Curriculum vitae Ute Menke.
Ute Menke (Geologist, TU Clausthal in Germany) works as an advisor water quality and nature
management at Rijkswaterstaat within a national unit. Activities of the national unit ‘Water, Transport and
Environment’ of Rijkswaterstaat include the implementation of WFD measures in the Dutch waters e.g. in
the Rhine/Meuse rivers and lakes. This includes also the description on effectiveness of implemented and
designed measures. Those measures include e.g. the excavation of gullies along rivers, the excavation of
floodplains, the development of fish passes, nature development projects, etc.
An important issue in the Dutch water systems at the moment is the fact that we reduce the number of
nutrients in the rivers and lakes in order to cope with the WFD implementation on the one hand and that
on the other hand this has an impact on fish species, growth of water plants and this affects the number of
water birds in the area.
The Rijkswaterstaat is the executive agency of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment in the
Netherlands, responsible for the Dutch main road network, main waterway network and main water
systems. Rijkswaterstaat facilitates smooth and safe flow of traffic, keeps the national water system safe,
clean, user-friendly and protects the Netherlands against flooding.
Some facts about the Rijkswaterstaat are:
• Founded in 1798
• 9000 employees
• 10 Regional departments
• 5 Centres of excellence
• Annual budget > 5 billion euros
Highlights concerning the water projects of Rijkswaterstaat are:
- The implementation of the Space for the River Programme in the Netherlands by 2015+;
- Setting up the Dutch Delta Programme in order to adapt the Netherlands e.g. to a rising sea level;
- Implementing a so-called sand motor along the coastline of the Netherlands in order to keep the coastline
stable (on a longer term);
- Implementing the WFD-measures in all Dutch water systems in 3 periods up to 2027 and monitoring of
“clean water” in the country;
- Also parts of the North Sea and a few estuaries belong to the Dutch waters; this includes work with
neighbouring countries and reporting to the EU;
- Maintenance of waterways which does include also to make some suitable for larger vessels, is another
important task. This includes e.g. further development of the Rotterdam harbour.
Public Private Partnership - On national level Rijkswaterstaat cooperates with different public and private
partners as well as national and regional political bodies. In a number of projects, Rijkswaterstaat
cooperates with the private sector using Design, Build, Finance and Maintain contract models.
Concerning research activities and also the development of numerous models, the Rijkswaterstaat has a
continuous cooperation with Deltares in Delft, the Netherlands. The application development and their use
in e.g. monitoring of water systems and planned/implemented projects is a big task. The research activities
can help in developing projects and exchange of knowledge within EU countries and various organisations.
Rijkswaterstaat developed a clear international vision and strategy. This strategy is updated every 2 years.
Rijkswaterstaat cooperates with its neighbouring countries and the European Union. Furthermore, there
are close ties with countries outside Europe such as The United States and China, e.g. on flood forecasting
and flood protection.