Noorderzijlvest: a strong voice for water and soil in local politics

A loud voice for water and soil

The management and use of our water and soil is so self-evident that we don't give it a second thought. Or so we think. Nothing could be further from the truth. In these times of climate change, water and soil are under severe pressure:

• Space for water and soil is essential to making our living environment climate-proof and future-proof for current and future generations. 

  Where the economy, public housing, agriculture, and nature compete for priority, water and soil should have a strong voice in new spatial developments and initiatives. Water and soil give life. Without sufficient clean and healthy water and without resilient soil life, biodiversity declines and quality of life deteriorates. Water and soil will therefore be guiding principles in everything we want to develop in our council. Spatial developments, such as new residential areas, business parks, and new functions, should not have a negative impact on future generations or other areas. The council, together with the provincial executive and water authorities, will work hard to promote nature-inclusive agriculture and help stimulate innovations in business operations and soil improvement.

• The legislation and regulations governing clean and healthy water require increasing investments from water managers, including the council. 

  The council is responsible for collecting wastewater from households and businesses. This wastewater is transported via the sewer system to the water authorities to be trated. The council will contribute more to cleaner and healthier water by separating rainwater from wastewater from households and businesses: the less wastewater mixes with rainwater, the better and more economically it can be treated. We will have to prevent sewer overflows more often, for example during peak rainfall. Quality of life with cleaner and healthier water also requires substantial investments underground. When sewer systems are built or replaced, sufficient attention must be paid to the capacity of the separate sewer system. This will make public spaces more resilient to climate change.

• The availability of sufficient freshwater is under pressure.

  We will increasingly experience summers in which there will not always be enough freshwater for all functions. A growing number of homes, more water-intensive businesses, agriculture, and nature are demanding ever-increasing amounts of water. The council has a long-term perspective to be able to cope with the effects of prolonged drought. The council can contribute with knowledge, time, and sometimes money to enable sufficient research into the availability of freshwater and, if necessary, impose restrictive conditions on new and existing water consumers within the council. Room for innovation with water-efficient homes and imposing conditions on the design of climate-proof residential and other areas and requirements for sustainable and circular construction: this helps to limit the demand for freshwater.

• To give water and soil a voice, cooperation alone is not enough. The key lies in sharing responsibility. 

  By combining the knowledge, experience, and powers of water authorities, provincial executives, and other partners in the area, the driving force of water and soil come into its own. The council will act as a single government alongside the other authorities in this regard. Water and soil are the foundation of spatial development. It is better to make use of each other's powers than to act solely as 'the competent authority'. We must bear joint responsibility for water and soil.

  Our building blocks for sustainable collaboration on water and soil are outlined in the findings of our own study, 'Water and soil guiding principle': Give water and soil a voice!