Flood protection

In recent days the world has seen some very wild weather in a number of countries with much storm damage and also enormous water damage.

The time is well overdue for many countries, including New Zealand, to follow the Dutch example of creating a central government department to be responsible for putting into place works that will prevent flooding from river, tidal and weather conditions.

In the Netherlands, over two centuries ago, it was realised that local availability of manpower, materials and finance were often insufficient to cope with local flooding problems caused by sea, river, or weather conditions.

And so, in the Netherlands, a Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management was founded in 1798.

Its task was to ensure the adequate containment of rivers, sea levels and to cope with the disposal of excessive rainfall.

Since then, the range of activities the department is involved in has increased enormously involving roading, railways, navigable waterways, bridges, reclamation of the formerly called ‘‘Zuiderzee’’ (350.000 hectares) etc.

Today, in the Netherlands, 20 per cent of the land mass is below sea level and 21 per cent of the population lives below sea level!

With proper control and intervention from a central government department, the 2017 Edgecumbe flooding would not have happened!

Time for a Private Member’s Bill?

J Dekker, Hamilton