Rijkswaterstaat

Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the "Bureau voor den Waterstaat", is part of the Dutch Ministry of Transportation and Water Management that is delegated the task of the practical execution of the so-called waterstaat, this includes the construction of waterways and roads and the maintenance of these. The agency was also involved in the construction of big railway projects such as the Betuweroute and the HSL-Zuid.

The mission of the organisation is: "Rijkswaterstaat is de rijksdienst die werkt aan droge voeten, schoon en voldoende water én aan de vlotte en veilige doorstroming van het verkeer" (Rijkswaterstaat is the national agency that provides dry feet, clean and sufficient water and a quick and safe flow of traffic). The agency is divided in 10 regional, 6 specialist services and 2 special services.

The director-general (DG) of Rijkswaterstaat is as of June 1 2003 Ir. Bert (L.H.) Keijts.

As of Januari 1 2006 Rijkswaterstaat is a (executive) agentschap (agency).

Regional services

Rijkswaterstaat is divided in regional services, formerly known as "directies". Every regional service is managed by a hoofdingenieur-directeur (HID). The regions are divided in local "water- en wegendistricten" (water and road districts), formerly known as "dienstkringen". In the past, every province had its own regional organisation, but the directies Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe are merged, forming the directie Noord-Nederland; and the directies Overijssel and Gelderland are merged to form the directie Oost-Nederland.The following regional services exist:
*RWS Noord-Nederland (located in Leeuwarden)
*RWS Noord-Holland (located in Haarlem)
*RWS IJsselmeergebied (located in Lelystad)
*RWS Oost-Nederland (located in Arnhem)
*RWS Utrecht (located in Nieuwegein)
*RWS Zuid-Holland (located in Rotterdam)
*RWS Zeeland (located in Middelburg)
*RWS Noord-Brabant (located in 's-Hertogenbosch)
*RWS Limburg (located in Maastricht)
*RWS Noordzee (located in Rijswijk)

pecialist Services

*Adviesdienst Geo-informatie en ICT, Advisory service Geo-information and IT (located in Delft)
*Adviesdienst Verkeer en Vervoer, Advisory service Traffic and Transport (located in Delft)
*Bouwdienst, Building service (located in Utrecht)
*Dienst voor Weg en Waterbouwkunde Service for Road- and Waterarchitecture (located in Delft)
*Rijksinstituut voor Kust en Zee, National Institute for the Coast and Sea (located in Den Haag)
*Rijksinstituut voor Integraal Zoetwaterbeheer en Afvalwaterbehandeling, National Institute for integral Fresh Water management and Waste Treatment (located in Lelystad)

Projectdirecties (Special Services)

*Corporate Dienst, Corporate Service (located in Utrecht)

Former (specialist) services

*Waterstaatskerken
*Deltadienst
*Rijksdienst voor de IJsselmeerpolders, National Institute for polders in the IJsselmeer

Related Dutch institutes

*Deltares (located in Delft and Utrecht)

External links

* [http://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl Official website]
* [http://www.rws-avv.nl Advisory service for Traffic and Transport]
* [http://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/over/agentschap/index.jsp About Rijkswaterstaat as an agency]