Noordwaard, on the edge of De Biesbosch near Werkendam, is one of the clearest places to see modern Dutch water management operating as a landscape rather than a single barrier. Formerly a conventional agricultural polder, it was redesigned under the national Room for the River programme so that high river water can pass through the area toward the sea. The result is simultaneously flood infrastructure, tidal wetland, working countryside and a compelling destination for walkers, cyclists and birdwatchers.
Rijkswaterstaat carried out the transformation between 2012 and 2015. Older creek courses were restored using historic maps, dikes were lowered at selected thresholds and homes or farms that remained were placed on raised mounds. When water levels become high enough—about two metres above sea level at the relevant threshold—river water can spill into Noordwaard and move across it. Rijkswaterstaat reported that this happened twice in 2023, demonstrating that the design is not a museum exhibit but active national flood protection.
