The Netherlands have a long history of extraordinary public works when it comes to water management. With much of the country’s land lying at or below sea level, massive civil engineering infrastructure is a necessity. In this Practical Engineering video, Grady takes us on a tour of Dutch water works, from the centuries-old techniques that allowed farmers to claim arable land from marshes to the unbelievably massive structures that protect the Dutch coastline from flooding and storm surges.
For the Dutch, these projects, expensive as they are to build and maintain, are cheaper than the cost of inaction, as numerous devastating floods of the past have taught them. Although the goals are often the same — shortening the coastline, protecting land and people — the techniques are constantly evolving, especially as ecological needs of non-human species are taken into account. (Video and image credit: Practical Engineering)