Dutch civil hierarchy isn't American civil hierarchy. Europe, post-war, tends to have a lot more top-down organization (at least, from my understanding).

Yes, that's very true. We had a particularly strong proactive government after the war, as they took the lead in rebuilding the nation and kept their power in the decades after. If the central government really wants to, they can subdue all the smaller governments to push plans of nationwide importance, like our only high-speed line from Amsterdam to Rotterdam, Brussels and onwards. The high-speed line was deemed important enough to cut through multiple protected natural areas and local towns - a big middle finger to any NIMBYs (and we don't have gun laws like yours so that wasn't an option either). I don't see that ever happening in the States.

The water numbers are from Wikipedia: this vs this. I think the main contributing factor is that the amount of agricultural land that needs water is much, much higher per person and that it skews the numbers. But it can't contribute for all the difference, right?