My plan presents possible options for the future of the delta region of the river IJssel. Great changes will be necessary in the coming decades due to the increasing volume of water being discharged by the rivers. The IJssel could well need to deal with an increase by one third of the current extreme discharge. We can expect mounting problems with the water round the IJssel, not least because of the rise in water level caused by wind blowing in from the great expanse of IJsselmeer.

There are several conceivable ways of combatting the dangers of flooding in the mouth of the IJssel. The solutions broadly speaking vary between modifying the national discharge of river water, digging additional arms of the IJssel, and creating one or more overflow and retention areas for temporary water storage. Each of the solutions has its own physical impact on the regional physical developments of the IJssel delta. In drawing up the hydraulic options, I took into consideration the characteristic landscape-shaping elements of the IJssel delta, soil structure, water system, history of the landscape and so on. All options were roughly translated into breadth, surface area and configuration of the water system and the height of possible future dykes. In the end my research by design resulted in a single composite option. This hydraulic concept seems extremely favourable from the planning as well as the hydraulic point of view.

My concept proceeds from an enhanced interaction between surface water and river water. The water levels would then recede at high water and the amenity values of landscape, water and history would safely increase. The interaction between surface and river water can be heightened by erecting a delta in the mouth of the IJssel to the north-west of Kampen. By leaving a number of agricultural areas undyked in the delta and on Kampereiland, the function of the artificial mounds of earth or 'terpen' as safe refuges in undyked terrain, will be reinstated. There will be space, too, for extensive and alternative agriculture.

Regional developments on the infrastructural front mean that both the railway station and the route of the N50 road north of IJsselmuiden might be relieved of their function. The space this will free for widening the river can be coupled with the development of a new spatial masterplan for Kampen-IJsselmuiden, to include a new urban waterfront.

The most extreme variant, featuring an additional discharge from the IJssel of 1000 m3 per second during high water, involves a bypass sited to the east of IJsselmuiden. During high water IJsselmuiden's more elevated position in the landscape is a clear advantage. So that the bypass is not just used in extreme circumstances it can double as a recreational overspill area and water sports link between three rivers (IJssel, Zwarte Water and Vecht) and the Friesian lakes to the north.

Place of education: WU Wageningen
Specialization: landschapsarchitectuur
Tutors: Michaël van Buuren & Klaas Kerkstra