ISSN: 2351-972X

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

DELTARES IN BRIEF
RIO MAGDALENA MODELLING

Deltares is working in Colombia on a hydrodynamic model for an 800-kilometre stretch of the Rio Magdalena and a number of branches of the river. The client is CorMagdelena, the river management authority. CorMagdalena will use the model to determine the impact of a range of scenarios and strategies on the water system.

INTEGRATED WATER PLAN FOR SOUTHERN MEXICO

PHOTO: HOLLANDSE HOOGTE

VENICE STORM SURGE BARRIER

and currents, were reproduced in detail, as was the complicated immersion system. On the basis of the measurements obtained about forces and movements, a decision will be taken about how and when the caissons can be installed. Strukton will be immersing eight concrete caissons in a trench in the bed. Operations will start in the summer of 2014. Flap gates, which Deltares has already tested, will be mounted on the caissons to protect Venice from ooding.

eltares has conducted scale tests on the immersion of the caissons for the new storm surge barrier to protect Venice. The tests simulated the immersion of the caissons at Chioggia, the southern entrance to the Venetian Lagoon. The client was the Dutch company Strukton Immersion Projects, which will be responsible for installing the caissons. In the Atlantic Basin, the natural conditions in the lagoon, such as waves

The Mexican state of Tabasco has called on the Dutch water sector to tackle its recurring ood problems. The Dutch embassy in Mexico and the Mexican government are working on the development of a partnership agreement to support an integrated approach. Deltares, Arcadis and Fugro will certainly be involved. Deltares will focus primarily on working together with other research institutes on modelling and the deployment of support tools for decisionmaking, such as the map table.

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

DELTARES IN BRIEF

D
PHOTO: HOLLANDSE HOOGTE

PEAT STRONGER THAN EXPECTED

eltares is extending its research eort looking at peat strength. The new research will build on the foundations established by a eld trial which demonstrated that peat is actually much stronger than previously thought. An accurate picture of peat strength is important for dike design. The research began to answer questions relating to the upgrade of the Markermeer dike in North Holland. The subsurface below that dike is peat and, by and large, it fails to meet current safety standards. When the dike upgrade was being planned in 2011, the water authority (the Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier) decided a study was needed to check whether the current calculation method for peat, which is being used to design the dike upgrade, uses a correct value for the strength of peat. Experts have had their doubts about this value for some time. The rst eld study near the Markermeer dike did indeed show that peat is stronger than indicated by the present standards. The follow-up study will focus on implementing the results of the previous study, with the aim of developing a new design approach for the dike. This will have a direct impact on the upgrading of the Markermeer dike: a clearer picture of peat behaviour could cut the cost of the upgrade operation.

The Markermeer dike in North Holland is centre-stage during research looking at the strength of peat.

SIMPLE MONITORING SYSTEM IMPROVES WATER QUALITY

In an alliance with SorbiSense and Alterra, Deltares developed a simple monitoring system that records both ow rates and the amounts of substances present in the water. The Flow-Cap makes it possible to identify more precisely the sources of substances like nitrates in agricultural areas. The Flow-Cap is positioned in agricultural drains or discharge pipes exiting greenhouses and it registers the amount of contamination. The National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and the Productschap Tuinbouw (the Dutch horticulture branch organisation) had ask ed for a monitoring system of this kind to improve the quality of research looking at how agriculture impacts the quality of surface water. Until now, there was no easy way of measuring levels of pollutants exiting an agricultural drain or discharge pipe with the discharge water. The Flow-Cap ensures that a xed proportion of the total discharge ows through a SorbiCell. This SorbiCell, which has been patented by Sorbisense, records the amount of the target substance and the size of the water ow. The SorbiCell is analysed in the laboratory to determine the pollutant load during the installation period. The monitoring system does not use any electricity, and installation and removal are straightforward so it is easy to use in numerous locations.

The Flow-Cap allows for a clearer picture of the impact of agriculture on the quality of surface water.

PHOTO: DELTARES

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

REDUCING CONSTRUCTION COSTS FOR OFFSHORE WIND PARKS

Wind turbines at sea could be much cheaper. The members of the Joint Industry Project Wave Impact on Fixed Turbines (JIP WiFi) are convinced that cost reductions are achievable. The design rules currently used to determine the impact of breaking waves on the turbines are very conservative. The thinking is that improving design guidelines and establishing a clearer picture of the interaction between the turbines and the maximum wave load can cut material costs by 10 per cent. Deltares has organised scale tests to study this idea, with researchers taking a highly detailed look at the impact of steep and breaking waves on the pile structure. The study will also involve an examination of the role played by currents and bed morphology. The information generated by the study will make a better assessment of the risks possible, and allow for improvements in the design rules so that designers and builders of oshore wind turbines can optimise their designs. The results will be made available to the participants during the course of 2014. The data will be made public two years after the JIP nishes.

DELTA MODEL 1.1 AVAILABLE

December saw the release of the new version (1.1) of the Delta Model developed by Deltares for use in the Delta Programme. The Delta Model can be used to calculate the impact of long-term policy strategies in the eld of water management and to study the eects in other areas such as agriculture, shipping and nature. In this way, it helps policymakers to take the right long-term decisions in the context of the Delta Programme. A number of new functionalities have been added to version 1.0, such as the generation of extra model output for eect modules and a workow for the accelerated simulation of time series.

HELPING WITH CLIMATE ADAPTATION

Government authorities, community organisations and commercial parties are anticipating the impacts of climate change. They often do this by developing adaptive strategies and interventions. However, this is just half the story: implementation is the next step. In practice, all sorts of organisational diculties can emerge. That is why Deltares has teamed up with Alterra and Deltaplan Hoge Zandgronden as part of the Knowledge for climate research programme to develop a method that will support the implementation of climate adaptation measures. Flexibility, adaptive programming, participative monitoring and policy arrangements are the key words here. For more information: info@deltares.nl Additional reports on www.deltares.nl

PHOTO: DELTARES

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

DUTCH APPROACH GOES GLOBAL

Bring in the Dutch is a cry that is often heard when countries have problems with water management. But what does the Dutch approach involve? Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen of Infrastructure and the Environment explains. She is a minister with a passion for water. It has made the Netherlands what it is today, and made us what we are.
BY CARMEN BOERSMA

he Netherlands is located in a low-lying delta. We have already been battling water for 800 years. Sixty per cent of our country is ood-prone. That area is home to 9 million people, and it is where we generate 70% of our income. Over the centuries, we have learned to adapt to life in the Delta, and we have transformed our unique location on the coast, with four major international rivers owing through the country, into a strength.

working in ood protection in countries that include Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Colombia and Mozambique.

Integrated approach

International signicance

The Netherlands has a lot of expertise and experience with all types of water issues, from drinking water to ood defences, and from governments to spatial planning, particularly in densely-populated deltas. And so Dutch water and delta technology is in the international top. Our innovations in dike construction, ood warnings, recovering raw materials and energy from wastewater, or monitoring drinking water systems using new communications technologies - cell phones, Internet or satellite information to map out water use and weather patterns - have had a major international impact. Dutch water companies are currently active in 73 countries in a range of elds. For example, we are

Ongoing protection

The benet of this integrated approach is that we can provide ongoing protection after a thorough analysis of the context; we are often thinking 50 years ahead. However, that also means that the

PHOTO: GUUS SCHOONEWILLE

Here in the Netherlands, we have always been good at major international infrastructure that keeps out the water. But our thinking about ood protection has - rightly - changed. The Dutch delta approach is an integrated one, which includes not only preventive measures (such as the construction of ood defences) but also natural, economic and spatial developments. Technology is not the only solution. Technology, sustainability and the combination of recreation, economy and housing must be integrated: we can create more room for rivers through the construction of secondary channels, for example, or locate dikes further away from the rivers rather than conning rivers more and more. In that way, we reduce ood risks and give nature more opportunities.

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

Netherlands has less of a tendency to oer quick x solutions in other countries. We are thorough, but we also ask for major investments in terms of time and money. The Netherlands cannot bring in bags of money like China or South Korea. I am proud of the Dutch delta approach: an integrated, long-term approach in combination with measures for the short term. This appeals to other countries. The Netherlands is working with countries including Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh on an integrated delta approach of this kind.

who had to manage the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. The Netherlands can also learn a lot from dry regions. The lack of fresh water is an insidious, emerging problem in the Netherlands. As a delta with a lot of water, the Netherlands has had less experience with this problem.

Dangerous

Live dikes

Innovations are essential to tackle the world's water challenges. That also applies to the Netherlands. Safe living in a delta requires ongoing maintenance and investment in new, smart solutions. In the Netherlands, investments for the long term in this area have been anchored in the Delta Fund. With the Delta Programme, we are thinking 50 years ahead. Recent interesting innovations include "Building with Nature" solutions such as the Sand Motor near Kijkduin, or planting willows to protect dikes from the waves. Another revolutionary development is our approach to monitoring dike strength with various Live Dikes.

I have a passion for water. It has made the Netherlands what it is today, and made us what we are. It is an essentially Dutch issue, and our centuries of experience and expertise are unique in the world. Sixty per cent of the Netherlands would be ooded if we did not work hard on prevention. The fact that so few Dutch people know that is remarkable, and dangerous. For me, one of my major challenges is to raise water-awareness in my country. After all, we will be safer if we know what to do when there is an emergency.

International challenge

Learning from others

The Netherlands has a lot of expertise and experience but we can also learn from other countries. We have a lot to oer when it comes to ood prevention. But other countries can teach us a lot about how to manage the eects of oods. I have, for example, learnt a lot from my colleagues in the United States,

There is an important challenge at the international level, too. Water issues - too much, too little and too dirty - are becoming increasingly pressing at the planetary level. We must ensure that this issue gets the international attention it merits. That is why I am in favour of new international action on global water issues. This may involve a special programme involving the United Nations, or another body where we can bring together international funding and manpower. I don't think the form is important, but action is denitely needed. It is our social duty to use our knowledge to help other countries.

PHOTO: GUUS SCHOONEWILLE

On 18 September 2013, Minister Schultz van Haegen visited Deltares in Delft for the ocial opening of the new Tetra building.

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

Building with Nature

Interest in building with nature is on the rise worldwide. That is not surprising. In ever more densely-populated coastal, delta and river areas, demand for ood protection is increasing as a result of developments such as sea-level rise and land subsidence. At the same time, the inhabitants of these areas want their living environment to be sustainable. Twinning hydraulic infrastructure and natural landscapes would seem to represent the ideal combination. Even so, building with nature has not yet been applied on a wide scale. In fact, nature is still frequently sacriced for hard infrastructure. Why is this? What are the obstacles? And above all: how can we make the most of rising enthusiasm for building with nature?

DOSSIER

PHOTO: CORBIS

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DOSSIER BUILDING WITH NATURE

ALLIANCE OF ENGINEERS AND EC

Building with nature generates numerous benets. Even so, hard infrastructure still dominates ood protection. Why? And how can we get away from this reex approach?
BY CARMEN BOERSMA

G
Underestimated

These factors mean that people are now open to the idea of, and even enthusiastic about, using natural landscapes for ood protection. Even so, hard infrastructure still dominates. Bregje van Wesenbeeck, an ecologist specialising in eco-engineering, explains why. Eco-engineering has a lot of benets. It can cut construction costs, it takes CO2 out of the atmosphere, it makes the surroundings greener and generates extra revenue from things like tourism or water treatment. Even though more and more people throughout the world are starting to understand the benets and even though interest in the role of ecosystems in ood protection is on the increase, many people still underestimate the benets that the ecosystem can deliver. As a result, those benets are not included in the design process for hydraulic infrastructure or in social cost-benet analysis. In fact,

nature is often destroyed without thinking about the role it can play in the design.

Rich dike

To get out of this conundrum, Bregje van Wesenbeeck thinks eco-engineering should be part of the design process and that engineers and ecologists should work together more. Ecologists should be involved from the very outset of the design process for water engineering projects, she argues. Eco-engineering is, generally speaking, an option in all circumstances: urban or nonurban settings, large or small spaces. Even in urban areas where only hard solutions are possible, ecological options are feasible. Take the "rich dike" approach, in which the foot of the dike is shaped so that vegetation can grow on it.

PHOTO: SAM RENTMEESTER

oing against the ow of centuries of experience with building dikes is not easy. People put a lot of trust in hard engineering infrastructure. As a result, introducing an innovative concept to ood protection is far from straightforward, but current conditions seem to favour 'building with nature'. Worldwide, people are migrating to cities in coastal, delta and river areas. It is precisely these areas that are most aected by climate change, land subsidence and sea-level rise. So safety is a major issue. It has to be reconciled with intensive demand for sustainable and habitable places to live. Constantly raising dikes is not an approach that can continue to rely on automatic support, and we need to consider alternative ways of improving ood protection.

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

11

OLOGISTS HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE

admittedly building up fast: we are moving in the right direction but we still need to develop a lot of knowledge. One of the things we don't know enough about is system turning points: when does the foreland erode and when does it accrete? A lot of research is still needed. Natural defences are designed dierently but, ultimately, we still want to be able to test them in the same way as traditional infrastructure. So we are working hard on drafting standard rules and guidelines for design, construction and management. Trust in natural defences is not something that develops naturally. Establishing these guidelines will involve a lot of measurements and modelling, and a lot of projects are in progress, both in Europe and elsewhere. Strategic alliances are also being established to boost our knowledge base quickly.

Management

Bregje believes that most added value can be generated by synergetic solutions. Traditional engineering techniques such as building clay dikes or dams can be combined with ecosystem conservation or recovery. One example has resulted in the restoration of many kilometres of mangrove forests on the coast of Vietnam, saving millions of dollars every year on the maintenance of the dikes in the hinterland. We are now implementing the same approach in Indonesia: soft measures adapted to the system in order to prevent coastal erosion and bring back mangroves.

Management is also a challenge because it works dierently than with hard infrastructure. Nature is dynamic, and it is constantly developing, explains Bregje. To a certain extent, we can predict the dynamics and that can help, for example, when deciding about monitoring frequencies for a particular area. It is essential for management to be tailored in the light of monitoring results. We already have a lot of experience in this area for sandy coastlines and we are now learning more about how to work with other systems. Risk management is also developing: we have picked up very extensive experience in this eld working on traditional solutions like dikes and dams. We can also use those methods with more natural dike types.
CV

Challenge

Bregje recognises that eco-engineering still faces numerous challenges. The knowledge base is

Bregje van Wesenbeeck (The Hague, 1976) is an ecologist whose doctorate focused on the dynamic behaviour of salt marshes. As a specialist in eco-engineering, she has worked on projects throughout the world and she plays a pioneering role in this eld. She participates in international expert groups and platforms, and publishes regularly on eco-engineering in leading scientic magazines. Bregje has been working for Deltares since 2007

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DOSSIER BUILDING WITH NATURE

THREE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MANAGERS

Managers are embracing building with nature. Improving ood protection in combination with the preservation or restoration of ecological values ts in with the trend of increased sustainability in the habitat. But policy declarations have not always been enough to get eco-engineering o the ground. Three suggestions for transforming good intentions into tangible results.

FROM AMBITION TO PRACTICAL EXECUTION:

ORGANISE THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS

Building with nature means combining ood protection with the preservation or restoration of ecological values. Nature and ood protection are two dierent policy areas that are housed with dierent administrative institutions. That means that they are managed by dierent people, with their own policy objectives and separate sources of funding. To get eco-engineering o the ground successfully, the managers of the various policy elds will have to get together and implement joint action. Devising projects that serve multiple goals - protection and nature - is useful in that respect, bringing together regulatory institutions, linking separate ows of funding and therefore facilitating decision-making.

COMBINE TECHNOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL EXPERTISE

Flood protection is often designed by engineers, who have adopted traditional, hard infrastructure as the guiding principle for many years. If eco-engineering is to succeed, ecologists must be involved in the design process. They are familiar with the ecosystem and can, depending on the local situation, identify opportunities. Ecological expertise is also important in the decision-making process. Standards are already in place for traditional hydraulic infrastructure. Eco-engineering is a relatively new concept, and so levels of robustness and ecacy are more dicult to assess. Ecologists can contribute to the required expertise, and this can enhance levels of support.

FURTHER A CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION

Eco-engineering is a dynamic and exible concept in which development is predictable but never entirely certain. Eco-engineering requires constant monitoring and agreements about how to manage this information, and who should take what action, and when. Management has to be organised dierently than it would be for hard infrastructure. WHAT IS THE DELTARES ROLE? Eco-engineering requires a dierent approach to governance than traditional hydraulic infrastructure. Deltares identies the technological and ecological expertise required during the governance process to make success more probable in both the design and the management phases. Deltares has acted as a consultant on projects in, for example, the Netherlands, Europe and Singapore. For more information: stephanie.janssen@deltares.nl

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

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Earning models make eco-engineering more successful

A lot of hard work is going into the development of a range of earning models for eco-engineering. That will make it possible to decide, for a particular location, what value the concept has, and for whom. This is a good way of generating support but it also makes clear who will be prepared to invest in a concept.
BY CARMEN BOERSMA

n earning model sounds very businesslike. It is not something we tend to associate with a concept like eco-engineering, where social values like ood protection and ecology predominate. Even so, an earning model for eco-engineering has proved necessary. In some countries, eco-engineering projects got bogged down after enthusiastic starts. Researchers found that ecoengineering is bound to fail in some places unless the local economic impact is taken into account. Mangroves An example is the restoration of mangrove forests, which are disappearing rapidly in many countries. This represents a major setback for the ecological system, but natural coastal protection is also disappearing. As a result, there is considerable enthusiasm worldwide, particularly among environmental organisations, about restoring our mangrove forests and a large number of projects have been launched. However, these projects are unlikely to be successful if they lack the support of the local population. For them, cutting down mangrove forest is a source of income because the prawn and sh ponds that replace the forests, or the associated charcoal production, generate employment.

Restoring the forests can threaten their livelihoods. So successful restoration depends on explaining how they can exploit the mangrove forests sustainably and how restoration can be reconciled with making money. Economic viability Maaike van Aalst, a researcher with Deltares: Taking the economic interests of the local population into account makes it more likely that eco-engineering will be successful. That is why it is so important to think in terms of earning models. It allows you to identify the value of the concept, who it helps, and what they can earn from it. Eco-engineering is more likely to be successful when it is also economically viable. That sounds very businesslike but it is actually about dening the social relevance of a project. An earning model also makes it clear which private investors will nd the concept appealing, an important aspect now that many governments are tightening the purse strings. This is an interesting tool, particularly for companies who want to make socially responsible investments. It gives them a better picture of the return on their investment. For more information: maaike.vanaalst@deltares.nl

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DOSSIER BUILDING WITH NATURE

EXAMPLES OF 'BUILDING WITH NATURE

Building with nature comes in many shapes and forms. In principle, it is feasible anywhere: urban or non-urban settings, rivers or coasts, large or small spaces...

4. Eco-concrete

Modern concrete is becoming much smoother, and so it is much less amenable as a habitat for many marine animals that like hard sub-surfaces. Eco-concrete can be a solution. It has a special texture that allows organisms such as algae, seaweed, periwinkles and mussels to colonise it more easily. A pilot study has shown that ecoconcrete with a rough surface will be covered much more quickly by algae than smooth concrete and that mussels and periwinkles prefer it. On top of the ecological benets, eco-concrete also makes water cleaner and clearer because the mussel colonies lter the water.

1. Pile hula

Concrete columns, which are found in many ports, are very useful for what we have called pile hulas. These are nylon strips that look like Hawaiian skirts when they are attached to columns and piles. In almost no time, they are colonised by mussels, barnacles and a range of algae. A pilot study in Rotterdam harbour showed that an average of 8.5 times more biomass is found on the pile hulas than on ordinary piles. These shellsh also improve water quality because they lter the water to collect food.

2. Pontoon hula

This is a variation on the pile hula. It is a oating structure made from PVC that can be used in harbours. Ropes hang down from it that, as with a pile hula, are rapidly colonised by a range of organisms that lter the water and improve water quality. Trials in the Delta Flume at Deltares have shown that the pontoon hulas are also excellent structures for damping reection waves in harbours.

3. Rich dike

Simple and cheap changes to hard structures like dikes, piers and dams can be used to retain water in higherlying parts of intertidal areas, resulting in an enormous boost for local biodiversity. This makes it possible to create pools at the foot of the dike without aecting ood prevention. Birds and other marine animals feed on the organisms in the pools, which also enhance the recreational and educational value of the area.

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

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6. Forebanks

River forebanks with vegetation break waves. Fields with willows in front of dikes mitigate wave impacts and so the dike does not need to be as high. Studies have shown that a strip of willows one hundred metres wide can reduce the height of onemetre-high waves by 80%. Dikes protected in this way can be much lower and they can be covered in clay rather than rock. So introducing vegetation to forebanks can prevent expensive dike upgrades and also enhance the natural and recreational value of these areas.

7. Sand Motor

Sand replenishment can be combined with natural forces to maintain a sandy coastline and protect the hinterland from ooding. 2011 saw the launch of the pilot study the Sand Motor between the Hook of Holland and The Hague. It will look at the ecacy of mega-replenishment. This sustainable approach requires less sand and gives the ecosystem more time (approximately 30 years) to recover. The Sand Motor is a at sand bank containing a dune lake. The excess sand is gradually distributed by the currents and tides, and the lake provides additional natural diversity. That maintains the natural coastal defences, and provides more openings for nature and recreation. If the mega-replenishment principle works, it can also be used in other locations.

PHOTO: DIRK HOL

PHOTO: RIJKSWATERSTAAT

5. Oyster reef

Instead of using hard structures like breakwaters made from rock or concrete blocks, we can also introduce natural elements like shellsh that form reefs and mitigate erosion. Three large synthetic oyster reefs were built in 2010 in the Eastern Scheldt. The reefs are nongalvanised steel cages lled with the shells of dead oysters. It has been found that new oysters colonise the reefs quickly and that the amount of sludge behind the reef increases. The iron cage soon rusts away and the oysters then provide the required stability. Laboratory measurements have demonstrated that the structures damp waves in shallow water. Similar techniques have been used in the United States to restore oyster reefs on a large scale.

Mangrove forests are natural coastal defences and valuable ecosystems. Even so, they are rapidly being lost worldwide, particularly to make room for sh ponds. Traditional hard structures are being built to oset the resulting coastal erosion and to improve coastal protection. However, on muddy terrain, these structures are neither sustainable nor eective because they subside so quickly. As a result, a range of pilot projects have been launched to restore mangrove forests. Coastal erosion can be prevented by, for example, building berm structures from natural materials in front of the coast, catching sediment and restoring the natural conditions in which mangrove forests can grow again, and protecting the coast once again in a natural way. The valuable ecosystem can also recover.

8. Mangroves

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

For more applications and cost/benet analyses, see 'Ecoengineering in the Netherlands. Soft interventions with a solid impact', published by Deltares and Rijkswaterstaat: http://www.deltares.nl/en/expertise/919492/ ecology/1457099

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THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL DIKE NOW

Houses are built close to dikes to make the most of space in cities.

Buildings

Sheep and cows can graze on the foreshore and there is room for recreation.

Foreshore

The houses have been built next to the dike because of the access road. So there is limited room to strengthen the dike. The only options are structural measures or the demolition of the houses.

Dike houses

Roads allow trac to ow in cities.

Road

The primary function of dikes is to prevent ooding. But for centuries, they have also had other functions. Sheep graze on them and they are used for recreational activities. Houses are built alongside them and we also build roads on them. Sea-level rise, increased river discharge, land subsidence and new standards mean that ood protection needs to be improved in many areas. However, upgrading ood defences frequently gives rise to public opposition. Local people fear that the quality of their living environment will be adversely aected. This constitutes a major challenge for local managers.

DIKE FUNCTIONS

 AND IN THE FUTURE

The robust upgrading of a dike makes it possible to build closer to the water.

Closer to the water

Widening the foreshore creates a more attractive recreational area. There is more room for nature development and facilities for leisure activities are possible.

Wide foreshore

The willows growing on the foreshore break the waves and so the dike does not need to be so high. An additional layer on the dike makes it possible to build houses on it.

Stronger foreshore

New and old houses on and beside the strengthened dike can be built on jack-up lines in order to meet the challenges of the future. Should climate change or other standards make it necessary, they can be jacked up to allow the dike to be strengthened.

Jack-up houses

Green areas can be planted to replace the road, upgrade natural value and extend recreational opportunities in towns. More green areas are also a good way of counteracting heat stress, and they ensure better drainage of excess rainwater.

City park

Building the road in the dike instead of on top of it creates space for a city park. The outer wall of the tunnel is strengthened, and it keeps out the water.

Road in the dike

The answer to this challenge is a more creative approach to the opportunities aorded by dikes. It is precisely when we make our ood defences stronger and wider that we can do much more than the simple, familiar things that we have been doing for centuries. This makes it possible to kill two birds with one stone: ood protection can be improved for the long term and broad public support can be achieved as the quality of the living environment will improve signicantly.
DELTARES/DESIGN: FRDRIK RUYS

CREATIVE USE OF DIKES

The tunnel provides access to an underground car park in the dike.

Car park

Innovative, multifunctional dikes can cope with future challenges and they ensure that we make the most of the available space, which is at a premium in delta areas. More space becomes available for recreational and residential purposes, both in urban and rural areas. Dikes are no longer barriers. They become part of the living environment, restoring the links with nature and water that so many local residents wish to see. For more information: ellen.tromp@deltares.nl

USING LAND TEMPORARILY IN SUSTAINABLE WAYS

Delta areas are densely-populated and there is often a lot of competition for the available space. Even so, land can also be left unused in these areas. Sometimes because there are no alternatives: there may be plans to use the land to mitigate the impact of climate change but, in recent years, building projects have also been postponed as a result of the current economic crisis. Whatever the cause may be, local residents nd it dicult to accept derelict sites. Using the land temporarily for other purposes can often be a solution. How can we do this sustainably?
BY DIMMIE HENDRIKS

PHOTO: HOLLANDSE HOOGTE

DELTARES , JANUARY 2014

19

limate change means that the future for delta areas is uncertain: more peak discharges in the rivers and rising sea levels, but also more frequent, long periods of drought. We know that we can expect ever more extreme weather conditions but it is still not clear how quickly the changes will take place. Uncertainty about the climate in the future makes it dicult for administrators to take denite decisions, particularly long-term decisions. To prevent ooding and water scarcity in the future, government authorities in deltas are already setting land aside. Public anger However, until climate change actually becomes manifest, that land will remain unused. Bonne van der Veen (a management scientist with Deltares) believes that this could lead to public anger in densely-populated deltas. It is dicult to explain to local residents that land for residential areas may be left derelict for another 40 years because the building plans have been cancelled. So it is important for land to be put to good use in the interim. Despite complex legislation and regulations in Western countries, that is certainly a possibility. Bonne van der Veen was closely involved in the development of the Temporary Changes in Land Use concept in the Netherlands. The focus is on land set aside by Rijkswaterstaat to oset the impact of climate change. In cities in many other countries, this approach has already been in use for some time where building plans have been postponed or cancelled as a result of the economic crisis. Sustainability Land can be put to a variety of temporary uses. A sustainable approach can kill two birds with one stone, helping to achieve environmental objectives and respond to public concern. A ne example of a sustainable approach in a rural area is the construction of the Kreekraksluizen wind farm. Land has been put aside near the Kreekrak Locks for the construction of a third lock, anticipating the projected increase in shipping levels through the Scheldt-Rhine Canal. The land will be left unused for at least 15 years and so the project developer E-Connection built a wind farm in consultation with Rijkswaterstaat. The permit for the project states that

the wind farm will be in place for a limited amount of time. This provides Rijkswaterstaat with the guarantee that the land will remain available for the construction of the third lock and a clause has also been included stating that Rijkswaterstaat can reclaim the land earlier if the third lock is needed earlier than expected. If this happens, the project developer will receive compensation for the lost income. In this way, the country can benet nancially from supplying land temporarily and the company can produce sustainable energy over a considerable period of time. Solar energy Another example of sustainable temporary use is the construction of a 23-hectare solar farm on the site of the planned XL Business Park in Almelo. The downturn in the economy has led to the postponement of development here. But instead of becoming an abandoned site, it is now home to the largest solar farm in the Netherlands. This has allowed the owner of the land to oset his interest expenses and the sustainable side of the temporary arrangement is expected to attract more sustainable companies, which is a helpful spin-o for the town of Almelo. A similar approach is the temporary planting of elephant grass on a stretch of land owned by a housing corporation in Rotterdam. Despite the postponement of building plans, the housing corporation wants to keep the land in use. Elephant grass is a rapidly-growing crop that can be used to make sustainable products such as bre board, bioconcrete or bioplastic. Temporary nature In other locations, derelict land is being temporarily used to host nature. A good example is the Dudzeelse polder in Belgium, near the port of Zeebrugge. This former agricultural area will become part of the port in 2030. Until then, the abandoned Dudzeelse polder will be developed from agricultural land into brackish grassland. It will then act as a wildlife area in which pioneering ora and fauna will develop and spread through Belgium and the Netherlands. When the Dudzeelse polder becomes part of the harbour, nature will be introduced to other areas in the vicinity to compensate. The pioneering species in the Dudzeelse polder will then accelerate nature development in these areas.

TEMPORARY CHANGES IN LAND USE

With Rijkswaterstaat and the CURNET alliance, Deltares was one of the spiritual fathers of this approach in the Netherlands. The result was a tool for spatial planning processes involving temporary changes in land use, and an earning model for business. The Opportunities Map for Temporary Changes in Land Use Delta Programme from Rijkswaterstaat and Deltares went online recently. Deltares is also involved in international initiatives. The Seeds project is studying ways of involving the public and engaging in best practices. FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.seeds-project.com bonne.vanderveen@deltares.nl

20

DELTARES, DELTARES, JANUARY JANUARY 2014 2014

THE CONCEALED STRENGTH OF CORAL

The global tourist appeal of coral is well known. People are less aware that coral has an important role to play in coastal protection and freshwater supplies. Recently, an approach was developed that allows us to calculate how valuable that role is: it can be as much as one million euros per square kilometre annually. This should be kept in mind before coral disappears completely as a result of climate change, sewage discharges or harbour construction. Coral is disappearing extremely quickly.

BY MARCEL MARCHAND

pproximately 30 per cent of marine coasts are reef coasts. The species-rich and productive coral reefs are tourist attractions in many tropical locations, and so they generate considerable indirect revenue. But coral does more than this. Throughout the world, approximately 500 million people benet from healthy coral in one way or another. The very existence of approximately 30 million people depends on coral. Most of these people live on low-lying coral islands or atolls. Reef destruction here not only leads to more coastal erosion, it can also aect freshwater supplies in the ground. When that happens, all the local inhabitants can do is emigrate. Expensive measures Coral also protects the coast by damping waves and currents. All this means that coral can represent a value of no less than one million euros per square kilometre annually, simply because expensive, manmade coastal protection is not needed. So there are good reasons to protect the coral. Even so, this natural breakwater is faring badly. It is only when the coral has gone that it becomes clear how fast the coast can erode, requiring expensive measures such as sand replenishment and sea defences. In time It recently became possible to determine the importance of particular stretches of coral for coasts by using Deltares computer models to calculate the impact that these often unpredictable structures have on waves and currents. In this way, the role that a coral reef plays in coastal protection can be mapped out for any given stretch of coast. Ap van Dongeren, a coastal expert with

Deltares, explains how everything started a number of years ago. At that time, researchers from Stanford University in the United States were able to access Delft3D as part of the open-source agreement between Deltares and the American Navy. Stanford used the Delft3D to model complex circulation patterns in the reef surrounding Hawaii. The doctorate student working on that project, Ryan Lowe, moved on to become a professor in Australia, where he conducted eld trials on the Ningaloo reef, demonstrating how important long waves are. Ap van Dongeren was involved in the subsequent validation of the XBeach model using those data, and supplementary scale trials were conducted at Deltares. This resulted in important insights about the currents that distribute sediments, nutrients and larvae on and around the reef. Coral restoration There are benets for both sides: the new data make it possible to measure how much coral reefs mitigate wave energy and how this contributes to coastal protection. The process knowledge is also very important for the health of the coral itself. Victor Langenberg, an ecologist and coral expert: Coral reefs establish their own foundations and there is a delicate balance between their growth and the physical conditions that allow them to survive in a highly dynamic coastal environment. Integrating this physical and ecological knowledge makes it possible to deliver customised consultancy, not only to coastal managers but also to dredging companies and hydraulic engineers, allowing the coral to be protected as well as possible and, where necessary, restored. For more information: ap.vandongeren@deltares.nl

PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

21

21
Designs tested to scale in the Deltares research facilities.

OPTIMISATION OF DESIGN FOR UNDERWATER SCREENS

RESEARCHER PEPIJN VAN DER VEN MONITORING EQUIPMENT THE FRESH WATER IS PUMPED UP FROM THE CELLAR FLOW OF FRESH WATER TO THE WATER SCREEN

THE WATER FLOW WHEN THE WATER SCREEN IS OPEN IS, IN REALITY, 400-700 L/S PER SECTION. THE MAXIMUM FLOW THROUGH THE SCREEN IN THE SCALE MODEL IS 200 L/S

AN EMS METER IS USED TO MEASURE WHETHER THE WATER FLOW RATE IS UNIFORM OVER THE FULL WIDTH OF THE SCREEN THE WATER SCREEN (DRAWN IN RED) IN THIS ARRAY IS BELOW THE WATERFALL; IN REALITY, IT IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LOCK

PHOTO: DIRK HOL

IN REALITY, THE LOCK IS 9 METRES WIDE AND THE WATER SCREEN CONSISTS OF TWO SECTIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE TEST, ONE SECTION WAS BUILT TO A SCALE OF 1:2 (2.2 METERS WIDE)

THE TEST WATER FLOWS INTO THE CONTAINER, THEN THROUGH THE DRAIN ON THE RIGHT ON ITS WAY TO THE CELLAR

DRAIN THAT CATCHES THE WATER OVERFLOW FROM THE CONTAINER

alt intrusion is a major problem in denselypopulated deltas. Bubble screens can be positioned at the bottom of a lock to counteract this problem. A curtain of bubbles prevents the water on either side of the lock from mingling too much when the lock is open and this reduces the amount of salt water that gets through to the land side of the lock. The eect of the bubble screen can be enhanced by installing a water screen alongside it. The second screen injects fresh water at pressure, further reducing salt

intrusion: the mingling of salt and fresh water is reduced by 85 per cent in this way. Rijkswaterstaat asked Deltares to test the design for the planned water screen in one of the two Krammersluis yacht locks (in the Eastern Scheldt) and to work out the correct internal geometry. This results in the water owing out in a uniform pattern across the entire width of the screen, something that is crucial to achieve the optimal eect. The water screen will be installed in the lock in April, and tested from April to October.

22
Designs tested to scale in the Deltares research facilities.

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

OPTIMISATION OF DESIGN FOR UNDERWATER SCREENS

RESEARCHER PEPIJN VAN DER VEN MONITORING EQUIPMENT THE FRESH WATER IS PUMPED UP FROM THE CELLAR FLOW OF FRESH WATER TO THE WATER SCREEN

THE WATER FLOW WHEN THE WATER SCREEN IS OPEN IS, IN REALITY, 400-700 L/S PER SECTION. THE MAXIMUM FLOW THROUGH THE SCREEN IN THE SCALE MODEL IS 200 L/S

AN EMS METER IS USED TO MEASURE WHETHER THE WATER FLOW RATE IS UNIFORM OVER THE FULL WIDTH OF THE SCREEN THE WATER SCREEN (DRAWN IN RED) IN THIS ARRAY IS BELOW THE WATERFALL; IN REALITY, IT IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LOCK

PHOTO: DIRK HOL

IN REALITY, THE LOCK IS 9 METRES WIDE AND THE WATER SCREEN CONSISTS OF TWO SECTIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE TEST, ONE SECTION WAS BUILT TO A SCALE OF 1:2 (2.2 METERS WIDE)

THE TEST WATER FLOWS INTO THE CONTAINER, THEN THROUGH THE DRAIN ON THE RIGHT ON ITS WAY TO THE CELLAR

DRAIN THAT CATCHES THE WATER OVERFLOW FROM THE CONTAINER

alt intrusion is a major problem in denselypopulated deltas. Bubble screens can be positioned at the bottom of a lock to counteract this problem. A curtain of bubbles prevents the water on either side of the lock from mingling too much when the lock is open and this reduces the amount of salt water that gets through to the land side of the lock. The eect of the bubble screen can be enhanced by installing a water screen alongside it. The second screen injects fresh water at pressure, further reducing salt

intrusion: the mingling of salt and fresh water is reduced by 85 per cent in this way. Rijkswaterstaat asked Deltares to test the design for the planned water screen in one of the two Krammersluis yacht locks (in the Eastern Scheldt) and to work out the correct internal geometry. This results in the water owing out in a uniform pattern across the entire width of the screen, something that is crucial to achieve the optimal eect. The water screen will be installed in the lock in April, and tested from April to October.

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

23
Alliance between Deltares and industry produces innovative techniques and creates new market opportunities for business.

KNOWLEDGE IN OPERATION

Using biosealing in the Danube dike in Austria.

BIOSEALING
soil, gradually sealing the leak. BioSealing is a sustainable and cheap alternative to traditional methods, such as grouting or chemical injection, for sealing leaks on site. The BioSealing Joint Industry Project was initiated recently to answer the latest research questions relating to the technology. On the basis of laboratory tests and practical cases, the project will study possible improvements. Once this research has been completed, it will be time for a major market launch for the new technology.

n 2008, BioSealing was still very much in the research stage; it is now a technology that is being put into practice successfully by a range of companies. Deltares supplied the know-how and a number of companies who saw the market potential were prepared to invest in the system and test it. BioSealing is a new technology for sealing underground leaks, for example in dams, dikes and tunnels. Nutrients are injected into the soil close to a suspected leak, stimulating the growth of soil bacteria. This drastically reduces the permeability of the

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Nutrients are injected into the ground near the leak. This stimulates the growth of the soil bacteria, resulting in a major reduction in the permeability of the soil and gradually sealing o the leak.

BLOCKED WATERFLOW

PORE CLOGGING

SOIL PARTICLE

The parties involved in the BioSealing JIP are: Sireg (Italy), Zuckerforschung Tulln (ZFT) (Austria), BioClear (Netherlands), Texplor (Benelux), Avebe (Netherlands), Zblin Spezialtiefbau (Austria), Volker Staal en Funderingen (VSF) (Netherlands), GEOtest (Czech Republic) and Deltares (Netherlands).

24

FROM BLACK BOX TO OVERVIEW

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

25

We have detailed maps showing structures at the ground level; but few towns have a clear picture of what is going on below the surface, even though that is actually quite important. A proper picture of the subsurface can be used to ensure that surface construction work does not damage cables and other mains systems. It can also help to plan subsurface activities more eciently. Technology is currently being developed to merge information about the ground level and the subsurface into a single three-dimensional digital map. The city of Rotterdam is involved in the project.
BY MATTHIJS SCHAAP

There is a lot of building activity in the city. In particular, the departure of many industries has resulted in all sorts of new construction opportunities in the middle of, or extending, existing buildings and infrastructure. The digital map will provide access to information about the subsurface infrastructure and allow project developers to build up a picture of the subsurface history of specic locations. This information can then be taken into account when planning new infrastructure. It has also been found that digging equipment is increasingly inicting damage on cables and other mains systems. That is an expensive business. With the digital map, the subsurface will no longer be a black box for contractors working in the city. Space at ground level in large cities is often scarce and so people are turning more and more to underground options. There are new opportunities for the underground storage of water and waste, but technologies such as Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) and thermal energy are also leading to a more intensive of the subsurface at ever-increasing depths. Bringing together the surface and subsurface in the digital map allows for the simple visualisation of all structures and the impact of any interventions. In this way, the subsurface can be structured more eciently.

Why is Rotterdam involved in the development of technology to merge information about the surface and subsurface in a single three-dimensional map?

Yes. Collecting all the data relating to surface construction projects and subsurface infrastructure and archaeology really is a massive task. A lot of data are in the hands of commercial organisations who are not wildly enthusiastic about sharing their information with others. This has led to the termination of some projects in the USA. However, the situation in Rotterdam is dierent. Like many Dutch cities, the city of Rotterdam has collected the surface data itself. In addition, the city also manages the subsurface data. Over the past 150 years, this information has been maintained and it has already been transferred from paper to digital archives. So the challenge for Rotterdam is simply one of merging the data. Cities that do not collect the surface and underground data themselves will face a bigger challenge and they will have to work together with the business sector.

Isn't the production of the map an enormous challenge?

The surface and underground data are merged in a three-dimensional digital map that the user can y around. A model developed in the Netherlands by TNO can describe the impact of new buildings and infrastructure on groundwater, noise levels and trac intensity, link houses and drains to the sewage system, connect electricity to buildings, and much more. In a simultaneous development, a serious game will be developed to train users to use the three-dimensional map. This game will also raise awareness in subsequent generations of the importance of the subsurface.

How does the three-dimensional map work?

In Rotterdam, the investment is not as large as might have been expected. The Rotterdam map is part of a European project and Europe is providing funding. But engineering rms also want to invest in the digital map so that they can also be involved early in the planning process. That allows them to use the map to help project developers and other parties involved.

Does a map of this kind require a major investment?

The project in Rotterdam is the rst step on the road to developing new technology that will allow this type of digital map to be used more widely. As well as the other European cities involved in the project, a number of cities in Asia and the Middle East are also interested. They have supplied experts to work on the project. For more information: roelof.stuurman@deltares.nl

How can other cities benet from this project, and how much interest is there?

26

Maximising the returns from the ATES system

Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage is a sustainable way of heating buildings in the winter and cooling them in the summer. It also cuts costs considerably. Heating bills can be reduced by up to 45 per cent and savings on cooling can be as much as 85 per cent. So it is not surprising that the number of ATES systems is rising rapidly, in the Netherlands and in other countries. Even so, shortfalls in expertise mean that many ATES systems are not performing as well as expected. Five tips for maximising the returns from Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage
BY JOACHIM ROZEMEIJER

Always conduct a borehole survey

Ecient aquifer thermal energy storage requires a permeable sand layer so that the groundwater can be pumped up without diculty. Less permeable layers can have an enormous negative impact on the eciency of the system. Many ATES designs are based on regional maps of the subsurface. That represents a risk because soil structures can vary depending on the particular locality. A straightforward borehole survey can provide clear information about the local conditions and maximise the eectiveness of an ATES system. Borehole surveys measure the electrical resistance of the soil over depth. Electrical resistance in permeable sand layers is much higher than in peat and clay. The layer where permeability is highest can be located without diculty by making a small investment, guaranteeing the optimal eciency of your ATES.

whether heat or cold from the subsurface is needed. A smarter approach is possible. Particularly on days when heating is needed in the morning and cooling in the afternoon. In these circumstances, it costs less energy to store the heat or cold above the ground for a while in a wellinsulated buer tank. Extra temperature measurements in the cold and warm stores and in buer tanks can be used in a smart, automated control system. A system of this kind can also retrieve information from the Internet (such as current energy prices or weather forecasts) and use it to control the ATES in the best way. An appealing extra: present the current saving calculated by your smart ATES system in euros and CO2 emissions on a screen at the entrance to the building.

Store some extra heat or cold

Just imagine a very warm day. The ATES system is pumping up groundwater with a temperature of approximately 10oC to cool your building. The groundwater passes through the heat exchanger and heats up to 20oC. The heated water goes back into the ground and the heat is stored for the winter. This is a missed opportunity. Getting some extra heat into

Make your ATES smart

Most ATES systems are quite stupid: the temperature in the building determines

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

27

the water before it goes back into the ground is straightforward. For example, you can let the sun heat it up in a pond or send it through solar boilers on the roof. The groundwater available in the winter will be warmer, and the savings on energy consumption and heating costs will be even higher. When the weather is cold, we can cool o the water even more before it goes back into the cold store, making cooling in the summer even cheaper.

Clean up the soil immediately

Old industrial soil contamination is still found in the subsurface in many urban locations. Clearing up all that contamination is often too expensive, but we do need to stop it spreading further. An ATES system can actually spread the contamination as it pumps groundwater up and down, and so the authorities may refuse permission. However, an ATES system also creates opportunities to clear up old contamination. The higher temperature of the groundwater around the warm store may, in specic conditions, accelerate bacteriological breakdown. The bacteria can be given an extra boost, for example by adding nutrients. Another option is to clean the water pumped up by the system before it goes back into the ground.

Keeping up with the neighbours

More and more ATES systems are being installed and this makes it more likely that dierent warm and cold circuits will interfere with one another. Warm water from a warm store may ow in the direction of a cold store. In your own system, this problem can be tackled quite easily, for example by storing warm and cold water in dierent sand layers. Things get more complicated if other systems nearby also aect the temperature of the groundwater beneath your building. In that case, the trick is to design the new system so that the return is not impaired, but actually enhanced, by the extra heat or cold from the neighbours. This requires detailed information about the structure of the subsurface and the impact of the dierent ATES systems on groundwater ows and groundwater temperature.

 HOW DOES AQUIFER THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE WORK?

ATES systems pump up warm groundwater in the winter. The heat is transferred to the heating system in the building through a heat exchanger. The cooled groundwater then goes back through another well to the cold store. In the summer, that cold water is actually pumped back up to cool the building. The number of ATES systems is on the rise throughout the world. The Netherlands currently has approximately 2,000 operational ATES systems, and this number is expected to increase to about 20,000 by 2020. Deltares experts are working on the optimisation of ATES systems, bringing together expertise about groundwater, subsurface structure, hydraulics, water quality and sustainable energy. For more information: wijb.sommer@deltares.nl

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DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

SOBEK 3.2
launched
SOBEK 3.2 came out last autumn. It comprises a number of improved modules from the present version of SOBEK, namely D-Flow Open Water, D-Rainfall Runo Open Water, D-Water Quality and D-Real Time Control. In these modules, the user interface, editing the area and the control model have got much faster and more user-friendly. SOBEK 3.2 is an important milestone in the Next Generation Hydro Software project, in which Deltares has been involved since 2011, working on the integration and improvement of its hydro software. The new, advanced software will allow water managers and modellers to do their work better, faster and cheaper. The strength of the new hydro software is to be found in the new computational core, which works extremely quickly and has a exible mesh, the user-friendly user interface and the open modelling environment that supports model coupling. The implementation of the new software will aect the work of the modellers who use it. So it will be introduced gradually. In the near future, modules will be available for morphology and ood simulation.

Brownelds are former industrial sites that have fallen derelict for various reasons.

Browneld Navigator

eltares is developing the Browneld Navigator (BFN) for the European HOMBRE project. The BFN is a software tool that helps policymakers to take decisions about the transformation of brownelds and to devise action plans. Brownelds are areas where industry has been located in the past and that have, for various reasons, fallen derelict. A range of social, economic and environmental factors make redevelopment dicult. Brownelds are found in old industrial areas, but also in urban environments and in former military or mining areas. The HOMBRE project focuses on the redevelopment of these sites. The Browneld Navigator is a support tool that can inform and inspire stakeholders. The BFN is used to structure that process, to provide information and instruments for each phase, and to deliver examples of successful innovation. The BFN will be tested in practice in the months to come. When HOMBRE comes to an end in late 2014, the results will be freely available.

29

D-Geo Pipeline

rewritten
The D-Geo Pipeline programme, which focuses on pipeline construction and is used extensively for horizontal directional drilling, has been rewritten to comply with the recent amendment to the NEN standard. Useful analysis tools have also been added for users. As international use of the programme has increased, calculations in accordance with the European Standard (EN) have now become possible. The standard design factors in the standard can now be varied, creating more opportunities for the optimisation of the design.

COMPANIES WANTED FOR JIP SAFETRENCH

Deltares aims to team up with other research institutes and the corporate sector to launch an international research project looking at adequate protection for undersea cables. The standards in place at present are relatively conservative and open to interpretation. By studying the question, Deltares hopes to establish, for each type of subsurface, specic standards that can be used as guidelines by the parties involved. It is expected that this will result in major savings for companies and make oshore energy more aordable. Deltares wants to conduct the research in the form of a Joint Industry Project (JIP) to be known as JIP Safetrench. A range of international research institutes have already expressed an interest in JIP Safetrench. Deltares is now looking for companies who wish to participate. The research will be of particular interest for owners of undersea cable networks such as windenergy companies, energy exporters and contractors. Local government authorities, who are involved in permit procedures, also have an interest and are welcome to participate. For more information: Haike van Lottum, haike.vanlottum@ deltares.nl

MorphAn 1.1 release

The release of MorphAn 1.1 means that we now have a software tool that can analyse and visualise data relating to sandy coasts in a fast and straightforward way. This makes it possible to monitor coastline development closely and allow coastal managers to intervene in time, for example in the form of beach replenishment when there is a threat to the hinterland. MorphAn can manage sandy coasts more precisely and more cost-eciently. The tool is being used in a range of projects in the Netherlands, but it is suitable for any sandy coast. It can be downloaded free of charge from morphan.deltares.nl. This site also hosts a user forum for exchanges of knowledge and experience. Deltares developed MorphAn for Rijkswaterstaat and STOWA. For more information about software: www.deltaressystems.nl

ALLIANCE WITH BRAZIL

Deltares and the Brazilian organisation CEMADEN are teaming up to improve forecasts of natural disasters such as oods and landslides. CEMADEN is the national centre in Brazil for monitoring and issuing warnings about natural disasters, and it answers to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. In recent years, ash oods have claimed hundreds of casualties. There were severe oods in early 2013, causing enormous ows of mud and debris in the cities. Joint eorts will focus initially on sharing knowledge about software models, and data management for early ood and landslide warnings. CEMADEN and Deltares will also be sharing their experience in the elds of ood risk management, governance and communications.

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DUTCH CHAIR OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION ON LAND SUBSIDENCE

Gilles Erkens, a specialist in land subsidence at Deltares, has been appointed as the rst chairman of the European Technical Committee on Land Subsidence. The committee was established during the last international geotechnical conference in Paris. It will include representatives from a range of European universities. As well as exchanges of knowledge, one of the main aims of the committee will be to get the issue of land subsidence higher on the political agenda. Despite the fact that land subsidence in many areas throughout the world is a more urgent problem than sea-level rise, it is still receiving little attention.

Deltares has a wide range of courses on oer. They can also be tailored to specic needs and/or organised on location. The following courses will be available in 2014:
Advanced course on Pressure Management and Pressure Transients in water distribution systems Basic course on settlement calculations with D-Settlement Basic and advanced course on 'Sheet piling design with D-Sheet Piling' 3D Modelling of groups of piles using D-Pile Group Delft3D basic course Designing and testing foundations using D-Foundations Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD); state-of-the-art developments Hydrodynamics of Piping Systems Dynamic Behaviour Hydrodynamics of Piping Systems Pumps and Appendages Isotach settlement calculations SWAN Advanced Course WANDA XBeach Basic and Advanced Course

AWARD FOR DIKE PATROL THESIS

Casper Harteveld has received the Simulation and Gaming Award in Germany for his thesis about the Deltares serious game, 'Dike Patrol'. Dike Patrol is used throughout the world to train dike inspectors. Casper Harteveld studied the impact of this serious game. The main conclusion of his thesis was that players of Dike Patrol knew signicantly more about identifying dike failure after playing the game and were able to report more eectively.

RISK-INFORMED MANAGEMENT OF EUROPEAN RIVER BASINS

A recent publication, Risk-Informed Management of European River Basins, introduces an approach that will allow water management authorities to make considerable improvements in the quality of their river basins, while also complying with many objectives in European regulations. Risk-informed management is based on three core principles used in combination. The rst is: be properly informed about the river basin. Use all the available knowledge to establish a picture of how the ecosystem works and the interaction with the social system. Secondly: use adaptive management. River systems are so complex that you cannot predict every development. So you should monitor the system continuously and adapt the management approach when necessary. Finally: get the maximum number of stakeholders from the river basin involved in management. They know a lot about the area and you should mobilise them as much as possible. Getting stakeholders involved also generates support for interventions. Concrete cases demonstrate how the approach works in practice.
Risk-Informed Management of European River Basins targets scientists, consultants and river management authorities. Authors: J. Brils et al. Published by: Springer. Price: hardcover 249, printed eBook 24.99. Ordering via: orders-ny@springer. com

For more information: http://www.deltares.nl/nl/academy/ cursusagenda Questions? academy@deltares.nl

DELTARES, JANUARY 2014

31
modelling. To achieve these objectives, Hylke Beck drew on large sets of monitoring data - which were available free from a number of international organisations - rather than focusing on case studies in relatively small, homogenous areas. It is now possible to identify robust general links that can be used in a range of living environments throughout the world. time, extremely high discharge rates comparable with those in the 1990s occurred at least ve times.

PHD'S
HARUN KURSAT ENGIN
TU Delft Supervisor: prof. ir. A.F. van Tol, co-supervisor: dr.ir. R. B. Brinkgreve

Modelling of the installation eects of driven piles - a numerical approach

The aim of this research was to estimate the installation eects of driven piles using numerical modelling. Harun Kursat Engin introduced a new technique to describe installation eects associated with driven piles without the need to simulate the installation process. The proposed method generates major benets in terms of calculation resources and time.

THORSTEN BALKE

Radboud Universteit Nijmegen Supervisors: prof. dr. P.M.J. Herman, prof. dr. E.L. Webb, co-supervisor: dr. T.J. Bouma

WILLEM OTTEVANGER

TU Delft Supervisors: prof.dr.ir. W.S.J. Uijttewaal, prof.dr.ir. H.J. de Vriend

LUCIANO RASO

TU Delft Supervisor: prof.dr.ir. N.C. van de Giesen (CiTG)

Optimal management of water systems with forecast uncertainties

The main uncertainty involved in the anticipatory regulation of open-water systems often results from the diculty of making adequate forecasts. This thesis looked at how existing forecasting approaches can be used to optimise regulation approaches and therefore to enhance robustness in the context of forecasting uncertainties. The algorithm developed by Luciano Raso, Tree-Based Model Predictive Control (TB-MPC), makes use of the information from the full range of weather forecasts.

The complexity of the ow, bed morphodynamics and bank stability, the related uncertainties in water and sediment motion, sediment properties and geotechnical properties of the banks, as well as the large time and length scales suggest that it is impossible to exactly predict the evolution of a meandering river. This study used and extended reduced-order models (by means of theory and detailed numerical models) obtained by depth- and cross-section averaging to predict the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic processes in meander bends.

Modelling and parameterizing the hydro- and morphodynamics of curved open channels

Mangrove forests protect the coastline. They are breeding grounds for sh and crustaceans, and home to a wide range of life. In recent decades, large stretches of mangrove forest have been lost, threatening coastlines and villages. Replanting and recovery proved to be more dicult than thought. Geographer/ecologist Thorsten Balke looked at how mangrove forests get established: how do seedlings reach the ats and what factors result in them growing into mangrove forests? He conducted his research in Singapore and New Zealand.

Establishment of biogeomorphological ecosystems. A study of pioneer vegetation in mangrove forests and salt marshes.

WILLEM TOONEN

PROFESSORSHIP

HYLKE BECK

Utrecht University Supervisors: prof. dr. Hans Middelkoop, dr. Kim Cohen

VU Amsterdam Supervisor: prof. dr. S. Bruijnzeel, co-supervisor: dr. J. Schellekens

Flood frequency analysis of the Lower Rhine during the Holocene

Links between stream ow, climate and catchment characteristics: a global analysis

This study aimed to establish links between the discharge characteristics and the physiographic properties of a catchment in a wide range of climate and landscape conditions, and in addition to determine the potential for certain remote-sensing products for use in meso- and macro-hydrological

Essential knowledge about river behaviour and ood variability can be obtained from the subsurface of the river basin. Old river arms provide 'bar codes' made up of sand and sediment, each layer of which is deposited by a ood. The coarser the sand grains are in a particular layer, the higher the discharge rate was, and that means that the ooding was more extensive. Drawing on known discharge rates at Lobith since 1900, it was possible to reconstruct ood patterns over the last 8000 years. During that

Jaap Kwadijk, the chair of the Deltares Scientic Council, has been appointed professor of climate and water management modelling at the University of Twente. One of the focuses of his research will be on the development of other methods for the calibration of water management models and the combination of the water footprint with global hydrological modelling.

MYANMAR
Water management in Myanmar was severely neglected for decades under the military junta and it will have to be built up again from scratch. The current government has asked the Netherlands to provide assistance and develop an integrated water management plan. The problems are large and complex, and include ood protection, water quality and water supplies. One of the problems is the discharge of untreated urban wastewater. The consequences can be seen clearly in the photograph: the explosive growth of blue algae. If steps are not taken soon to manage the wastewater ows responsibly, the problem will rapidly worsen and become a serious threat to the growing population. The water plan is being drafted as a matter of some urgency. In recent months, Deltares has, at the request of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, been working with the Delft University of Technology on collecting data and expertise, and on establishing river and coastal models. These data and models constitute the basis for the integrated water management plan. For the plan itself, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment has issued a European tender. Deltares will also be involved in that process on the basis of the earlier study.

A small lake covered with blue algae in the centre of Myanmars capital Yangon City. In the background, one of the city's attractions: the oating Karaweik Palace restaurant.