Climate actions
Re-enforcing the flood defence system can increase the stability and resistance of dikes and dams against dike breaching, e.g. by strengthening the inner core of the dike, or improving characteristics of the dike’s surface that contribute to the overall stability of the dike. If re-enforcing the flood defense system becomes necessary due to climate change, recent studies advocate a three-step approach, considering spacing, broadening and raising consecutively. Dike design can have the aim of allowing water in certain conditions to overtop them without breaching. This is usually achieved by strengthening the inner wall of the dike, by dike broadening, or by developing a parallel dike system with enclosed retention polders using the space in between dikes to retain the water that washes over. Heightening and reinforcement of dikes can affect the landscape in a negative way; costs.
Adaptation or improvement of dikes and dams
Objective
Building new protections on identified weak points or heightening, broadening and strengthening existing ones.
Description
Expected results
Provide more safety against flooding.
Result indicators
Capacity [m³] and height [m] of the dikes or dams
Involved actors
Engineers, builders and people living close to the dikes.
Expected timeline for action
Best practices
Criticalities
Scope of the action
Type of proposed actions
Sector of action
Climate impacts
Implementation scale