All language subtitles for Sea.Monsters.Series.2.Part.3.Doomsday.Flood.Fortress.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org.eng

Narrator: The netherlands is
home to the most advanced

Water-defense systems
and technologies in the world.

"god created the earth.

The dutch created
the netherlands."

Narrator: Without its fortress-
like barriers and dikes,

This country would
have met the same fate

As atlantis centuries ago.

Claus: We would be below
the water level.

Our dikes and our dunes

Wouldn't be able
to withstand the storms.

Narrator: Today, the
netherlands' massive

Flood-prevention network

Protects more than
17 million people

And safeguards crops
that feed millions.

But the battle
against the sea continues.

Due to rising sea levels
and increased rainfall,

Flooding threatens to destroy
the country's coastal regions.

Well, it's definitely
urgency to do this.

The threat is real.

It's here,
and it's not about tomorrow.

This is not
an abstract thing.

Narrator: Now the most advanced
flood-prevention system

Is facing its greatest
challenge yet.

It'll be up to its engineers
to develop new technologies

And rethink water-prevention
methods to ensure

That the netherlands
remains above water.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

The netherlands --

A country not only admired
for its placid beauty,

But also
its forward-thinking engineers

And technological advancements
in water management.

The dutch's expertise in water
is as old as the country itself.

Over time, the dutch have
transformed the seafloor

Into the most fertile land
on the planet

Through their innovative
water-defense systems.

We constantly have a system
to check

All the water-protection system
to levees and the dikes

And see if it's, for
the current situation

And for what we see
in the next 50 years --

If it's strong enough.

Narrator: This complex system

Is regularly maintained
and upgraded.

It stretches over 250 miles --

The length
of the dutch coastline.

For centuries,

The people of the netherlands
have kept the land safe

From flooding through their use
of early technologies

And their mastery
of coastal engineering.

However, this sense of safety
hasn't always protected the land

From encountering danger.

We had a big flood in 1953,

Which really triggered
the importance

And the urgency of this.

About more than 1,800 people
died.

And one of the dikes broke,
and all the water of the sea

Just flew into the country,
which made a big disaster

Because people
were not prepared for it.

We all agree
it can never happen again.

Narrator: And the battle to keep
the country

From becoming completely flooded
just keeps getting tougher.

The netherlands started out
as one big marsh

Separated from the sea
by a belt of sand dunes.

After decades
of disastrous flooding,

The people developed strategies
to keep the water out.

Initially, they relied
on windmills

To pump water
out of swampy areas

And dikes to prevent
flooding from the sea.

But over time, the dutch came
to realize an alarming truth --

Draining the water
was causing the land to sink.

And the country's still sinking
due to land subsidence,

Or the sinking of the earth,

Due to
underground-material movement

Often caused by
the removal of water.

Subsidence happens when
large amounts of groundwater

Is removed from certain types
of rocks or ground materials.

Since the water
is partly responsible

For holding the ground up,

When the water is withdrawn,
the earth starts to contract,

Causing gravity
to pull the land down.

Subsidence is a major worry
in a country

That is so densely populated.

After the great flood of 1953,

The dutch built a massive water-
fighting storm-surge barrier

Around the rhine-meuse delta.

It stands guard at the entrance
to the port of rotterdam.

♪

The maeslant storm-surge barrier

Is the largest moving structure
in the world.

Controlled by a supercomputer,

This massive
water-defense system

Is designed
to automatically close

When rotterdam is threatened
by floods.

We had to defend netherlands

Against flooding
from the north sea,

And we constructed
a lot of dunes, dikes, dams,

And, also, six big
storm-surge barriers.

Narrator: Marc walraven's job
is to ensure the barrier gates

Are ready to swing into action.

The bottom tubes
are about 6 feet,

So not a tall person
could walk through it.

This place where the arm starts,
to the end of the gates

And the whole length of,
is ball joints

And the concrete construction.

If you look at the arms,
you can see the welding places.

And all these spots
were constructed,

Welded here at this location.

It took about 160 hours
to make one welding.

It took, actually,
in total, about seven years

Of construction
to make this barrier.

Narrator: The barrier consists
of two giant steel gates

That operate on ball
and socket joints.

Each gate is nearly as long
as the eiffel tower

And weighs four times as much.

Walraven:
But the real heavy part of
the barrier is just behind here.

It's about 50,000 tons of
concrete.

Narrator:
Under calm sea conditions,

The doors remain fully open,

Providing a 1,180-foot-wide
passageway for ships.

Maeslant storm-surge barrier
is built in this way

That there's never any
interference with shipping

Where they're going to the port
of rotterdam.

It's not good for the economics
of this port

To have a front door
that's constantly closed.

But this has advantages on an
ecological basis, as well,

As it's constantly
free flow of water and fish.

Narrator: But when a storm surge
is predicted,

The giant gates move towards
each other along a rail,

Closing the waterway.

The gates shut with the help

Of the largest ball
joints ever made.

The ball bearings were
originally fabricated

In the czech republic,

And it's done 10 meters'
diameter of steel.

It's about 680 tons of steel.

Narrator: The gates are operated
automatically in two

Different parts of the country.

If they both stopped working,

Diesel generators on-site
would kick into action.

60 electric pumps force
water into the hollow gates.

Because the waterway
is so heavy,

It draws the barrier down

More than three stories
onto the seabed.

We'll fill the 13 compartments
per gate with water.

And slowly it will sink
to the bottom of the river.

We don't have any
single points of failure,

So everything has
to be redundant.

And as you see, more pipes means
there are more pumps

Within those compartments

To be sure
that if one pump fail,

We use the second or third pump.
To pump the water out of it

And to get the barrier
raising again.

Narrator: Machines this tough
come with a hefty price tag --

Half a billion dollars.

But in the netherlands,
this isn't an expense --

It's an investment.

Consider hurricane katrina
in louisiana in 2005

And hurricane harvey
in texas in 2017.

Each caused more than
$100 billion in damage.

Walraven: Of course, storm-surge
barriers cost a lot of money.

But if you compare that
to the recovering of an area

That's been flooded

Or even raising old dikes behind
this, it's not comparable.

And this stands for another
50 to 100 years.

Narrator:
The dutch command center
is located in lelystad.

Technicians monitor data
from ships at sea, remote buoys,

And offshore weather stations.

Teunis: Here, the forecasts are
made for the water level,

Which, in turn, is used
by the maeslant barrier

To decide when to close.

Narrator: If the situation
becomes critical,

Ships in and around rotterdam

Need to get out
of the way -- and fast.

Walraven: About two hours
before closing,

Any shipping is prohibited.

And then at that moment

When the prediction
of the water levels

Is at the right level,

Then we will start
the procedures.

Narrator: The operations system
gives the go-ahead.

So, if we give a forecast
which says it will be

More than 3 meters
in rotterdam,

Then it would close based
on this forecast.

But it's done automatically.

Narrator: The automated system
can be controlled

By marc's team at any point.

We found out
computers are not infallible,

And we had to add some
reliability to the whole system.

And then we decided to have
more interference with people

And the operational team,
and to train people

To monitor the systems.

Narrator: Since its completion,
the barrier has been closed

Only once from a strong storm.
But just like the weather,

It's hard to predict when
another closure will happen.

Teunis: We put the information
on the internet,

And all the people
who need the information

Can use this information
to take the right measures.

Walraven: We expect to have
more closures in future.

People are focused. We focus on
what our task is here to do,

And that's what
we're trained for.

Narrator: While the modern
generation creates stronger

And more sophisticated barriers,

Many before them turned
to another line of defense.

They may not be as big
and bold as today's creations,

But they're some of
the heaviest hitters

In the netherlands arsenal
of mega machines.

♪

♪

Narrator: For centuries,

The netherlands has engaged
in a battle against the sea.

The country is situated
in a low-lying delta formed

By the outflow
of three major rivers.

1/3 of the country
is below sea level,

And 2/3
is vulnerable to flooding.

To reclaim their land
from swamps and marshes,

The dutch developed
early technologies,

Such as windmills,
to drain swampy areas

And create polders, or dry-land
plots, surrounded by dikes.

Jan willem preserves

And maintains
some of the original windmills

That helped build the country.

Optimizing windmill energy,
power output,

And protecting the mill from
damage during inclement weather

Are all attributed
to jan's expertise.

Simple to remove
because, sometimes,

We only have 15 minutes
to remove to sail

When a big thunderstorm
is coming.

Narrator: During harsh weather,

Wind speeds of more
than 75 miles per hour

Could rip the windmill blades
right off.

Willem: So, we need to pump up
the water to drain it.

And that's what this scoop wheel
is for.

Just on the power of the winds,

The mechanism of the windmill
drives this big scoop will,

And it lifts up the water
over a doorstep into the canal

That is connected
with the level of the river.

Narrator:
Wind energy turns the blades,

Which drives a gear
inside the windmill.

That gear converts the rotary
motion to a second gear,

Called the great spur wheel.

It connects to a car,
which turns the paddle wheel.

The paddle wheel pumps
and scoops water

From the lower side
of the windmill

To the higher side
of the windmill.

A single windmill can lift water
about 3 feet high.

Often three or four windmills
are connected

For even greater lift.

Today, there are over 900
functioning windmills

In the netherlands.

Their presence is a constant
reminder of the role

They played in shaping the
country.

Teunis:
In the medieval ages,

The poldering of
the netherlands started.

We started to build polders,

Essentially
take a piece of water,

Build a dike around it,

And pump the water out,
and then you have a polder.

Narrator:
Poldering transformed marshlands

Into neighborhoods
and fertile farmland.

So, we have this saying
in the netherlands --

That "god created earth.

The dutch created
the netherlands."

Which is actually --

You can make jokes about this,
of course,

But, in fact, it's true.

Half of the netherlands
was below sea level.

And if we wouldn't have been
doing these waterworks,

Half of the country
wouldn't be there.

Narrator:
Much of the country didn't
even exist 1,000 years ago.

♪

The shape of holland
has dramatically changed, too.

17% of the coastline
was altered.

More than 2,700 square miles

Used to be under the sea.

That's larger than
the state of delaware.

As important as windmills
once were, today,

The dutch are looking
to build bigger

And more sustainable structures

To protect the land
from flooding.

The flood of 1953 wasn't
the first disaster

To cause mass devastation
to the country.

During the middle
of the night in January 1916,

Villages that formed
north amsterdam

And large parts of north holland

Were flooded
due to a winter storm

That breached dikes
in several places.

The incident resulted in many
houses being washed away,

And a large number of livestock
and people lost their lives.

The disaster
led to the construction

Of the great afsluitdijk,

Which still benefits
the netherlands today.

The dutch government determined
the project was so crucial,

It invested billions to protect
the central part

Of the netherlands from the
effects of the south sea,

Or what the dutch
call the zuiderzee.

They decided to build a dike,
a large dike,

The afsluitdijk, in the north
part of zuiderzee,

Closing it off from the sea,
which then became a lake.

Narrator: 10,000 people worked
to construct the afsluitdijk,

Which spanned the entire width
of the zuiderzee.

In 1932, construction completed.

And the afsluitdijk became part
of the larger zuiderzee works,

Which was considered by many
to be a crowning achievement

Of modern engineering.

It's incredible what
they've done 70 years ago.

It's incredible
how they would have done it,

Because every block,
literally by hand,

Placed it somewhere else.

And it's a big puzzle.

So every block fitted
exactly to the block before.

And I have no clue
how they done it.

I'm a civil engineer,
and I've got a specialization

In hydraulic engineering.

So this really is my cup of tea.

This is really what my heart
gets pumping.

Narrator:
It took workers five years
of hauling rock and piling clay

On top of layers of brushwood
to complete construction,

And all of that hard work
certainly paid off.

The afsluitdijk stood up
to the storm surge of 1953

That obliterated older dikes.

It's still
the primary protection

For the heart of the country,
including the city of amsterdam,

An important financial center
for europe

And home to 2 million people.

The afsluitdijk was originally
built to prevent flooding.

But engineers discovered
it had an added benefit.

The construction of the
afsluitdijk

Changed the salty zuiderzee

Into a freshwater lake
that they call ijesselmeer.

This marvel of engineering
has helped the netherlands grow

Into an agricultural giant.

Hopmans: The dutch have
a lot of greenhouses,

A lot of water from the
ijsselmeer,

Which is behind the afsluitdijk,

Is being used
to water those crops.

And over the years,
the dutch have become

One of the greatest
food-exporting countries

In the world.

Narrator:
But like all technologies,

There's always room
for improvements.

Today, engineers fear that
without proper maintenance,

A severe flood would not
only disrupt the food supply

To cities around the world,

But it would also
put the country at risk.

To avoid catastrophe,

Engineers will need to come up
with new, innovative ways

To ensure that the dam
can withstand rising sea levels

And hold up to today's
extreme weather conditions.

♪

♪

Narrator:
As early as the 17th century,

Dutch engineers have implemented
water-protection systems

To defend the country
from the stormy north sea.

The afsluitdijk dam
and 20-mile causeway

Has protected the netherlands
against flooding

For more than 85 years.

But recently, engineers
have raised concerns

About the sustainability of
the aging water-defense system.

The north sea can produce waves
that can be violent and brutal.

To prevent any future disasters,

The dutch government
has embarked

On a future-proofing project

To reinforce the afsluitdijk
and prevent erosion.

It's at this testing facility

That scientists have been
experimenting

With the latest technology
to produce custom-made waves.

This innovative technology
is called the delta flume.

At nearly 1,000 feet long,

This electrically
powered wave board

Can hold more than
2 million gallons of water

And can simulate wave patterns
found at sea

Or in rivers up to 16 feet tall.

Today, mark klein breteler
and his team

Are testing the stability limits

Of a 1/3-scale model
of a section of the afsluitdijk.

And how we do that
is by doing a laser scan.

So we have a laser
that scans the whole structure.

We do that before the test.

And that measures
actually every position

Of all the blocks
which are in the structure.

And after the test,
we do that again,

And we compare the two.

And in this way,
we can figure out

Every millimeter of change
in the structure.

And that gives us the
information to actually conclude

Whether it is
sufficiently stable or not.

Narrator: The wave board pushes
the water back and forth,

Mimicking the force
of a storm surge.

That's enough force to move
five brick houses.

The basic idea is the same
as in your bathtub.

In your bathtub,
you can move your hands

Like that,
and then you get waves.

We have a lot of machinery
and computers

That know exactly
how the wave board should move

To get the right waves
in the flume.

Narrator: Mark's team is testing
the strength of level blocks --

12-ton prefabricated pieces
of concrete.

What we had before
in one of the tests

Is that such a block
all but washed out.

And that is a serious thing,
of course.

And at that moment, we changed
the design of these blocks.

So these holes are added.

When we do the tests,

Those waves are hitting
in the structure,

And a lot of energy

Is then dissipated
between the big stones.

Those blocks
are supporting each other.

Narrator: Hundreds of thousands
of smaller blocks,

Called quatro blocks,
will also be put to the test.

The goal? To slow the momentum
of the surging sea.

You can see that those blocks
are lower here

And a little bit higher here.

And that is giving us
a rough slope.

So, they're hitting against
these blocks,

And that makes that
they do not run up so easily

As they would have done
if it's all smooth.

Narrator: The team will need
to minimize the amount of water

That could breach the barrier.

The target --
less than 3 gallons

Per second per foot

During the test, you see the
water level rising there.

And at the end of the test,

We actually know how much water
went over the crest.

And that gives us
the information

To actually calculate

How much wave overtopping
per second to place.

The waves at the afsluitdijk
are kind of violent waves.

They are quite short.

And that is what you will see
also during the tests.

And, yeah, of course,
we want to know

Whether the structure
will be stable or not.

So we'll see.

Narrator:
For more than 14 hours,

The water in the flume crashes
against the model,

Simulating the intensity
of a storm surge.

Scans show the rocks
didn't budge,

And only a small amount of water
washed over the model.

Ockeloen: The blocks and the
rocks didn't move.

And we also didn't have
too much overtopping.

I'm proud that the blocks and
the rocks that we designed here

Will keep the country safe
for the next 100 years.

Narrator:
Meanwhile, thousands of blocks

Are about to go into production

At a brand-new facility
near the afsluitdijk.

These components are not
only strong --

They're smart.

They're embedded
with a radio frequency,

Or rfid chip, similar to ones
implanted in animals.

We can trace it back to our
database and exactly know

Which day with which kind of
concrete we poured the block.

Narrator: The blocks
also have an opening,

Which allows cranes
to grasp them easily.

And they're shaped to form
an impenetrable wall.

Reconstruction has begun
on the afsluitdijk.

It's difficult work that can
only be done in the few hours

When the tide is low.

♪

At this worksite,
oxana van kempen is in charge.

She's accountable if this
equipment gets swept away.

I'm checking the tide table
at the moment.

The water level will be rising,

So within half an hour
or an hour,

It might be
as high as this filter material.

And then within another hour,
it will rise up to here.

So then you cannot see the
filter layer anymore.

And then, two hours from now,
we will be underwater.

Narrator: So far, the team has
been able to rebuild the barrier

Without any major incidents.

We're really at the start.

This is the first kilometer

Of the whole track of the
afsluitdijk

That needs to be replaced
and reconstructed.

So we're at the starting place,
literally.

Narrator:
At the other end of the barrier,

Anna hoondert is in charge
of installing the first stretch

Of the new quatro blocks.

Hoondert:
In the construction over here,

We are placing these quatro
block on the, like, gravel.

And we're placing them
with a crane

With a special machine for it.

The interactive strengths
will get bigger

If we put a little gravel
between them.

Narrator: Using a specially
designed crane,

Anna's team carefully positions

Each 2,500-pound quatro block.

If this barrier ever fails,

They'll provide a clue
to what went wrong.

You have a serial number
and a date on it.

So from the serial number and
the date, you can see

When they were made, in what
conditions they were made,

Whether it was the weather.

Narrator: Anna hoondert
and oxana van kempen

Are part of a new generation
of determined engineers.

You can plan
as much as you like,

But the weather can be such
a way that it's not possible

That you can do
your planned action,

So you have to be very flexible.

It's really amazing to be
part of this beautiful project

To protect the netherlands
from the water.

Narrator: A positive outlook
is important when the goal is

To save your country by using an
aging defense system.

And parts of the current network
don't meet today's standards,

So it's going to take
an army of workers

And mega machines
to bring them up to code.

♪

♪

Narrator: In the netherlands,

Water is more than the subject
of casual conversation.

It's the greatest threat
to the country's security.

3/4 of the country
lies in a flood zone,

And a lot of it is farmland.

Over the centuries, the dutch
have become water experts,

Utilizing the latest
in water-management technology.

All of it's covered
with these pumps.

Narrator: And they're showing no
signs of slowing down.

Haasnoot: It's very urgent
to prepare for the future.

The conditions that we have
prepared for --

Up to 1 meter of sea-level rise,
for example.

The change in conditions
may go much faster.

If we didn't have those
water-management systems,

Holland would flood,

With a big rainstorm,
we couldn't get it to the sea.

So we would flood
pretty fast.

Narrator: In the last 50 years,

Local water councils
called waterschappen

Have spent $150 billion

Building and maintaining
flood-prevention systems.

We actually every
12 years need to go through

A really rigorous assessment
of these dikes --

If they still meet the
standards.

Narrator:
By the end of the century,

They expect to spend
another $133 billion

On new projects that will
address rising sea levels.

In the coastal city of delfzijl,

Work to raise a nearly
8-mile stretch of dike

Has already started.

A couple of years ago,
we found out

That this dike wasn't coming up

To this national
safety standards anymore,

So we knew we had to strengthen
it, reinforce it.

Narrator: Silvia mosterd
oversees this project.

She works for the waterschap,
one of 21 regional water boards

In the netherlands responsible
for local flood controls.

You can see that the water
level right now, it's low water,

So the water's
not against the dike.

But you can see the water
on this side is much higher.

It's about 1 to 2 meters
higher than the land.

So if we didn't have

This dike all the way
to the city of holweirde,

Which is about 30, 35 kilometers
from here, we'll flood.

Narrator: Reconstructing a dike
is no easy feat.

Silvia and her crew are tasked

With raising the dike
6 1/2 feet.

The pressure on the project
is pretty high

Because they had to do this in
about 2, 2 1/2 years,

Which is, for a 12-kilometer
dike reinforcement like this,

A very small amount of time.

Narrator:
And work on this section
of the dike is top priority.

In the last decade,
the area along the coast

Has been on high alert
for flooding,

Threatening neighborhoods,
livestock, and nature preserves.

So when the trucks arrive,
no one wastes any time.

You can really smell it
right now.

Narrator: To raise the dike,

The team will use nearly 265
million gallons of sand,

92 million gallons of clay,

And just over 7,700 tons of
asphalt.

But time is not on their side.

It'll take nearly a year

And a half for all the materials
to get to the site.

Mosterd: So, 2 1/2 years
is pretty short,

But we're doing it faster
than average

Because of the earthquakes
in this area,

Because of the gas extraction.

All the government here
in groningen decided

That we had to do
this faster than average.

Narrator: Not only that --

Construction
will soon be impossible.

We always talk
about the storm season.

That is from October till April,

That there can happen
more storms here,

And you're officially not able
to work on a dike like this.

Narrator: Rain or shine,
it's gonna take years

To complete the upgrades
along the entire coast.

I'm not sure this dike
is gonna protect us

In a 100 years.
Maybe we'll need two dikes.

Maybe we'll need a flooding area
right beside the dike,

So we have to move more inland.
I don't know.

That's the uncertainty
we have to live with right now.

We have to find a way
in the netherlands

To survive against flooding.

And that means
that a lot of municipalities,

Water boards, and provinces
have to cooperate.

If you protect an area
by a dike against floods,

It's only gonna work as well
as the weakest link.

Narrator:
Across the netherlands,

More than 600 miles of dikes
urgently need

To be reinforced
in the next decade.

While construction ramps up
on coastal dikes,

Super pumps are fast becoming
one of the country's

Most crucial mega machines.

♪

♪

Narrator: In the battle against
rising sea levels

And unpredictable
weather patterns,

The netherlands is
the global leader

In the field
of water management.

That threat is real.

It's here,
and it's not about tomorrow.

This is not an abstract thing.

Narrator: Since the netherlands
is situated

In a low-lying delta,

More than half the nation
is at or below sea level.

To prevent the country
from flooding,

The dutch have made
water research

And monitoring
their number-one priority.

A lack of water monitoring

Would not only
put lives at risk,

But also the country's
agricultural sector.

Nyenbanning: If it's
5 centimeters going down,

The farmers can't call us
and say,

"hey, I don't have
enough water for my crops."

So it's very precise work
to follow the water.

Narrator: Since one-third
of the country

Is vulnerable to flooding,

Dutch engineers are constantly
finding ways

To protect the population
from the invading water.

Not far from the massive
afsluitdijk barrier,

Hydrological engineer
thijs claus and his crew

Are building a structure
that will house

One of the most powerful
water systems in the world.

We're gonna build one
of the biggest in europe.

It consists
of six pumps in total,

And these pumps
will pump roughly

40 cubic meters per second.

So in total, it's gonna be
240 cubic meters per second

That we're gonna pump.

Narrator: That's the same as

Filling 1,500 bathtubs
per second,

Except they're sending
this water back out to sea.

Constructing
the new pumping station

Requires a drill
more than 65 feet long.

Claus: The big machine
is gonna drive down

A number of tube sections
next to each other.

And in between those
tube sections,

We're gonna make sheet piles

To make a combination wall
is what we call it.

And that wall is gonna be
part of the building pit.

Narrator: The giant pipes are
armed with rugged teeth

To help them penetrate
into the soil.

This work takes horsepower

And the help
of a special lubricant

Made of bentonite,

A clay composed of volcanic ash.

Claus: This is the bentonite
mixed with sand.

And this is what we lubricate
the pile with.

And afterwards, we replace
the bentonite with grout.

We have the surveyor behind us

Making sure
that the pile is straight

And that the pile is
within tolerance

Given by the design by us.

And the surveyor's constantly

Checking whether the pile
goes down straight.

So it should be no problem
at this moment.

Narrator: The crew can't afford
a lot of setbacks.

This job has to be finished
before the weather turns.

And it's got to be done right

Because it needs to last
at least 30 years.

Here's how the new
super pumps will work.

Water is pumped through
an intake pipe

Into a sealed cylinder.

A wheel of curved blades
spins like a washing machine

On a rinse cycle.

Then centrifugal force propels
the water out into the ocean.

To power the pump station,

Engineers turned to
a natural source of energy.

To provide power
for this pumping station,

We're gonna build a solar park.

So it's gonna be placed
on our current office.

And afterwards, the solar park
will provide enough energy

To power the pumps.

Narrator: Most of the dutch
still rely on pumps

To protect their land

And livelihoods
from rising sea levels.

And for now,
they're getting the job done.

If we didn't have these pumps
near the coast,

The water would all go up here,

And the level of the water
would still rising,

Rising each day.

So it's quite a bit.

Narrator: The other
flooding protection system

The dutch count on
is the sluice gates,

A key component
of the afsluitdijk.

These gates keep stormy seas
at bay

And prevent ocean salt
from contaminating fresh water.

They work when there's
low tide on the watershed,

The gates on the sluice gates,
they go open

And the water flows freely
from the freshwater lake

Which is behind us
to the watershed.

And so it costs no energy
and it helps regulate the level

On the freshwater lake.

Narrator: Sluice gates operate
when the ocean tide is low.

The upper half slides down

Alongside the lower half
of the gate.

Gravity pulls water
from the higher freshwater side

Over the top of the gates
and into the sea.

These sluice gates may be
energy efficient,

But they're wearing down
with age.

Engineers are concerned
that the floor under the gates

Is starting to disintegrate.

The soil is keeping the
sluice gates in its position.

And if the soil
is being eroded away,

There's a big possibility
that the entire

Sluices are being pushed aside.

And in that specific case,
then the entire dam would fill.

Narrator: Today, hydrological
engineer roy hopmans

And his crew are hauling out
and replacing

The aging concrete floor.

Hopmans:
The new one is gonna be --

It's going to have
a varying thickness

Of 1 meter to 1.35 meter,

Which is obviously much thicker,

Much stronger to withstand
all the current

That might be rushing in
one day.

Narrator: For the dutch,
water maintenance and prevention

Is a way of life.

They've been doing it
for so long,

They've become the best
water warriors in the world.

And now, more than ever,
other countries around the world

Are turning to the dutch for how

They can manage
their own water problems.

♪

♪

Narrator: As the weather
in the netherlands

Becomes more extreme
and sea levels continue to rise.

Protecting the country
from flooding won't be easy.

It's going to take
a lot of money,

A lot of effort,

And the greatest
mega machines on earth.

And it's not just a problem
in the netherlands.

Cities like miami and venice
are also fighting their own war

Against rising water,
but thanks to the dutch,

Who have been developing new
water management techniques

For centuries,
other countries are now

Turning to the netherlands
for their expertise.

More and more, we work
with international organizations

Like the world bank, the u.N.,

But also
our partnering countries

To really incorporate resiliency

And a comprehensive,
holistic thinking

In how to deal with water
and use that as an asset

To build resiliency
in these places.

Narrator: Henk ovink is the
netherlands' water ambassador.

In 2015,
the world economic forum

Put out our risk report saying

Water would be our number-one
risk for the next decade.

Narrator: Henk travels the world

Sharing his country's
immense water know-how.

Dutch expertise
is in such demand,

Former president barack obama
flew henk in to help

During hurricane sandy in 2012.

The other skill set
that's in global demand

Is how to build storm barriers.

Experts like marc walraven
get all kinds of questions.

How do you deal
with contractors?

How do you keep
your best personnel?

How do you keep knowledge
within your organization

That constantly is changing

As well
as governmental organization?

Narrator:
That's how I-storm was born.

It's an international
information exchange system

Focusing on
storm-barrier technology.

Italy, britain, and the u.S.
Are all partners.

As one of the creators
of I-storm,

Marc walraven led
a multinational team

That came to the aid of
the u.S. Army corps of engineers

After storm surges
from hurricane katrina

Breached the levee system
protecting new orleans

In several places.

We share our expertise,
and they translate that

To their own
storm-surge barriers,

How they can learn
from our experiences

To define their maintenance
operations organization.

And that's really helpful
for new barriers.

Narrator: In addition
to consulting on projects

Such as the new barrier
in new orleans,

The dutch are exporting
a new way of thinking.

I think that many countries
look up to the netherlands

That we have so much experience

And they also invite us
if there are problems.

Tijssen: It's in our genes.

We've been doing this
for centuries

And we've been finding it
important for centuries.

Basically, our first
democratic bodies in government

Were water boards.

Narrator:
One of the most common words

To describe
the dutch countryside

That's been reclaimed
from the sea --

The polder -- has taken on
a much greater meaning.

We call it a polder model.

Our polders are made
not by engineers alone.

They're made by planners
and designers, engineers,

Politicians, farmers,
citizens, everyone

Because every interest
contributes to develop a polder

As a bigger whole with more
ambition, more quality.

And that type of collaboration
is critically,

Critically important
for building resiliency

Around the world.

Narrator: At the moment,
government officials

Are joining forces
with engineers

And other experts to tackle
a serious problem

Caused by the afsluitdijk.

Its original construction
back in the 1930s

Severed a major fish migration
route from the north sea.

The fishing industry
took a big hit.

Fortunately, with
the afsluitdijk overhaul,

There is an opportunity
to fix this historic problem.

The team is designing
the first ever fish corridor

Through a barrier.

Monderen: We've come up
with a solution, we hope,

And that is to build
a fish migration river

Next to the sluice complex,

To create an opening
for these migratory fish

To move freely in and out
of the fresh- and saltwater.

Well, the fish migration
is the first of its kind.

No migration river has been
built anywhere in the world.

And we don't know
the precise effects,

But we're gonna monitor it
once it gets completed.

Fokkens-kelder: For us,
it's very important

Not only for the environment,

And not only for the nature,
not only for the fishes

And that kind of things,

But maybe also for other
problems around the world.

When it works here,
it also will work other places.

Teunis:
Together in the netherlands

For the management of the water

Can in several ways be
an example for the world

Because water is necessary
not for one stakeholder.

It's necessary for everyone.

So you have to cooperate
to manage it correctly.

And that's not something
you can easily copy.

But the principles, they can be
taken over by other countries.

Narrator: In a nation that has
waged war against rising water

For centuries,

The biggest battle
is still ahead.

Extreme weather and sinking soil
will put the netherlands'

Greatest engineering projects
to the test.

And as the dutch continue
to face challenges head on,

The rest of the world
stands to benefit.