Court of Audit warns of slow progress on Dutch Freshwater Policy
The Dutch Court of Audit has concluded that the government's freshwater policy is falling behind schedule, driving up costs and adding to the damage caused by drought. In a report published on 3 September, the Court found that nearly three quarters of the measures examined from the first phase of the Delta Programme for Freshwater, which ran from 2015 to 2021, were delayed during implementation. This matters because freshwater shortages already cause ongoing harm to nature, farming, shipping and industry in the Netherlands, and slower progress means these losses can keep building up.
Delays add up and costs climb
Measures affecting the main water system were delayed by three years on average. Projects that fell behind schedule almost always ended up costing more than originally budgeted. As a result, total spending from the Delta Fund and regional authorities on first-phase measures reached 513 million euros, some 40 per cent above the original budget of 365 million euros. The Court notes that the measures were not new or complex initiatives but measures that had long been planned within the Delta Programme. Progress in the second phase, covering 2022 to 2026, has also slowed again.
Drought damage keeps building across sectors
The Court examined average annual losses over a 26 year period for nature, agriculture, shipping and industry, expressed as a percentage change from the previous year rather than in monetary terms. Even small annual declines, such as poorer harvests or deteriorating nature areas, can add up to significant economic and social damage over time. The Court stresses that this analysis, covering 1998 to 2023, does not yet include the extreme drought experienced in the summer of 2026, meaning current damage could be higher still.
What could improve delivery
The Court found that measures were more likely to proceed on schedule when the minister co-financed them and when regional authorities such as water boards and provinces were involved early in the planning process, which helped build local support. However, this kind of support has not been structural. The Court recommends that the minister provide lasting co-financing to freshwater regions and take on a stronger coordinating role, for example by setting clearer targets for tackling freshwater shortages and by planning more realistically. It also suggests that freshwater shortages receive more consistent attention in parliament.