Why is work on water becoming increasingly expensive?

Water authorities have the legal responsibility to manage and control surface water in our country; in other words, to maintain and monitor it:

• This way, we can continue to live safely with water in the Netherlands.
• Our water is becoming cleaner and healthier.
• Water authorities treat wastewater from households and businesses.
• Water boards contribute to sufficient water in every season.

After all, none of us want too much water, and certainly not too little.
It all seems pretty straightforward. However, these tasks are changing rapidly:

• Climate change is causing sea levels to rise. Water boards must do more to ensure that we can continue to live safely with water. For example, kilometers of dykes along the Wadden Sea coast have already been reinforced. That work will continue for some time. Dykes and quays inland must also meet stricter standards. Pumping stations need ever greater pumping capacity to be able to pump away more water when necessary.
• The quality of surface water must improve so that we can live in a healthy environment. Far-reaching agreements have been made in Europe to this end. The task facing the water boards is a major one. The measures are complex. Water quality depends on many factors, such as the amount of oxygen or waste products. That is why improvements in quality are sometimes slow. In addition to patience, money is also needed to make water cleaner and healthier:
  • in the purification of wastewater;
  • in reducing the use of crop protection products along waterways;
  • in the more natural design of waterways for greater aquatic life and biodiversity;
  • The requirements for purified wastewater from households and businesses are becoming stricter. Agreements have also been made in Europe on this matter. Microplastics, drug residues, and other emerging substances must be better purified from wastewater by water authorities.
  • We are facing increasingly extreme weather conditions. Sometimes there is too much rain in a short period of time. Sometimes it stays dry for too long. To deal with these situations effectively, we are setting up areas to temporarily store excess water. We then gradually discharge it into the sea. We are also trying to retain water better and for longer in order to prevent drought as much as possible.
  • Our country has made nationally and internationally binding agreements to achieve climate targets. This means that water authorities must also adapt their work: emit far fewer greenhouse gases, generate their own energy, and increasingly reuse raw materials. 

Water authorities must therefore make greater efforts to ensure that their activities comply with national and international requirements. This will also cost more money.

The areas where the 21 water authorities in the Netherlands manage the water have their own regional characteristics: 

• For example, the area may be very urban in design. Or it may have plenty of space for water, nature, and open landscapes.
  • The Noorderzijlvest area encompasses both urban areas and open landscapes with water, nature, and agriculture. And everything in between.
• Some water authorities manage sea dikes, others do not.
  • Noorderzijlvest manages 70 kilometers of Wadden Sea dike from Lauwersoog to Delfzijl.
• The water board also manages the dikes and quays in the interior.
  • For Noorderzijlvest, this involves almost 450 kilometers. These must comply with legal standards. The water board invests heavily in this.
• In some parts of the country, water can flow freely from higher areas to lower-lying land. In many other places, technology helps to move water, either when it enters the area or when it is drained away.
  • In the Noorderzijlvest area, both of these things happen. A network of weirs, inlets, and pumping stations ensures that the agreed water levels are maintained. Noorderzijlvest has to drain the area 26% more than the average in the Netherlands so that residents can continue to live there safely and there is sufficient water in every season.
• Urban areas in particular are growing. This means more houses and buildings and more wastewater that Noorderzijlvest has to treat.
  • Noorderzijlvest manages part of the city of Groningen and the planned expansions on the west side of the city.
• Water authorities manage dozens of large and small facilities in order to manage and control surface water. These range from sewage treatment plants and pressure pipes to pumping stations, weirs, locks, and inlets. These facilities require maintenance or sometimes need to be completely replaced. Some water authorities manage relatively new facilities or have already completed major maintenance cycles, while others are currently planning major interventions.
  • Noorderzijlvest is investing heavily in modernizing, among other things, purification systems and, where necessary, increasing the capacity of pumping stations. Our facilities often have a long service life. At some point, it becomes time for major maintenance, renovation, or total replacement.

Noorderzijlvest has already started a lot of work and carried out projects in recent years to create a climate-proof living environment. These include the following projects:

• Noorderzijlvest manages the 70-kilometer-long sea dyke between Lauwersoog and Delfzijl. Major reinforcements are needed on two sections: the now completed work on the Eemshaven-Delfzijl section and the work already started on the Lauwersmeerdijk-Vierhuizergat section.
• Investments in improving the quality of surface water are substantial everywhere. Noorderzijlvest has opted for careful preparation with area-specific processes. This is important in order to be able to take measures that you and the residents can support. These area-specific processes take time.
• The treatment plants must be future-proof. In the Westerkwartier, Noorderzijlvest is constructing a new treatment plant that will replace three old ones. The large treatment plant in Garmerwolde is in need of major maintenance on several fronts. The transport of wastewater through the pipe system is also becoming more vulnerable over the years and requires maintenance.
• Noorderzijlvest is constructing water storage facilities to temporarily collect excess water. Noorderzijlvest is also working on retaining water for longer periods for later use. Retaining water for longer periods requires changes, such as different land use, different water levels, greater focus on improving soil structure, and a different, more natural layout of the area.

How quickly all this needs to happen is a political and administrative decision. When making that decision, it must be clear:

• what we are all willing to do to ensure a climate-proof living environment;
• which risks we are willing to accept;
• how much it may cost to achieve the objectives. 

The board of Noorderzijlvest recognizes that the goals are ambitious, extending well beyond the term of this board, which lasts until 2027. The board also realizes that not everything can be done at once. That is why choices must be made. The order, planning, implementation deadlines, and the capabilities and scope of the organization require careful consideration.

Noorderzijlvest's budget amounts to approximately €90 million. This covers the water board's annual recurring costs for materials, maintenance, personnel, chemicals, and much more. Part of the investments is also paid for from this budget.

Noorderzijlvest invests more than just its own money in order to continue to fulfill its statutory tasks. Investments are increasing because Noorderzijlvest has to carry out more work. The additional work required costs approximately €64 million per year. The Water Management Program for the period 2022-2027 sets out the work that Noorderzijlvest will carry out. This work requires more money than is available from taxes. That is why Noorderzijlvest borrows money. Borrowing costs interest and repayments every year. These costs are reflected in the budget when larger and more expensive projects have been completed and enter the maintenance phase. These costs are an essential part of the water board's financial management. 

Noorderzijlvest cannot invest everything using only its own funds. Doing so would necessitate even faster increases in tax rates. Higher and necessary expenditures must be immediately balanced with income. Borrowing money incurs costs. However, we can spread those costs over a longer period. This allows us to do what is necessary in the area.

No, there is no such limit. Of course, it is important that there is enough money to cover the costs. This is monitored. It is not healthy if the borrowed money represents too large a proportion of the annual available funds. The current budget is balanced. It must remain that way.

Yes, you have to assume that. The developments in our climate are urgent. We cannot avoid taking action and persevering. When determining the actions to be taken, Noorderzijlvest looks far ahead to future developments in order to determine what is needed now.
There are many international, national, and regional agreements that Noorderzijlvest must and wants to comply with. The challenges are great. More money is needed to:

• keeping the organization in order and adapting it to changing requirements;
• eliminate past backlogs;
• take necessary measures now and not pass them on to future generations;
• significantly improve water quality;
• preventing disasters and flooding caused by climate change in a timely manner;
• treat wastewater in accordance with new and future European regulations.

In the years up to and including 2022, rates could still rise at a reasonably moderate pace. In 2023, the Noorderzijlvest board had to abandon that wish due to the greatly changed situation in the world. Costs rose rapidly everywhere in a short period of time. In the coming period, Noorderzijlvest will face major and expensive water challenges, certainly for the next 10 to 15 years. That is why we will all have to accept a substantial increase in water board taxes.