Big plans for the city’s water

The Municipality of The Hague would like to use the city’s water for more recreational purposes. The city will also place more emphasis on guaranteeing safe water as a result of climate change and there will be a campaign to make city residents aware of how they can personally contribute to clean and attractive water in the city. These are the main points in the Waterplan Den Haag 2010, approved by The Hague Municipal Executive at the beginning of June 2009.

This water plan provides an integral vision of how the city will handle its water in terms of such important issues as sustainability, climate, spatial development, conservation, the economy, recreation, and cultural history.

The plan will be discussed with various interest groups and social organisations and then the municipality will work together with the Hoogheemraadschap van Delfland (Delfland Water Board) to create a package of concrete measures and projects.

The municipality has outlined four goals for the city’s water:

1. Sustainable, clean and healthy water

The city’s waterways have become cleaner over the last years but the quality of the water can be improved even more. The municipality will take measures to ensure sufficient circulation in ditches and canals and to keep the bottom clean through dredging. The municipality and water board will try to keep the waterways as natural as possible with the ecology in mind.

2. Attractive water

Water is good for the city. Ditches, lakes, ponds and the sea make The Hague a more attractive city in which to live, work and spend free time. The municipality will begin a study into how it can realise more living and working space on and above the water. In addition, it will look at expanding recreational water activities, including cruises in the harbour areas. An extensive water recreation plan will be formulated together with the water board and neighbouring municipalities.

3. Safe and controlled water

In this time of climate change, safe water is more important than ever. This requires measures in the area of coastal defence and water storage. The area around The Hague has two so-called coastal ‘weak links’, by the seawall in Scheveningen and along the ’s Gravenzande –  Zuiderstrand (Delfland) coastline. The seawall in Scheveningen will be reinforced in the coming years as part of the new design for the boulevard and the Delfland coast will be reinforced when a new nature reserve is created.

4. Consciousness raising

Human behaviour has an influence on the city’s water. The disposal of rubbish, drainage of waste water, washing cars on the street, bricking up the garden or even letting out the dog can have a negative impact on the quality and appearance of the water. The municipality will start the campaign “The Hague lives with water” to alert people to the fact that they can also contribute to making water clean and attractive.