Waterboards in the past and today, in France and the Netherlands
Two 19th century documents show an opposition between the French administration, in particular the Treasury, and water management communities in Austrian Flanders and Holland, and later in Dunkirk district. In France, the government progressively imposed a centralized control, resulting in a financial vulnerability situation recently pointed by the regional accounting office, and publicized through the extreme flooding episode of November-December 2023. In comparison, Dutch waterboards, that were consolidated voluntarily, became essential and financially flourishing. Present-day French Institution intercommunale des wateringues could follow this example if only it were allowed to develop a multi-level governance together with territorial rather than technological solutions, which are made necessary by climate change.