Schiphol and Rijnland start
Water Accounting pilot project
The ‘Water Accounting’ pilot project started at Schiphol in January. This pilot involves keeping account of the amount of water storage in order to prevent flooding during the many development projects on the airport site.
Recently the participants, the Rijnland Polder Board and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, agreed on a letter of intent setting out Schiphol Water Storage Working Agreements. Royal Haskoning is supervising the process and the administration of this water accounting. The collaboration in the Water Accounting pilot project is important because in the past few years the airport has regularly fallen foul of Rijnland over the pollution of the surface water.
‘Royal Haskoning has been advising Schiphol for a considerable time about the prevention of flooding, combating water pollution and solving eco-hydrological problems’, explains consultant and divisional director Tom Smit. ‘Thanks to water accounting Schiphol will now no longer have to compensate for every square metre of hard surface built by immediately creating the equivalent extra water storage. Conversely, by gaining extra water storage the airport will be able to anticipate the planned construction of business parks, for example. This means that Schiphol can deal more flexibly with the obligation to immediately excavate a corresponding amount of open water to offset every hard surface it lays.’
Water accounting is both an administrative and a physical management tool. In order to determine the water storage needed, we use custom-made solutions deriving from the storage characteristics. This is based on an indicative shower of rain which occurs once in a hundred years. Schiphol’s water system (Harlemmermeer Local Authority) lies in the area managed by the Rijnland Polder Board. Rijnland can regulate the water level depending on whether there is a business park, for example (which has to be kept dry) or if, say, there is arable or livestock farming going on, where the water level may be higher. By achieving sufficient water storage in the various levels there is more ‘give’ in the water drainage system. Tom Smit continues, ‘In this pilot year, under the supervision of Royal Haskoning, Schiphol and Rijnland are going to investigate if water accounting actually works in practice.’
Contactpersoon: Tom Smit
+31 (0)24 3284 854
t.smit@royalhaskoning.com
