| Rijkswaterstaat | |
| Native Name: | Rijkswaterstaat |
| Type: | National agency |
| Formed: | 1798 |
| Jurisdiction: | Government of the Netherlands |
| Headquarters: | Utrecht, the Netherlands |
| Motto: | Water, wegen, werken. Rijkswaterstaat (water, roads, works. Rijkswaterstaat) |
| Employees: | 5001-10000 |
| Budget: | 5 000 000 000 eu |
| Chief1 Name: | Patricia Zorko |
| Chief1 Position: | Interim Director-General |
| Chief2 Name: | TBA |
| Chief2 Position: | Deputy Director-General |
| Chief3 Name: | José van Aerle |
| Chief3 Position: | Chief Financial Officer |
| Chief4 Name: | Erica Slump |
| Chief4 Position: | Chief Engineer-Director Traffic and Water Management |
| Chief5 Name: | Bob Demoet |
| Chief5 Position: | Chief Engineer-Director Programs, Projects and Maintenance |
| Chief6 Name: | Louis Schouwstra |
| Chief6 Position: | Chief Engineer-Director Central Netherlands |
| Chief7 Name: | Ron Kolkman |
| Chief7 Position: | Chief Information Officer |
| Parent Department: | Ministry of infrastructure and water management |
| Website: | https://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl |
Rijkswaterstaat,[1] founded in 1798 as the Bureau voor den Waterstaat and formerly translated to Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management, is a Directorate-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands. Its role is the practical execution of the public works and water management, including the construction and maintenance of waterways and roads, and flood protection and prevention. The agency was also involved in the construction of big railway projects such as the Betuweroute and the HSL-Zuid.
The mission statement of the organisation reads: "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.
As of 1 June 2023, the Interim director-general (DG) of Rijkswaterstaat is Patricia Zorko.[2] Since 1 January 2006, Rijkswaterstaat has been an (executive) agentschap (agency).
The Dutch word waterstaat denotes the condition of an area in relation to the level and the condition of surface and groundwater, including all relevant natural and artificial features.[3] The component 'rijks' translates as 'national'.
Rijkswaterstaat is divided into regional and specialist services, formerly known as directies. Each service is managed by a hoofdingenieur-directeur (HID), who together form the board of Rijkswaterstaat.
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 were merged, forming the service Noord-Nederland, the directies Overijssel and Gelderland were merged to form the service Oost-Nederland, the directies IJsselmeergebied and Utrecht were merged to form the service Midden-Nederland and the directies Noord-Brabant and Limburg were merged to form the service Zuid-Nederland.The following regional services exist: