Geerdink R.B.,Rijkswaterstaat |
Sebastiaan van den Hurk R.,University Utrecht |
Analytica Chimica Acta | Year: 2017
Determining the chemical oxygen demand (COD) is challenging because of the chemicals that are used in the current methods. There is an urgent need to determine the pollution in surface waters from (heavy) industry via a simple, reliable and fast method. However, the current procedures use hazardous chemicals, such as mercury, to suppress chloride interferences. This challenge has not been resolved.The introduction of modern detection techniques, such as chemiluminescence and oxidation procedures, e.g., microwave and ultrasound dissolution, has not resulted in a breakthrough. Currently, the applicability of mercury-free methods is limited to samples with a chloride content of approximately 3000 mg/L. New electro- and photo-oxidative methods show potential as replacements for the standard COD methods that require toxic reagents, but further research is still needed.In this paper, a historical view of the development of chemical oxygen demand determination methods is presented. Critical notes on and outlines of the development of the first through the current procedures are discussed. In addition, the Dutch situation is presented as an example to other countries in their struggle to establish a COD procedure with two basic qualities, reliability and environmental friendliness. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.
Hijdra A.,Rijkswaterstaat |
Arts J.,University of Groningen |
Woltjer J.,University of Groningen
Water Resources Management | Year: 2014
In the past canals were developed, and some rivers were heavily altered, driven by the need for good transportation infrastructure. Major investments were made in navigation locks, weirs and artificial embankments, and many of these assets are now reaching the end of their technical lifetime. Since then the concept of integrated water resource management (IWRM) emerged as a concept to manage and develop water-bodies in general. Two pressing problems arise from these developments: (1) major reinvestment is needed in order to maintain the transportation function of these waterways, and (2), it is not clear how the implementation of the concept of IWRM can be brought into harmony with such reinvestment. This paper aims to illustrate the problems in capital-intensive parts of waterway systems, and argues for exploring value-driven solutions that rely on the inclusion of multiple values, thus solving both funding problems and stakeholder conflicts. The focus on value in cooperative strategies is key to defining viable implementation strategies for waterway projects. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
Mehari A.,UNSECO IHE |
Van Steenbergen F.,MetaMeta |
Irrigation and Drainage | Year: 2011
Spate irrigation, a floodwater harvesting and management system, has for the past 70 centuries provided a livelihood for about 13 million resource-poor people in some 20 countries. Despite being the oldest, the system still remains the least studied and the least understood. It is only in the past two decades that the system has been subject to some modernization interventions, much of which focused on improving floodwater diversion efficiency. Effective floodwater diversion measures are necessary, but they must be supplemented with equally effective field water management and soil moisture conservation measures if sustainable improvement of land and water productivity is to be achieved. This paper draws on studies conducted in the past 5 years, particularly in the Republic of Yemen, Pakistan and Eritrea. The studies employed both qualitative and quantitative methods and assessed the modernization package that could result in lasting enhancement of crop productivity in spate irrigated agriculture. The suggested modernization measures include: avoid overstretching the command area; limit the number of irrigation turns to two or an irrigation gift of 1000mm; avoid field bund heights of more than 1m; adopt a field-to-field water distribution system instead of an individual field water distribution system; opt for water rights and rules that entitle downstream fields to the more frequent small and medium floods thereby ensuring equity in both water quality and quantity; optimize soil water-holding capacity and infiltration rate through pre-and-post irrigation tillage, combined tillage as well as soil mulching. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
News Article | February 15, 2017
WAUKESHA, WI and MEERSSEN, NETHERLANDS--(Marketwired - February 13, 2017) - SkyDeck Europe BV has finalized an agreement with Safway Group for the exclusive distribution of Safway's QuikDeck Suspended Access System in six European countries: Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The distribution agreement reflects the growing global need for a strong, safe, stable suspended work platform for a range of projects, from bridge maintenance and restoration, to offshore and industrial applications. "We expect QuikDeck to be well received in Europe," said Jerry Dolly, manager of Safway's Bridge and Specialty Products Division. "Customers will benefit greatly from the increase in safety and productivity that only QuikDeck can deliver." QuikDeck solutions fit perfectly in the vision of Ronny van Baal, CEO of SkyDeck Europe BV and Sky Access BV. "We want to create a safer working environment -- especially in difficult to reach areas." QuikDeck features a unique modular design that allows an "in the air" build-out of a broad, rigid work platform. From an initial QuikDeck platform, sections can be rapidly added using materials staged on sections previously erected all without any support from below. QuikDeck can be engineered to span large areas, fit unique shapes, withstand high loads at a 4:1 safety factor, and be combined with other access solutions such as supported scaffolding. Its easy installation saves on labor and moves projects along efficiently. "Market demand for a suspended work platform able to withstand heavier loads has been on the rise," said van Baal. "QuikDeck can easily handle loads of up to 360 kg/m2 and is safer and faster to erect." QuikDeck has been marketed in North America since 2006 and has been introduced in Brazil, the Middle East, Africa, New Zealand and Japan. In October 2015, SkyDeck Europe BV installed its first QuikDeck platform in the atrium of the Rijkswaterstaat building in Maastricht in the Netherlands. "By using QuikDeck, there was no interference in the daily activities inside the Rijkswaterstaat building," explained van Baal, "and the atrium's beautiful stone floor was protected from the damage that more traditional scaffold could have caused." About SkyDeck Europe SkyDeck Europe BV is the official and exclusive distributor of QuikDeck in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Although SkyDeck Europe BV is relatively new in the market, CEO Ronny van Baal has more than 10 years of experience solving technical access challenges through his company Sky-Access BV. For more information visit www.skydeck-europe.eu or www.sky-access.com. About Safway Group With more than 115 locations in the U.S. and Canada and distribution channels worldwide, Safway Group delivers high-performance multiservice solutions -- THE SMART WAY®. Offering the widest range of equipment and the greatest depth of expertise in access, scaffolding, insulation, fireproofing and coatings, Safway Group companies include All-American Scaffold; CL Coatings; Dalco; Industrial Coatings & Fireproofing; MobleySafway; New England Scaffolding; Redi Solutions; Safway Atlantic; Safway Services; Safway Services Canada; S&E Bridge & Scaffold; and Swing Staging. With the most advanced engineering team; an exclusive project management system; award-winning safety; and exclusive solutions like Spider®, Power Climber Wind® and the QuikDeck® Suspended Access System, Safway Group companies design and implement innovative, quality solutions at the lowest installed cost for projects of any size and scope. Safway has been an industry leader since 1936, serving the petrochemical, oil and gas, power, refining, marine, manufacturing, transportation and commercial construction industries worldwide. For more information about Safway Group, visit: www.safwaygroup.com.
News Article | February 16, 2017
Electric cars that require charging and autonomous cars that can be summoned to take you from A to B. How do you take these future challenges into account in spatial planning? And what will Dutch roads and the living environment look like in 2030? In February 2016, the Professional Association of Dutch Architect's Agencies (Branchevereniging Nederlandse Architectenbureaus, BNA) and TU Delft launched a design initiative inviting design teams and the municipalities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht to examine five ring road locations in the respective cities. On Wednesday 15 February 2017, the resulting visions were presented at TU Delft in a new book entitled motorway x City. In order to improve the connection between the city and motorways, and thereby improve liveability, space usage and accessibility, seven multidisciplinary design teams set to work developing visions for five ring road locations: Amsterdam Lelylaan, Amsterdam Gooiseweg, Utrecht Science Park, Rotterdam A20 and Rotterdam A13. Each team included at least one architect, landscape architect, urban planner and traffic expert from various architect's and consultancy agencies. Roads of all types and sizes In parallel with the design team's activities, TU Delft organised a range of education and research activities. These included a research project into the generic aspects of ring roads and the built environment. Hans de Boer, TU Delft Project Manager: 'Fransje Hooimeijer and her colleagues from the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment looked at the impact of future types of mobility on five types of ring road: at ground level, raised road, raised road on columns, raised road with ditch and road with ditch. They also examined how these changes would impact the neighbourhoods characterised by the 1950s (reconstruction era), the 1970s ('cauliflower' neighbourhoods, with a tree-like layout) and the 1990s (VINEX neighbourhoods, in large outer city areas). Filip Geerts explored how the road situation will change with the advent of autonomous cars (the line: the cross-section of a motorway). For example, additional space will be created adjacent to roads, because fewer traffic systems will be required. Roberto Cavallo, Valentina Ciccotosto and Manuela Triggianese focused on the space where the motorway and city meet, such as park & rides, in a historical context of technological developments, infrastructure and architecture. In order to develop concrete recommendations for the future, several expert meetings were organised for the design teams and the students involved. The Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis (KiM) presented a scenario study for self-driving cars. Within TU Delft, Dimitris Milakis from the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences is studying the potential impact of self-driving cars on road capacity, car ownership and how people choose to travel. The research of Riender Happee, from the Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering, focuses on cars that drive autonomously using cameras and sensors, human-machine interaction and the interaction between autonomous vehicles and vulnerable road users. Hans de Boer: 'These academic insights, the expertise of the agencies and the expertise of the involved municipalities and regional branches of Rijkswaterstaat regarding motorways in the urban context all help to accelerate the production of compelling ideas. For example, autonomous cars could be parked under a road raised on columns, while electric cars could be charged at park & ride locations. For example, their use as a traffic junction will intensify as people will be able to switch easily from the autonomous car to the autonomous bus, such as a WEpod'. The study has not only contributed to a vision for the future and a strategy for how to apply this vision, it also resulted in a new working method. Hans de Boer: 'By closely examining the locations together in this way, municipalities and the regional branches of Rijkswaterstaat can identify opportunities to make short-term adjustments, and to include these in maintenance programmes. Consider, for example, improving bicycle access to the residential areas located between the A20 motorway and De Rotte river. By working together, the parties involved will be able to view the motorway in an urban context, and to make optimal use of the space. This is of particular interest to the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, which was also involved in this study. With this book, which is being published in both Dutch and English, we would like to share the acquired insights and working method with other European ministries of infrastructure and the environment (Rijkswaterstaat in Dutch). These ministries have joined forces in the Networking for Urban Vitality joint venture, within which the Dutch Rijkswaterstaat is also an active partner'.
News Article | April 15, 2016
« DOE to offer up to $4.5M for research on methane hydrates | Main | FAA approves Alcohol-to-Jet biofuel » On 14 April, the transport ministers of all 28 EU member states signed the Amsterdam Declaration, laying down agreements on the steps necessary for the development of connected, autonomous driving technology in the EU. The signatories pledge to draw up rules and regulations that will allow autonomous vehicles to be used on the roads. A lack of good cooperation between EU member states could give rise to a jumble of different rules, thereby preventing the large-scale availability of this new technology. Agreements also need to be made on issues such as liability, privacy, data security and the effects of self-driving vehicles on traffic and the road network. The European Commission has taken important steps with the Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) platform, the Round Table on Connected and Automated Driving and the Gear 2030 initiative. Nevertheless, a more coordinated approach is called for between Member States and at European level to remove barriers and to promote a step-by-step learning-by-experience approach such as the European truck platooning challenge. It is essential to support an exchange of information of results and best practices by linking and integrating such initiatives. The Declaration defines the following objectives: The document also sets out actions by members states, the European Commission, and industry. An important priority for member states is ensuring ensure that the Vienna and Geneva Conventions on Road Traffic allow the use of connected and automated vehicles on public roads, and to consider a revision of vehicle and traffic safety regulations within this context. Further, member states should identify and, where possible, remove legal barriers to the testing and deployment of connected and automated vehicles, based on a learning-by-experience approach. Member states will also need to support large-scale cross-border testing of connected and automated driving technologies, based on a common European approach. For its part, the EC needs to develop a shared European strategy on connected and automated driving, based upon the shared objectives of the Declaration, as well as through strengthening the links between existing platforms such as the C-ITS Platform, Gear 2030 and the Round Table on Connected and Automated Driving. Further, the document urges the EC to consider continuing the C-ITS platform for the deployment of interoperable C-ITS in the EU and to widen its scope to include infrastructure related aspects, traffic management and road safety for connected and automated driving. The EU regulatory framework will need to be adapted to support the development and use of automated and connected driving, respecting the principle of subsidiarity. The EC is also to develop a coordinated approach towards research and innovation activities in the field of connected and automated driving, within the Energy Union Research, Innovation and Competitiveness Strategy and its Strategic Transport Research and Innovation Agenda, bringing together the work of the EU and of Member States. Industry participants are to participate actively in the development of the European strategy and agenda on connected and automated driving—and, of course, to develop vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication systems (C-ITS) and continue standardization work to ensure that new services and systems are interoperable at EU level. The Amsterdam Declaration stresses the importance of interoperability and standardization both at the European and at the international level. Industry is also urged to investigate which performance and safety requirements should apply to mobile communications networks to facilitate connected and automated driving, in conjunction with short-range communications (ITS – G5) to facilitate hybrid communication. While in Amsterdam for the informal meeting of the Transport Council at which the Declaration was signed, the European transport ministers allowed themselves to be transported in a partly self-driving car from the National Maritime Museum to the EYE Film Museum. This demonstration emphasized the Netherlands’ position as a proving ground for self-driving vehicles. Car manufacturers involved are Volvo, Daimler, BMW, Renault, PSA, JLR, Vedecom, TNO/Davi, Tesla and Audi. Other partners are TomTom, the city of Amsterdam, de Dutch Road Transport Agency, Rijkswaterstaat and the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. Vehicle technology is developing rapidly. Cars and trucks are equipped with an increasing number of automatic driver assistance features, including automatic parking, brake assist and traffic jam assist. In future generations of smart mobility the vehicle will take over more and more of the driver’s tasks. Vehicles will also increasingly be connected with each other and the infrastructure through the exchange of data. Automatic features and connectivity offer many advantages:
News Article | December 21, 2016
Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) announces that the Dutch Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) intends to award the contract for the reinforcement of the Houtrib dike to Boskalis and its partner Van Oord. The contract carries a value of EUR 90 million of which Boskalis' share amounts to EUR 45 million. The project entails the reinforcement of the Houtrib dike on both sides with sand and rock over a distance of 25 kilometers. The activities will be carried out in the period 2017-2020. The dike reinforcement project is part the Dutch Flood Protection Program, an alliance of Rijkswaterstaat and all district water boards aimed at reinforcing primary dikes in a more innovative and robust manner. The Houtrib dike is located between Enkhuizen and Lelystad, the Netherlands, and protects large parts of the country from flooding. During storms, the dike prevents water from the IJsselmeer lake flooding into the Markermeer lake. The dike however currently does not meet the government safety standards. As part of the Dutch Flood Protection Program, Boskalis is currently also working on the reinforcement of the Wadden Sea dike on Texel, the reinforcement of the Wadden Sea dike between the towns of Eemshaven and Delfzijl, as well as making this dike earthquake-proof, and the reinforcement of the Markermeer dikes between the towns of Hoorn and Durgerdam. Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. is a leading global services provider operating in the dredging, maritime infrastructure and maritime services sectors. The company provides creative and innovative all-round solutions to infrastructural challenges in the maritime, coastal and delta regions of the world with services including the construction and maintenance of ports and waterways, land reclamation, coastal defense and riverbank protection. In addition, Boskalis offers a wide variety of marine services and contracting for the oil and gas sector and offshore wind industry as well as salvage solutions (SMIT Salvage). Furthermore, Boskalis has a number of strategic partnerships in harbour towage and terminal services (KOTUG SMIT Towage, Keppel Smit Towage, Saam Smit Towage and Smit Lamnalco). With a versatile fleet of 1,000 units Boskalis operates in around 75 countries across six continents. Boskalis has over 8,200 employees, excluding its share in partnerships. This press release can also be found on our website www.boskalis.com.
Proceedings WODCON XX - Congress and Exhibition: The Art of Dredging | Year: 2013
Human interference has drastically changed fluviatile, deltaic and coastal hydro-morphological regimes. Normalisation of rivers and construction of embankments have reduced the supply of sediments to floodplains and deltas leading to erosion. Drainage, extraction of groundwater and changes in land-use for urbanisation, agriculture and industrialisation for growing populations have caused land subsidence in many coastal and deltaic zones. These increasing pressures make these areas more vulnerable for the consequences of climate change such as sea level rise, increased frequency of storms, and damage to ecosystems. Changes in seasonal precipitation may cause changes in sedimentation and erosion patterns leading to floods and droughts in river basins. Adaptation measures are absolutely necessary to overcome these challenges for which dredging is an important tool. This creates opportunities for the dredging sector. This paper focuses on the relations between flood protection measures and dredging for navigation in river systems. An example of flood management by making space for water is the Dutch programme Room for the River. River discharges are enlarged by a number of measures such as deepening, or widening of river beds, lowering of floodplains, construction of side channels and relocation of dikes. In general increase of flood conveyance capacity will lead to a decrease in flow velocity and increase in sedimentation. Other measures such as for the Water Framework Directive also have effects on the morphology of the river. More frequent dredging will be required to remove restrictions for navigation, which may lead to hindrance for navigation. The Dutch Rhine, an important transport axis from main port Rotterdam to Germany, will be presented as a case study. This case is further complicated by erosion of the river bed in the upstream part caused by measures for regulation and navigation. Erosion of the river bed results in bottlenecks for water management and navigation. In order to maintain the sediment balance it is required that sediments from dredging have to be relocated within the river system, but this does not solve the problem. Understanding of the hydro-morphological system is crucial to solve these dilemmas and find sustainable solutions. Also smart dredging methods are required to reduce hindrance for shipping. © 2013 WODA.
20th ITS World Congress Tokyo 2013 | Year: 2013
This paper reports on the recent developments in the Netherlands concerning Open Data in relation to Traffic Information. Open Data is one of the emerging developments which influence the availability of traffic information. Dilemmas will be sketched and solutions will be given to bring traffic information to the next level.
Burger M.,Technical University of Delft |
Van Den Berg M.,Rijkswaterstaat |
Hegyi A.,Technical University of Delft |
De Schutter B.,Technical University of Delft |
Hellendoorn J.,Technical University of Delft
Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies | Year: 2013
The use of traffic control systems can potentially improve the traffic flows on traffic networks. However, for the implementation of such control systems-both in simulation and in practice-many steps should be taken, and many choices are to be made. In this paper a list of considerations is provided for developing model-based traffic control systems in general, with a more detailed discussion on the use of model-predictive control for traffic regulation. A case study of designing a traffic controller is provided for the Dutch A12 freeway. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.