Zuiderzee Works Zuiderzee Works The Zuiderzee Works () is a man-made system of dams and dikes, land reclamation and water drainage work, in total the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The project involved the damming of the Zuiderzee, a large, shallow inlet of the North Sea, and the reclamation of land in the newly enclosed water using polders. Its main purposes are to improve flood protection and create additional land for agriculture. The American Society of Civil Engineers declared these works, together with the Delta Works in the South-West of the Netherlands, as among the
Delta Works by planted vegetation or revetments. Although the new plan brought along additional cost, it was received favourably. The re-considerations of the Delta Project indicated the growing importance of integrate environmental impact assessments in policy-making. The Delta Project of which the Delta Works are part of was originally designed in a period of time in what environmental awareness and ecological effects of engineering projects were barely taken into consideration. Although the level of awareness for the environment grew throughout the years, the Delta Project has caused numerous irreversible effects on the environment in the past. Blocking the estuary mouths did reduce