Rijkswaterstaat
Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the Bureau voor den Waterstaat and formerly translated to Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management, is a Directorate-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands. Its role is the practical execution of the public works and water management, including the construction and maintenance of waterways and roads, and flood protection and prevention. The agency was also involved in the construction of big railway projects such as the Betuweroute and the HSL-Zuid.
The mission statement of the organisation reads: "Rijkswaterstaat is de rijksdienst die werkt aan droge voeten, schoon en voldoende water én aan de vlotte en veilige doorstroming van het verkeer". The agency is divided in 10 regional, 6 specialist services and 2 special services.
The current director-general of Rijkswaterstaat is Martin Wijnen, who assumed office on 1 January 2024. Since 1 January 2006, Rijkswaterstaat has been an agentschap.
Name
The Dutch word waterstaat denotes the condition of an area in relation to the level and the condition of surface and groundwater, including all relevant natural and artificial features. The component 'rijks' translates as 'national'.Organization structure
Rijkswaterstaat is divided into regional and specialist services, formerly known as directies. Each service is managed by a hoofdingenieur-directeur, who together form the board of Rijkswaterstaat.Regional services
The regions are divided in local water- en wegendistricten, formerly known as dienstkringen. In the past, every province had its own regional organisation, but the directies Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe were merged, forming the service Noord-Nederland, the directies Overijssel and Gelderland were merged to form the service Oost-Nederland, the directies IJsselmeergebied and Utrecht were merged to form the service Midden-Nederland and the directies Noord-Brabant and Limburg were merged to form the service Zuid-Nederland.The following regional services exist:
- RWS Noord-Nederland, RWS NN
- RWS West Nederland Noord, RWS WNN
- RWS Midden-Nederland, RWS MN
- RWS Oost-Nederland, RWS ON
- RWS West Nederland Zuid, RWS WNZ
- RWS Zee en Delta, RWS ZD
- RWS Zuid-Nederland, RWS ZN
Specialist Services
- RWS Water, Traffic and Environment, RWS WVL
- RWS Programmes, Projects and Maintenance, RWS PPO
- RWS Major Projects and Maintenance, RWS GPO
- RWS Traffic- and Water Management, RWS VWM
- RWS Central Information Services, RWS CIV
- RWS Centre for Corporate services, RWS CD
- NOVA
- Government Shipping Department
Project Directorates (Special Services)
- Room for the River, RWS RVR
Former (specialist) services
- Projectdirectie Maaswerken, Tomorrow's Meuse. 2003 - 2010
- Projectdirectie HSL-Zuid, High Speed Line South. 2001 - 2009
- Waterstaatskerken
- Deltadienst
- Rijksdienst voor de IJsselmeerpolders, National Institute for polders in the IJsselmeer
- Rijksinstituut voor Kust en Zee, National Institute for the Coast and Sea
- Rijksinstituut voor Integraal Zoetwaterbeheer en Afvalwaterbehandeling, National Institute for integral Fresh Water management and Waste Treatment
- Dienst voor Weg en Waterbouwkunde, Service for Road- and Waterarchitecture
- Adviesdienst Verkeer en Vervoer, Advisory service Traffic and Transport