Overdiepse Polder: back to Dutch mounds
A big moment for the Room for the River measure in the Overdiepse Polder region! The realisation of the first mound took place on July 1st. It was an important milestone for the farmers who live in this polder area. They had to put a lot of effort into the planning of the first six metre high mounds. It was their own idea to live on top of the mounds with their farms, just like farmers did 2500 years ago, when this was customary in the Netherlands.
The farmers came up with the idea of living and farming on mounds more than 10 years ago. Nol Hooijmaaier is one of these farmers and explains: “The Dutch government programme Room for the River had decided to make our polder a retention area in times of severe floodings. They expect this to happen once every 25 years. But this could already be in five years or sooner. So we will be prepared for this. Instead of waiting for the government to decide what to do, we decided to make our own plan. The dike will be lowered for the water to flow into the retention area. And our idea was, and still is, to build six metre high mounds. Each one covers 2.25 hectares, enough space for us farmers to continue our work and to have still enough future space for exposure.” Out of the 17 families who live in the Overdiepse Polder, eight families will move to the mounds. The others are moving away to other farming areas, one family even to Canada.
This year, the constructors will start with the construction of the first farm on a mound. This farm will be finished by the end of next year. In the Overdiepse Polder one of the 30 Room for the River-measures is being carried out which gives Dutch rivers more room in times of flooding. For the Overdiepse Polder the measure will result in a retention area for the river Meuse. If the polder is flooded, the water level of the Meuse will be lowered by almost 30 centimetres. The inhabitants of the city of Den Bosch (about 140.000) will keep their feet dry during floods.
The project receives a lot of international attention. The Water Board Brabantse Delta is showing busloads full of water specialists through the polder from all over the world. Hungarian, Chinese and French delegates have already visited the polder.
Pictures: construction works in the Overdiepse Polder
Source: Waterschap Brabantse Delta
A big moment for the Room for the River measure in the Overdiepse Polder region! The realisation of the first mound took place on July 1st. It was an important milestone for the farmers who live in this polder area. They had to put a lot of effort into the planning of the first six metre high mounds. It was their own idea to live on top of the mounds with their farms, just like farmers did 2500 years ago, when this was customary in the Netherlands.
The farmers came up with the idea of living and farming on mounds more than 10 years ago. Nol Hooijmaaier is one of these farmers and explains: “The Dutch government programme Room for the River had decided to make our polder a retention area in times of severe floodings. They expect this to happen once every 25 years. But this could already be in five years or sooner. So we will be prepared for this. Instead of waiting for the government to decide what to do, we decided to make our own plan. The dike will be lowered for the water to flow into the retention area. And our idea was, and still is, to build six metre high mounds. Each one covers 2.25 hectares, enough space for us farmers to continue our work and to have still enough future space for exposure.” Out of the 17 families who live in the Overdiepse Polder, eight families will move to the mounds. The others are moving away to other farming areas, one family even to Canada.This year, the constructors will start with the construction of the first farm on a mound. This farm will be finished by the end of next year. In the Overdiepse Polder one of the 30 Room for the River-measures is being carried out which gives Dutch rivers more room in times of flooding. For the Overdiepse Polder the measure will result in a retention area for the river Meuse. If the polder is flooded, the water level of the Meuse will be lowered by almost 30 centimetres. The inhabitants of the city of Den Bosch (about 140.000) will keep their feet dry during floods. The project receives a lot of international attention. The Water Board Brabantse Delta is showing busloads full of water specialists through the polder from all over the world. Hungarian, Chinese and French delegates have already visited the polder.
Pictures: construction works in the Overdiepse Polder
Source: Waterschap Brabantse Delta
