Waterschap

Waterschap, literally meaning “water board” in Dutch, is a regional public authority in the Netherlands responsible for water management within a defined geographic area. Today the country is divided into 21 waterschappen, each functioning as an autonomous public body with its own elected council.

The core tasks of a waterschap are flood protection, water quantity management, and wastewater treatment. This includes maintaining and operating dikes, levees, sluices, pumping stations, canals, and other flood-defense infrastructure; managing water levels in polders and rivers; and ensuring the treatment and proper handling of wastewater and surface water quality. While waterschappen oversee water-related infrastructure, drinking water supply is typically handled by separate water companies and regulators.

Governance and funding are based on Dutch public-law principles. Each waterschap has an elected General Board (algemeen bestuur) whose members are residents and property owners within the district. The chair of the board is the dijkgraaf, who acts as its head. Finances are raised primarily through a local tax known as waterschapsbelasting, contributed by residents and businesses in the waterschap’s territory, and supplemented by government subsidies where applicable.

Waterschappen operate in conjunction with national, provincial, and municipal authorities. They implement national water policy, standards, and safety requirements, and coordinate with other levels of government on large-scale projects such as flood defense programs and climate adaptation measures. The system is historically rooted in local self-governance and remains a distinctive feature of Dutch water management, designed to protect densely populated areas from flooding while safeguarding water quality and regional ecosystems.