A process was set up, in which all parties claiming space (agriculture, recreation, town planning, etc.) in the area were invited to discuss the water issues, focusing on the extra buffer space needed for the water system. Experts from the urban planning office and other government agencies also joined to share a broad view of the challenges. In several sessions, it was discussed, under which conditions water storage could be combined with other land uses.
An open planning process was introduced, in which all parties claiming space could get acquainted with the future water problems on the one hand, and on the other hand could give their views on how to solve them through multifunctional use of the limited space. The framework consists of three key elements the frontier, the transition and the backbone.
Relief of the high stresses on the dikes in the north of the area is created in the form of the frontier. Rather than keep increasing the dike heights at this area the vision is to stop working on these dikes and only correct for settlement at the weakest spots. By predefining the spots at which water is allowed to overtop the dikes the water can easily be collected and uncontrolled flooding can be prevented.
Retention basins will be developed for storage in low level flooding having probability of 1 in 5 years. By seeing controlled overtopping at this high frequency the population can be made more aware of the fact that they are living in a polder. The motive of retention basins having flooding probability of 1 in 5 years is to raise awareness about water safety, and introduce the concept of "Living with water nuisance". So, flooding of these basins will be fully controlled ensuring the safety of properties and people however, keeps the presence of water fresh in mind motivating preparedness for disaster.
Several emergency storage areas having the capacity for using in 1 in 2000 years flood condition will be created. As the name suggests, the major objective of creating such storage areas is to reduce the overall pressure in the system during the very high flow in the river. The emergency storage areas are lowered a bit such that in case of a 1/2000 flood event they can accommodate the large amount of water that will flow into the polder. In normal circumstances they can be used for conventional cattle farming or recreation.
The Backbone is a solid structure or a super dike, a plateau where people will be working and living on. This approach consists of people living on the dike instead of living behind the dike fostering economic growth and flood security for the region.