Looking back and looking ahead Roeland van der Schaaf

What kind of year was 2024?

What have we done for the residents of our area in 2024?

What else could the water board have done in 2024?

Looking back on 2024, what are you proud of?

What kind of year will 2025 be?

What can Nij Begun do for us as a water board?

Achieve results quickly on your own or work together?

What are the ambitions for 2025?

What do residents need to know about what we do as a water authority?

"The importance of the water board's tasks sometimes seems to fade into the background when compared to other interests in society."

"Recently, there seems to be a decline in awareness of the tasks of the Water Board in relation to other interests, as if there were some kind of conflict. As water boards, we are the experts on this issue. That is why we need to raise awareness even more," says Roeland van der Schaaf about the importance of the water board's tasks for residents.

Roeland van der Schaaf has been dike reeve at the Noorderzijlvest Water Authority since July 2022. He is the chair of the general board and the executive committee. He also has special powers, such as the authority to make independent decisions in urgent situations. He is politically active on behalf of the PvdA (Labour Party). Today, he looks back on his work in 2024 and looks ahead to his plans for 2025.

Looking back on 2024: we have worked hard on many major projects that are important to our residents.

2024 was a very good year for Van der Schaaf, both personally and for the water board. "We have a huge number of major projects that are attracting a lot of attention and are extremely important for us and for the people we do it for. Examples include the new waterworks at Zoutkamp and the dyke reinforcements at Lauwersoog."

He is also pleased that the water board has been highly visible in the media. "People are becoming increasingly aware of our work. That is important." He notes that the water board's position in the administrative and social sphere has improved. That is why he looks back on the year with satisfaction. "I realize that there is still a lot to do and improve. But I think we have made good progress over the past year."

Future-proof: we have taken a major step forward in making water treatment future-proof.

In 2024, the water board carried out various projects. Together, these form part of an approach to keep people's feet dry in the future. "We have taken a big step forward in terms of the future-proofing of water treatment, for example. It is now circular and reduces the burden on the environment, rather than increasing it." Van der Schaaf also considers water storage important. "This will ensure that we can keep our feet dry in the long term."

Furthermore, over the past year, the water board has made preparations for major investments in the future. "We are also considering the broad coastal zone in the northern part of the province of Groningen. How will we deal with coastal defense in the future with rising sea levels?" 

A slap in the face: farmers are doing their utmost to ensure clean and healthy water, but regulations are still giving them a slap in the face.

Nutrient-contaminated areas were challenging. "Many farmers are affected by this, including those regulations. It is a difficult issue for us because, on the one hand, we consider water quality to be important, so we support everything that focuses on that. At the same time, as an administrator, it bothers me that farmers are doing their very best but are being thwarted by regulations. As a water board, you then operate in a kind of tension."

For Van der Schaaf, it is also important that the significance of the water board's work is clear to residents. "When we had to deal with high water levels in early 2024, there was a lot of attention for our work. We appeared on television several times and received many compliments. But you see that attention quickly fade away again, to use water terms." 

He believes it is important that, in a world affected by climate change, the water board should have greater visibility. "The theme of water and soil management, for example, was included in the coalition agreement a few years ago. We are very happy about that. But recently, awareness seems to be waning again and being set against other interests, as if it were some kind of contradiction. As water authorities, we are the knowledge carriers on this issue. That is why we need to bang the drum even louder."

In 2024, he was proud of how the organization was doing its work. "There were huge improvements, both in large projects and in day-to-day management." He also likes the mutual cooperation within the executive committee. But he also believes that the general board has taken positive steps in conducting political and social discussions.

Looking ahead: reviewing long-term plans. Implementation program helps with this

Van der Schaaf sees 2025 as a transition year. Long-term plans will be reviewed and the water management program will be updated. "Water and soil management will be further developed as a theme this year. We have a major internal process underway, so we expect to see results from that." Thanks to the implementation program, in 2024 we will look at what the water authority can afford in the longer term. "This will enable us to make significant progress. That is why this will be a year in which the organization takes an important step forward. This will not happen in a single year, but I expect 2025 to be very important in this regard. We are initiating a number of major changes."

What exactly do these changes entail? “It’s not as if employees will suddenly find themselves working for a different organization overnight. The changes are part of broader social and regional organizational developments. In concrete terms, we will be making our voice heard more and actively participating in discussions in the region. We will be playing a more prominent role in major debates that have an impact, such as the new environmental vision of various municipalities.”

Ownership: As a water authority, we must take a leading role when it comes to issues such as the broad coastal zone.

Van der Schaaf believes it is important for the water board to develop more ownership of a number of major issues. “Too little attention is still paid to the water board when it comes to climate change, for example. We are still too much in the background. That is somewhat in keeping with our history: we always do our work quietly and efficiently. But that no longer fits in with the challenges facing us and society. My ambition is to show that we can take more of a leading role in a number of issues that are relevant to us.

He expects the broad coastal zone to become an increasingly important issue for agriculture, nature, and the living environment in the coming years. "As a water authority, we will take a leading role in this."

Nij Begun: water is a connecting element around all kinds of themes in Nij Begun: the basis is that Water and Soil are guiding principles.

Regional cooperation is also very important to Van der Schaaf this year. “Take a program like Nij Begun, for example. We are part of the management group there. I see a very direct relationship between Nij Begun's agenda and the tasks of the water board.” The water board contributes to the goals. "So we are not a party on the sidelines, but the party in the gap of that ambition. That has an effect on how the water board operates in society."

Van der Schaaf explains that Nij Begun consists of two pillars. On the one hand, there is the social development of the area and, on the other hand, there is economic development. What is special is that the money is not distributed across the region in one go, but is used for a longer-term project. "As a water board, we are particularly concerned with the economic component, because how will the economy change in thirty years' time? And how do you ensure that the economy is sustainable?"

He sees water as a connecting element around all kinds of themes in Nijbegun. “The basis is that water and soil are in order and Groningen is climate-ready. This must be in order in order to function economically and socially at all. The investments we make in this, together with municipalities and businesses, actually form the basis for Nijbegun's social and economic agenda. The core objectives of our water board are linked to Nij Begun." Nij Begun also transcends boundaries. It does not operate on a municipal basis, but covers the entire region of Groningen and North Drenthe. "If there is one level of government that, by definition, thinks and acts across borders, it is us."

Ambitions: we enjoy working together, which is a good basis for strengthening political debate.

Van der Schaaf feels like he is truly part of the water board. “I have been a dike reeve for two and a half years now, so I am no longer new. During the first year, you still feel like a newcomer and there are things you don't know yet. I won't claim that I know everything now, but I feel well integrated and part of the water board. I am no longer the new guy.”

He says he enjoys attending the executive committee meetings. “We have a great team that complements each other well. We have different political views, but we really seek to work together. We have a golden opportunity to perform even better at that level." He also thinks it is important that the general board, as an elected body, is able to discuss the real administrative choices and make decisions based on the different ideas they have.  "We want to raise the quality of political-democratic debate and decision-making to a higher level. This goes against the grain, because when I look at The Hague, I see the level of political debate declining dramatically. I would love it if we succeeded in raising the level in Noorderzijlvest."

Residents are familiar with our responsibilities: water safety, clean and healthy water, wastewater treatment, and sufficient water supply.

It is important for residents to know what the water board's responsibilities are. "We have four responsibilities: safety, availability, quality, and water purification. All residents dutifully pay their water board tax, but they don't always know what they get in return. But that's the basis. I also want people to be excited about the future. Because a lot is going to change in the way we live. How we deal with the climate, water, and the landscape." He can well imagine that the younger generation in particular is very apprehensive about a future in which all kinds of problems arise. "But we have been able to overcome many challenges, and we can do so again. I am convinced of that."

“A future with climate adaptation, a different economy, circularity, a different approach to nature and the landscape. That can also be a beautiful world to live in. The road to get there will be tough, but we can play a role in it. Together with others.”