This article highlights recent developments in flood risk management in the Netherlands and presents approaches for reliability analysis and asset management for flood defences and hydraulic infrastructure. The functioning of this infrastructure is of great importance for the country as large parts of it are prone to flooding. Based on a nationwide flood risk assessment, new safety standards for flood defences have been derived in the form of maximal acceptable failure probabilities. A framework for the reliability-based analysis of the performance of hydraulic infrastructure is introduced. Within this context, various challenges are discussed, such as the dynamic nature of loads, resistance and reliability requirements over time. Various case studies are presented to highlight advances and challenges in various application fields. The first case illustrates how structural health monitoring contributes to a better characterisation of the reliability of the defences and how innovative measures can enhance the reliability. The second case discusses how the river system can be managed in the context of the new safety standards. The third case shows how upgrades and reinforcements of hydraulic structures can be evaluated taking into account (uncertain) future developments, such as sea level rise.

This article highlights recent developments in the flood risk management in the Netherlands and approaches for asset and life cycle management for flood defences and hydraulic infrastructures. The functioning of these infrastructures is of great importance for the country as large parts of it are prone to flooding, and the adequate functioning of several hydraulic structures is vital for safety and other functionalities. The recent transition of the flood management policy toward more risk-based is summarized, resulting in new safety standards for flood defences in the form of tolerable failure probabilities. Using a risk-based framework, challenges in reliability assessment and management are discussed, such as the dynamic nature of loads, resistances and reliability requirements over time. Finally, various case studies are discussed to present advances and challenges in various subfields. Examples illustrate the utilization of risk-based approaches in the evaluation of innovative dike reinforcements and nature based solutions in flood management. In a third case life cycle cost analysis is demonstrated to be used to optimize the management and future proof reinforcement of large structures.

Turbulence is a dominant factor in the design of scour protections downstream of hydraulic structures. For the detailed design phase, numerous tools are available for quantifying turbulence levels. However, the guidance on turbulence for the feasibility and preliminary design stage is sparse. There is a need for tools to quantify turbulence more accurately in the early stages of design, where the designer has a large number of options on the table and has to judge their performance rapidly. We built up a model that consistently describes the energy levels in the main flow and in turbulence, the transfer between them and the dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy. The model was confronted with laboratory data. First performance of the model was satisfactory and several items for further development were identified.

Developed economies have developed a vast portfolio of infrastructure. A major proportion of that is reaching a critical age where renewal and renovation is necessary. We will show two cases related to the hydraulic infrastructure of the Netherlands. We will show that lifecycle cost analysis is a suitable method to support asset management of portfolios of hydraulic structures.