The Nanjing Hydraulics Research Institute (China), Deltares, Delft University of Technology, UNESCO-IHE and Rijkswaterstaat last week signed a joint declaration stating that they wished to further intensify their collaboration.
At present, Deltares is engaged in a range of projects with China relating to dike strength, dike monitoring, and flood risk management.
Frans van den Berg (a Deltares dike expert) spent the last two weeks visiting the Huaihe River Commission (HRC) with a delegation from Rijkswaterstaat. The aim was to evaluate the ongoing project, and to exchange knowledge and explore options for joint research in the field of dike technology.
This will involve the use of a Dike Analysis Module (DAM) for the Xinyi River almost 400 km to the north of Shanghai. The dikes of the Xinyi River protect more than 6 million people. During the first analysis, a successful pilot project was conducted on a section of approximately 100 km on the basis of only sparse information.
A number of Chinese people will be coming to the Netherlands in September for a DAM course and to work on the further elaboration of the pilot project.