What does Delfland do?

Delfland is one of our country's twenty-one water authorities. The area in which Delfland operates is bordered by the North Sea, the Nieuwe Waterweg and the Berkel en Rodenrijs line, Zoetermeer and Wassenaar.

On an area of 41,000 hectares, about 1.4 million people live and work, and approximately 40,000 businesses are established. This makes the Delfland region one of the most densely populated and most highly industrialized areas of the Netherlands. The region is furthermore renowned for its intensive glasshouse horticulture.

The three main tasks of the water authority are:

Maintenance of dikes and dams
The Delfland region is located far below sea level. And if a dune or dike should give way, the land behind it would flood. To limit the danger, Delfland maintains the sea and river flood defense structures and quays. Safety is, of course, crucial in the management and maintenance of the dikes and dams. But, in addition to safety, the past few years have also seen increasing attention being devoted to the landscape, nature and recreation.

Water level control
Water management involves the regulation of the water level in streams, lakes, ditches, moats and canals. This is vital for developments, agricultural businesses, the shipping industry, nature and recreation. The height at which the water level of an area is set depends on the use and function of that area.

Water quality control
Delfland ensures an optimum quality of the surface water in its management region. This key task entails the purification of wastewater and the limiting of discharges into surface water wherever possible. After all, clean and pure water is important to humans, but also to animals and plants. Delfland therefore creates conditions that lead to a better-optimized habitat for plants, aquatic plants and animals. This can be done by constructing nature-friendly banks for example, or through ecological maintenance of waters and quays.