Who Pays to Keep the Netherlands From Flooding?

About a quarter of the Netherlands lies below sea level, largely because people drained and dug out the coastal peat over a thousand years while the sea itself barely rose (Erkens et al. 2016), and lowering the water to keep pace with the sinking ground keeps it sinking. Who pays to manage the water in 2026: every household in a water board's area is charged the same flat amount, owners pay a second part, and the state pays half of the national programme's dike upgrades until 2050. Chapters 0:00 Land below the sea 0:32 Won from the sea, or sunk? 0:56 How draining sinks a bog 3:33 The loop that's still running 5:50 What the sinking costs 6:41 Who gets the water bill 10:06 Dike upgrades: a second payer 11:52 The answer on one map Sources PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency: https://www.pbl.nl/en/correction-word... Hydrogeology Journal: https://publications.tno.nl/publicati... Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sc…: https://piahs.copernicus.org/articles... Netherlands Journal of Geosciences: https://njgjournal.nl/index.php/njg/a... Informatiepunt Leefomgeving: https://iplo.nl/thema/water/beheer-wa... Hoogheemraadschap De Stichtse Rijnlanden: https://www.hdsr.nl/overhdsr/belastin... COELO: https://www.coelo.nl/online-atlas/onl... Informatiepunt Leefomgeving: https://iplo.nl/thema/water/nieuws-wa... Rijksoverheid.nl: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/... Credits Paul van Galen, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Detail_van_een_scheur_in_de_gevel_-_Deventer_-_20424171_-_RCE.jpg Gerard Dukker, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Detail_van_funderingsherstel_-_Den_Helder_-_20349059_-_RCE.jpg Agaath, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vlieland_veilig,_dijkversterking_2024_(01).jpg Agaath, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vlieland_veilig,_dijkversterking_2024_(02).jpg Debot at Dutch Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IJmuiden_sluis_Noordzeekanaal_20050928_40421.JPG Andrew Bergman, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemaal_Lynden.jpg Agnes Monkelbaan, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemaal_Leijepolder._Wetterskip_Frysl%C3%A2n_in_S%C3%BAdwest-Frysl%C3%A2n._12-08-2020._(actm.)_01.jpg User:Hardscarf, CC BY-SA 3.0: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oostpolder_-_veenweidegebied_(1).jpg User:Hardscarf, CC BY-SA 3.0: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oostpolder_-_veenweidegebied_(2).jpg Jan van Galen, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Overzicht_van_de_voorgevel_van_een_portiekflat_gelegen_bij_het_Westbroekpark_-_%27s-Gravenhage_-_20398108_-_RCE.jpg Fotojournalist Kees Blokker, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2001_Stuw_sloot_Noorddorperweg,_Heemskerk.jpg Corazón espinado, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peilschaal_Lekdijk_Beusichem.jpg CBS Statistics Netherlands, CC BY 4.0: service.pdok.nl/cbs/gebiedsindelingen/2011/wfs/v1_0 Public domain: Informatiehuis Water; Natural Earth; NASA. NASA does not endorse this channel. Stock and CC0: Pixabay: MabelAmber, Matthias_Groeneveld, Pictures_With_Impact, mel_88, zephylwer0; CC0: Hendrik Willem Schweickhardt, Rijksmuseum, Gouwenaar, DimiTalen, AHN height model via PDOK, Het Waterschapshuis via PDOK, Wageningen Environmental Research. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024-2025 Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0: openstreetmap.org/copyright Relief: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019), ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, via NASA GIBS: doi.org/10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003 Music: YouTube Audio Library. #Netherlands #Geography #Maps #Peat