Electronic Resumé of Peter Prevos

De Maaswerken, Limburg (the Netherlands)

De Maaswerken is a very large project which aims to reduce the risk of flooding for communities along the river Maas in the Netherlands. Other goals of this project are ecological recovery of the river, gravel mining and improving conditions for shipping.

I was involved with this project between 1996 and 1999 and was responsible for resolving issues with cables and pipelines. The original plans included the deepening and widening of large parts of the river, which would result in the forced relocation of many utilities that cross the river. Extensive investigations were conducted to assess the extent of impact on existing utilities and measures to mitigate this impact.

After negotiations with the utility owners it was decided that some river crossings in the city of Venlo would be replaced and an old crossing would be removed.

As an alternative to relocation a protective structure was developed for large pipelines. These structures have, however, not been implemented, as the deepening of the river will not be undertaken.