JPIC Project – May – July 2014 by Sr. Anne Walton CPS
Project Portfolio: JPIC-230 – Water, Environment and
Development
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This project is the final piece of work in this series. There have been four sections, each
building on the previous one and therefore in this project I have used aspects of each of the
previous sections in order to produce this portfolio.

The first unit – JPIC 200 encouraged us to use theological reflection when analysing a
situation in order visualise future actions.
Therefore I studied some of the comments of Pope Francis on Creation and the Environment
Such as that of 19/03/13 “ Let us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others, so
that we can protect creation!....The vocation of being a ‘protector’, however, is not just
something involving us Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human,
involving everyone. It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the
Book of Genesis tells us and as St. Francis of Assisi showed us. It means respecting each of
God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live…..
Please, I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political
and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be “protectors of creation,
protectors of God’s plan inscribes in nature, protectors of one another and of the
environment”.
On the 31st March 2013 he continued ,” Let us be renewed by God’s mercy… and let us
become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all
creation and make justice and peace flourish”.
Also on the 5th January 2013 he stated “The book of Genesis tells us that God created man
and woman entrusting them with the task of filling the earth and subduing it, which does
not mean exploiting it, but nurturing and protecting it through their work”.
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
The second unit – Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding. This was of importance with its
emphasis on communication and respect for and with all those involved.

The third unit – JPIC 220 – ‘Economics and People’ opened our eyes to the wide variety of
influences on the economics of any given project.

The fourth unit – JPIC 230 – ‘Water, Environment and Development’ is the final unit in this
series and is one in which it is possible to use those skills and ideas which have been
developed during the course.
Water supply and utilization in North Brabant – the
Netherlands
Reasons for the choice of subject

Although I am from England and have worked as a missionary in East Africa for
35 years. I am now working in North Brabant and am interested in learning how
and where the water we use is sourced.

In addition I wished to learn how it is utilized and later purified for re-use.

As water is not an infinite resource, I have been concerned to learn how the
water in the Netherlands is managed.
Situation- North Brabant – in the South of the Netherlands
While the Netherlands does not suffer from a lack of water as in many parts of the world,
this does not allow it to squander such a resource.
The volume of water is finite, therefore prudent use of purified water and river water is
essential to maintain an acceptable amount of water per head of the population.
From an economics point of view, the less purified water is used the less the cost to the
country of purifying the water in the first place.
Some issues which have arisen as a result of the initial study
How does this Country deal with water issues such as:
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
Excess water from rain.

Excess river water from the rivers passing through from other countries such as the Rhine
from Germany, The Maas from Belgium etc.

Rising levels of the ocean/ sea through high tides and global warming

Insufficient drinking water in some of the major cities
A Map Showing the Provinces of the Netherlands and their sources of Water – the Names of the
Rivers are indicated.
Note – North Brabant is in the South and is coloured yellow and white – and is served by the
Rivers Dommel, AA, and Maas
Drinking Water – Its source and amount used
In the 19 century most of the drinking water was sourced from that filtered through the
dunes.However there was a danger of damaging the water table and allowing salt water from the
ocean to permeate.
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Therefore use was made of surface water from the rivers and lakes.
The drilling of wells for fresh water is now providing twice as much water as it did 30 years ago.
However, While the consumption of water rose in the Netherlands from 1920 until about 1990,
there is now a gradual reduction in consumption as a result of industries actively reducing the
amount of water used.
Also the population as a whole appears to be reducing water consumption in the home. Such
issues will be investigated further.
It has been found that the amount of water used per person has dropped from 137 litres per day
in 1995 to 127 litres per day in 2007
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Factors affecting availability and management of water
The Netherlands is the leader in the management of water in the world. Its engineers are
consulted for problems relating to water by countries all over the world.
However water management is not linear. There are many stakeholders with varying amounts of
interest and power. Where there is an aim for a continuous and sustainable management there
must be a sharing of values among the stakeholders.
In addition the socio – economic factors to possible water utilization patterns must be taken into
consideration.
The Water Situation in North Brabant
North Brabant is situated in the South of the Netherlands and receives water from the following
rivers – the Dommel, the Aa and the Maas. The European Water Framework Directive (EU, 2000)
stimulates an integrated approach of the complete soil- groundwater – surface water system.
There is a serious problem of the pollution of groundwater and surface water due to intensive
livestock farming. The use of fertilizer and animal manure in agricultural areas particularly in North
Brabant is the most important source of nitrate pollution. Rozemeijer and Broers, 2007 state that
agrochemicals are the most problematic and include No3-N, P-toy, SO4 as well as the heavy metals(
Zinc, copper, Ni and Cadmium) Schipper et al 2008 also point to disinfecting footbaths which leach
sulphates into the ground water.
Change in Water Policy in the Netherlands
McCuen, 2010 describes the history of water management in the area we know as the Netherlands
from the 13th century when regional democratic water boards first appeared up to 1798 when the
central co-ordination of a state water authority was organised. Traditionally water management was
seen as a matter for civil engineering and was aimed at controlling nature. In the 1960’s there was a
movement beyond the water management of flood protection, drainage, the provision of drinking
water and sanitation to include surface water pollution prevention, the investigation and
rectification of water scarcity and groundwater protection. Thus the realm of water management
has become much wider and now also includes the integrated management of ecological systems.
Note – Public Participation Paper 5 page 2 bottom
Rijke et al 2012 (SEE PAPER 10) described the new initiatives …. Room for the River
The concept of integrated water management originally aimed to avoid conflicts between different
uses of water resources through improved co-ordination.
As a result of extremely high water levels in the rivers of the Netherlands in 1993 and 1995 there
was an increase in awareness among all the stakeholders – the public, politicians, public
administration and water professionals - that new ways of water management had to be found.
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One solution was to widen the river basins – (‘The Room for the River Directive ‘) developed by the
Government of the Netherlands (ten Heuvelhof et al. 2007) This directive was-two fold; it aimed to
improve the safety against flooding of the areas surrounding the rivers Rhine, Maas, Waal, Ijssel and
Lek and also to enlarge the areas on each side of the banks of these rivers. They therefore aimed to
organise flood by-passes, excavate flood plains, re-locate dikes and lower groynes.
The Room for the River did change its focus from a focus on Nature to a focus on agriculture which
was deemed more important. However in the final evaluation it seems that this directive has been
able to integrate water safety with the other issues of agriculture, recreation, cultural – historic
values and existing residences.
The concepts developed from this initiative are being applied in other countries such as France,
Germany, Hungary, Rumania, the UK and the USA.
Climate –Proofing and Sustainability
Swart et al 2013 added from their research into 100 local and Regional projects in the Netherlands
that it is important for those involved in making their city or region resilient to climate change must
focus and plan for the nest 40 to 100 years.Up to the present time it has been the usual practice to
take into account the possible climate change for the next 10 – 20 years.
Therefore projects now tend to include the special elements of space by the rivers to include the
possibilities of greater volumes of water. In addition, there have been water storage areas created –
often combining innovative housing such as dwellings on mounds or on stilts.
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Water storage in the 21st Century
While in the 19th and 20th centuries many countries built enormous water storage facilities such as
reservoirs, damming rivers and flooding valleys at great expense and with little concern for the
effects on the environment and on the people already living in the area. In the 21st century many
countries including the Netherlands are trying to seek other solutions. One way is to encourage large
industries and the agriculture sector to utilise wisely and carefully the water which is used. This has
affected the per capita amount of water used in the Netherlands. However a great deal still needs to
be done to make people aware of the misuse of water in the home such as the running of the hot
tap until the water reaches a suitable temperature, showering under constant running water, etc. In
North Brabant, in Laarbeek, the municipality where I live, as part of the Water Week in the
Netherlands, there were a large number of projects offered to the people of the area, particularly
families in order to educate the youth about the value of clean water, the value to the environment
of the wetlands habitat etc.
Conclusion
I decided to research the use and abuse of water in the Netherlands because I have been transferred
to the Netherlands after many years in East Africa. I was interested to discover where our drinking
water came from and also to find out why the water engineers in the Netherlands are famous
throughout the world, offering assistance on occasions of disastrous flooding or for specific national
water projects.
In addition there is so much advice given to drought ridden countries by the water rich countries. I
feel that it is hypocritical to talk about the wise use of water if I, living in the Netherlands do not
investigate ways of reducing the amount of water I use.
Water is a resource which should be available for all. Therefore it is the responsibility of all to ensure
that water is not wasted, that it is purified and returned to the rivers for further use.
As I began this research it became obvious that this was not a simple, straightforward topic as it
involved so many agencies, Government departments, NGOs and private concerns. It has been a
fascinating project and has opened my eyes to water issues at home and abroad.
In addition, I must congratulate the people of the Netherlands for the care they extend to their
water sources. The river banks and canals are free from rubbish and on the whole can be compared
very favourably with every country in the globe.
For the way forward, I intend to play an active part in the Netherlands Water Week in 2015. As I live
on a large dairy farm, there will be several opportunities to organise visits for children to experience
how the farm is managed and how we obtain water for the farm from a bore hole using ground
water. In addition I intend to encourage the children to see how the water is carefully utilized and
perhaps they will have interesting ideas to share with us. Hopefully they will be able to transfer the
concepts of the wise use of water into their own lives and their own homes.
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References
1. Exploring pathways for sustainable water management in river deltas in a changing
environment. In Climate Change – Dec. 2012 Vol. 115 issue 3-4 pp 795 – 819
2. Rozenmeijer et al. 2007. The groundwater contribution to surface water
contamination in a region with intensive agricultural land use ( North Brabant, The
Netherlands) in Environmantal Pollution, vol.148, issue 3 August 2007, pp 695 – 706
3. Schipper et al. 2008. Measures to diminish leaching of heavy metals to surface
waters from agricultural soils in Desalination vol. 226, Issues 1-3, June 2008 pp 89 96.
4. Richard H. McCuen. 2010. Water Policy – The Netherlands. In JAWRA, Journal of the
American Water Resources Association Vol. 46, Issue 2 pp 443-446, April 2010
5. Hoekstra et al.2012. Global Monthly Water Scarcity: Blue water Footprints versus
Blue Water Availability.
6. Pope Francis 2013. Pacem in Terris: a guide for a better, peaceful world.
7. Buuren et al. 2011. Democratic Legitimacy of New Forms of Water Management in
the Netherlands in International Journal of Water Resources Development Vol.28,
Issue 4, 2012.
8. Haasnoot et al. 2009. A method to develop sustainable water management
strategies for an uncertain future. In Sustainable Development, vol. 19, Issue 6 pp
369m- 381 Nov/Dec 2011.
9. Rijke et al.2012. Room for the River: delivering integrated river basinmanagement in
the Netherlands. In International Journal of River Basin Management, 10:4, pp 369 –
382, 2012.
10. Pahl – Wostl et al 2011. Societal Learning Needed to Face the Water Challenge. From
the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2011.
11. Swart et al. 2013. Climate-Proofing Spatial Planning and Water Management
Projects: An Analysis of 100 Local and Regional Projects in the Netherlands. In
Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, Vol.16, Issue 1, 2014.
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