Water board (The Netherlands)

A water board (literally " water shaft " ) is the unit of a particular level of local self-government in the Netherlands. The task of water boards lies in the management of water, therefore follow their boundaries are not municipal or provincial boundaries, but river basins or watersheds. The water boards take care of the water quantity, water quality and the water flows. In some cases, a water board also manage roads when they are dealing with water management. To cover the costs Waterschappen raise taxes.

On 1 January 2014, there were 24 water boards in the Netherlands. Every four years, elected their parliaments, the so-called algemeen bestuur. From the middle of a board is elected, the Dagelijks bestuur. At the top of the water board a Dijkgraaf ( reeve ). The names may be different depending on the water board. Dutch politicians have been discussing for some time about a possible abolition of this ancient self-regulatory body (the first is from 1255 ); the tasks could be delegated to the provinces or municipalities.