As the executive body of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Rijkswaterstaat manages and develops our country’s infrastructure networks. These are the major road and waterway networks and our main water system, which comprises a connected system of large rivers, canals, lakes, coastal waters and the sea. Our fundamental mission is to ensure that we keep our feet dry, that we have sufficient clean water, that traffic flows smoothly on the road and on the water and that useful information is provided. We take a public-oriented approach to the users of our infrastructure networks, resulting in a safe, reliable and efficient national network of roads, waterways and large bodies of water. Our Centre for Water Management monitors the condition and the use of our main water system. Based on this, our aim is to ensure efficient, effective and user-friendly water management, now and in the future. To deliver this aim, we supply knowledge and expertise for Rijkswaterstaat’s water projects, while our advisors and project managers are actively involved in national and regional projects. Providing a bridging function between policy, management, execution, oversight and knowledge in the area of water, we play a pivotal role in national water management. Formed from previous divisions of the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management, our organisation has a staff of over 500 people working in three divisions comprising a total of 22 departments.

The Division Water Network is concerned with the construction, management, maintenance and development of the main water system. The Division Water and Use focuses its activities on making optimum use of the water system, including water quality monitoring, knowledge development and innovation. The Division Business Operations inspects and oversees business operations and manages purchasing and HR.