Waterschap Zuiderzeeland updates water storage policies

Waterschap Zuiderzeeland has established revised policy rules regarding compensation for increased surface hardening and accelerated runoff, set to take effect on January 1, 2027. The update aims to align water management with recent climate insights and the latest KNMI climate scenarios.

The new policy introduces an updated storage norm of 10.2 cubic meters of water storage per 100 square meters of increased hardened surface. It also expands the scope of the policy and provides developers with more options for implementing alternative forms of water storage to meet compensation requirements.

These changes respond to the fact that urbanization, such as housing and infrastructure development, increases the speed of rainwater runoff, raising the risk of flooding. Additionally, the threshold for mandatory permit applications under the Water Board Ordinance has been lowered to 500 cubic meters.