The Delta Project

This passage is about how the Netherlands solved its flooding problem.

Lexile Level: 1420L

Categories: History People & Places

The Netherlands is a small, densely populated country situated on the coast of northwestern Europe. The country is often referred to as Holland though this is not quite accurate since the provinces of North and South Holland are only two of the country's twelve provinces. About one half of the surface area of the Netherlands is located just three feet above sea level, and much of the land is actually below sea level. Consequently, a vast network of dikes, dunes, and pumping stations has been created over the centuries to protect low-lying areas from flooding. Following the devastating North Sea flood of 1953, the Dutch government embarked on the Delta Project, an ambitious plan designed to reduce the risk of serious flooding to once every 4,000 to 10,000 years. The project, largely completed in 2002, raised thousands of miles of dikes to flood-protection height and is considered one of the seven wonders of the modern world.