before the flood

BY LEONIE ROESSLER

About

Before the Flood is an exploration of everything that needs to happen on a daily basis to make sure that the Netherlands are not getting flooded. 

12.000 people are employed at the “Waterschappen” to keep the country safe. If nothing were done, then 59% of the country would be flooded - including the most densely populated urban areas. 

The TU Delft is a, possibly the, leading authority in the development of water management technologies worldwide. 

The length of the flood defences of the county measures 14,100 km. 

There are 3,550 pumping stations in the country.

If machines stopped pumping, water levels in Den Haag would rise to two meters within 24 hours time. 

Collaboration with TU-Delft

The TU Delft is a, possibly the, leading authority in the development of water management technologies worldwide. I am in close dialogue with Dr. Juan-Pablo Aguilar Lopez, a post-doc engineer whose research is concerned with developing new methods to assess flood risks and to monitor the stability of dykes. 

He is conducting extensive research on the use of fiber-optic cables in dykes to measure potential weak spots. The wealth of data that he collected during the testing phase of this project is a gold-mine for audio(visual) performances with a scientific angle. 

At this point Leonie is visiting the labs at the department of civil engineering in Delft to record interviews with the engineers, and to catch the sounds of their experiments. 

She will also be present during bigger experiments during which the scientists will experiment with actual dykes failing, creating flooding situations. 

Final Presentation Format: 

1. A multichannel installation work, possibly equipped with sensors that the audience triggers when nearing loudspeakers to activate a variety of locations across the room/hall. 

2. An artistic radio documentary, weaving stories/interview in and out of the sound of pumps and water and environment. 

3. Lecture-performances with Dr. Aguilar-Lopez