Mott MacDonald in ‘Room for the River’ project

Mott MacDonald will manage all technical studies and stakeholder engagement. Both projects are part of the Room for the River programme which was developed by the Dutch Government to face the challenge of increasing rates of water flow created by climate changes. It is hoped that by 2015, the programme will help protect the lives and homes of the four million riverside inhabitants.

The programme covers all major Rhine branches in the Netherlands. As well as increasing protection against floods, the spatial quality of the entire riverside is to be enhanced, allowing more space for nature development (large parts of the area are included in the national ecological network) and for nature and water related recreation.

Mott MacDonald has been appointed as technical manager for floodplain works along the River Rhine Meinerswijk project in Arnhem and as spatial manager for floodplain works along the River IJssel.

As technical manager, Mott MacDonald will manage the selection of a preferred technical solution to reduce the water level in the main river. This will involve the commission of technical studies which will comprise hydraulic and hydro morphological models, hydrogeology, underground infrastructure and ecology. It will also include the mapping and eventual removal of explosives from the Second World War.

The IJssel project is being developed to lower the summer bed of the river valley and floodplain with the aim of lowering the maximum water levels of the river during peak flows. As spatial manager, Mott MacDonald is responsible for stakeholder engagement. The consultancy will also carry out an environmental impact assessment.