Bergen op Zoom, 1 juni 2014
Aan het Dagelijks Bestuur van het
Waterschap Brabantse Delta
Per e-mail
Betreft: Vragen OECD studie, kenmerk 0049
Geacht Dagelijks Bestuur,
Recent is verschenen de OECD studie “Water Governance in the Netherlands, Fit for the future. In deze brief zal steeds naar aanleiding van een aantal citaten uit dat rapport een aantal vragen/overwegingen door de fractie Ons Water/Waterbreed onder uw aandacht gebracht worden.
Bewustwording
Pagina 68
“Raising awareness about flood risks seeks to influence behavior in various ways and can take a number of forms. The focus on emergency preparedness in the multi-layer safety approach can make an important contribution, as emergency simulations both raise awareness and identify potential gaps for improvement.”
Pagina 69
“In general, the property market does not currently reflect flood risks (e.g. via differentiated property prices reflecting various levels of exposure to flood risk), nor are property owners or renters systematically informed about flood risk in the course of property transactions, as is common practice in some other OECD countries. In addition to current efforts to raise awareness (e.g. information provision and awareness-raising campaigns) of flood risk, the government could put in place policy instruments that systematically inform citizens about the flood risk they face and thereby influence their decisions related to exposure and vulnerability.”
Pagina 129
“The private sector can also contribute to better water governance if it is aware of where its responsibilities begin and end. New governance approaches should aim to increase citizens awareness about water management and empower to carry out their responsibilities in this field.”
Pagina 150
A mechanism to provide for informed public debate about the acceptable level of flood risk could be established. It could serve multiple purposes, including raising public awareness of flood risk, solidifying the willingness to pay for current and future flood protection to achieve high levels of safety in recognition of the associated costs, and reinforcing the social contract to commit to a safe Netherlands today and in the future that can secure steady financial flows for flood protection.”
Bovenstaande citaten laten zien dat volgens de opstellers van het rapport het bewustzijn van de risico’s van overstromingen bij inwoners van ons land te gering is.
Het rapport beveelt nadrukkelijk aan onze inwoners meer bewust te maken van de risico’s van overstroming. Het bevreemdt ons dan ook dat de titel van het waterschapsnieuws (uitgave mei 2014) was: “We voelen ons veilig in Nederland, dat kunnen we samen zo houden”.
Een dergelijke titel past naar de opvatting van de fractie Ons Water/Waterbreed niet in een aanpak gericht op verhoging van het bewust zijn van onze ingezetenen ten aanzien van de risico’s van overstromingen. Wat zijn de plannen van uw DB om dat bewustzijn te verbeteren?
Bescherming wateroverlast/Ruimtelijke Ordening
Pagina 21
“As a consequence, ongoing spatial development, at times in highly unfavourable locations from a water management perspective, increases exposure to flood risk, leading to the escalation of costs of water management, today and in the future.”
Pagina 22
“As mentioned above, those who create liabilities (e.g. building in flood-prone areas or polluting freshwater) do not pay the costs associated with their actions (additional costs for protection against flood).”
Pagina 80
“Long-term scenarios for protection from sea level rise. Some experts have already questioned the economic sustainability of the prevailing policies if sea levels rise above a certain threshold. The costs may become prohibitive and alternative options may be considered. Does it make sence to aggregate population and assets in the Randstad? Or could other, less vulnerable locations be considered for some people and/or activities?”
Pagina 109
“Regional water authorities have no competence to stop harmful developments or to encourage municipalities to take adequate measures to safeguard water interests. The responsibility for financing measures aimed at reducing water nuisance and flooding in such cases is also unclear.”
Pagina 112
“Problems still arise with integrated project procedures, especially in cases where spatial planning an water goals clash.”
Pagina 113
“Integrated projects can be hindered by the mismatch between long-term safety goals, short-term economic profits, and development and land-use goals.”
Pagina 152
“Currently, there is an absence of incentives to change the trend of increasing exposure to flood risk. The trend of increasing exposure to flood risk is driven by on going spatial development, at times in highly unfavourable locations, from a water management perspective. This leads to the escalation of costs, today and in the future.”
Pagina 153
“The distribution of the costs and benefits of spatial development perpetuates the ‘snowball’ effect, driving up the long-term cost of water management. Once spatial development has taken place, path dependency restricts the available risk management options, as alternatives to risk prevention become increasingly less feasible, either economically or politically.”
Pagina 155
“decisions about spatial development have direct consequences for water and flood management and the associated cost. At present, residential and commercial development continue to expand their claims to public space in low-lying areas. These spatial developments are among the key cost drivers for water management, locking in futere financial liabilities.”
Pagina 163
“As an instrument to assess the impact on water management of spatial development, the Water Assessment could be strengthened and made more effective in influencing spatial development decisions.”
Bovenstaande citaten laten zien dat volgens de opstellers van het rapport de invloed van de waterschappen bij de ruimtelijke planvoorbereiding en ruimtelijke beslissingen volstrekt onvoldoende is c.q. onvoldoende geborgd is in bevoegdheden om tot goede integrale ruimtelijke beslissingen te komen. De waterbelangen worden bij tal van ruimtelijke beslissingen en plannen, naar de opvatting van de opstellers van het rapport, onvoldoende tot hun recht gebracht.
De fractie van Ons Water/Waterbreed herkent zich in hoge mate in deze waarneming, door onafhankelijke buitenlandse deskundigen. Wat is uw DB van plan, eventueel in Unie verband, om deze zienswijze op de landelijke politieke agenda te krijgen?
Verantwoording/financiering
Pagina 24
“Provide and oversee a harmonised accounting of expenditure for water management across water management functions in order to improve transparency in tracking water management expenditures and cost recovery. An independent review, commissioned by and reporting to ministers, could help shed light on relative and absolute effeciency, accountability and oversight for the full breadth of water services.”
Pagina 43
“Performance targets could be defined and monitored by a third party to make sure opportunities in both areas (afvalwater verzamelen en zuiveren) are fully exploited.”
Pagina 109
“Regional water authorities have no competence to stop harmful developments or to encourage municipalities to take adequate measures to safeguard water interests. The responsibility for financing measures aimed at reducing water nuisance and flooding in such cases is also unclear.”
Pagina 113
“Thus far, the management of trade-offs between water, spatial planning, coastal defence, urban development, nature conservation, tourism and recreation has been largely relying on a project-based approach.”
Pagina 113
“Planning systems should also incorporate information about water costs and risks inherent to different proposals and projects. Specifically, parts of the costs imposed by land-use decisions should accrue to the decision-making agency as well as to the land users.”
Pagina 155
“decisions about spatial development have direct consequences for water and flood management and the associated cost. At present, residential and commercial development continue to expand their claims to public space in low-lying areas. These spatial developments are among the key cost drivers for water management, locking in futere financial liabilities.”
Pagina 155
“The distribution of the costs and benefits of spatial development perpetuates the ‘snowball’ effect. For example, spatial developments may bring significant added value for a specific municipality or region, but may drive up the costs of flood protection for the Netherlands as a whole. Municipalities and provinces reap the benefits of spatial developments, while the regional water authorities and the central government bear the costs.”
“It illustrates the significance of spatial planning decisions for water management, and their impact on the long-term financial sustainability of the system.”
Pagina’s 162/163
“In general, short-term profits from spatial development tend to prevail over long-term water management objectives. This can result in both increased cost of water and flood management, but also increased expected damages in the case of a flood event. There is a need to align incentives, so that those who benefit from spatial development also pay the associated costs.”
Pagina 234
“the beneficiaries of spatial development typically do not pay the full cost associated with mitigation measures for water management”
Bovenstaande citaten laten zien dat volgens de opstellers van het rapport de kosten van het totale waterbeheer onvoldoende transparant inzichtelijk zijn en dat harmonisatie van de verslaglegging hierbij behulpzaam kan zijn.
Tevens is op basis van deze citaten te stellen dat de waterschappen vaak geconfronteerd worden met kosten die feitelijk door de besluiten van andere overheden veroorzaakt worden en dat deze kosten geen rol spelen bij de besluitvorming binnen deze overheden. Hierbij is het soms zo dat elders geld wordt verdiend, terwijl de kosten op het bordje komen van het waterschap. Op welke wijze is uw DB, eventueel in Unie verband, van plan om de kosten van het waterbeheer meer inzichtelijk te maken zodat deze op zijn minst worden betrokken bij de besluitvorming over ruimtelijke plannen en zo mogelijk de extra kosten worden gedragen door degene die baat hebben bij die ruimtelijke plannen.
Zoet water
Pagina 57
“In the past, water supplies have been abundant and the abstraction regimes used in the Netherlands have focused on ensuring flood safety an protecting water quality. However, there is a growing risk of shortage due to a lack of water and increasing salinity as sea water intrudes into the delta and saline groundwater rises.”
“According to Jeuken et al. (2012), estimates of economic loss to the Dutch agricultural sector may reach EUR 700 million in a ‘dry year’ (frequency of 1/10 years) and EUR 1800 in an ‘extreme dry year'(frequency of 1/100 years)”
Pagina 126
“Water safety measures for the implementation of the Delta Programma tend to take the bigger share of financial resources at hand, leaving projects related to securing freshwater supply under-funded or on hold.”
Pagina 170
“While simple in its structure, adoption of water-sharing arrangements in the Netherlands would require some significant administrative changes. The timeliness of the current Delta Programme means that there is an opportunity to introduce water-sharing regimes gradually.”
Pagina 187
“In fact, since 2006, the quality of the Volkerak-Zoommeer has unexpectedly improved due to the introduction of the quagga mussel that filters the water and removes algae. Whether the improvement of water quality is structural or just temporary is highly uncertain (MER, 2012). In addition, a lack of consensus regarding who should pay for the measures for the Volkerak-Zoommeer has also contributed to the persistent delays in the decision making.”
In bovenstaande citaten wordt aandacht gevraagd voor de wijze waarop bij zoetwatertekorten de prioriteiten worden gesteld. Er wordt gepleit voor de invoering van een systeem van zoetwater toewijzing, waarbij meer rekening wordt gehouden met de economische/financiële belangen en risico’s bij zoetwatertekorten.
Deelt uw DB deze zienswijze van de onafhankelijke rapporteurs en op welke wijze is uw DB, eventueel in Unie verband, van plan deze opvatting onder de aandacht te brengen van de landelijke beleidsmakers?
Tot slot wil de fractie van Ons Water/Waterbreed uw DB nadrukkelijk wijzen op het vermelde citaat op pagina 187. Wij verzoeken uw DB het vermelde feit, dat de waterkwaliteit van het Volkerak-Zoommeer sinds 2006 is verbeterd, nadrukkelijk onder de aandacht te brengen van de beslissers inzake de mogelijke verzilting van het Volkerak-Zoommeer. Hier kan een gegronde reden zijn om terughoudend te zijn met de verzilting. Als het Volkerak-Zoommeer verzilt wordt gaat een enorme zoetwater capaciteit verloren en dat met een toekomst in beeld van oplopende zoetwatertekorten.
In afwachting van uw beantwoording,
hoogachtend,
Namens de fractie Ons Water/Waterbreed
L.H. van der Kallen
In 2014 verscheen de OECD studie “Water Governance in the Netherlands, Fit for the future”. Op 1 juni van dat jaar schreef ik daar een uitgebreide brief over aan het Dagelijks Bestuur van het waterschap Brabantse Delta. Een deel van die brief ging over de kosten van het waterbeheer en over de belastingen die de basis vormen van de financiering van waterschappen.