Emergency water pumps & stations reactivated in the Netherlands ahead of storm

Several regional water boards in the Netherlands turned on their emergency pumps and reactivated their pumping stations again on Tuesday to prevent flooding and high water issues. The measures are necessary because it has been raining heavily at a time when the soil is already soaking wet and can no longer absorb water. Storm Henk is also expected to strike the Netherlands on Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, bringing rain and wind gusts of up to 110 kilometers per hour.

The Maas River in Limburg also has to process a significant amount of rainwater from France and the Ardennes, according to the Limburg water authorities. The Maas is expected to reach its highest level near Maastricht on Thursday. That water takes three days to reach the northern portion of Limburg. Maasgouw in the central Limburg region has already closed roads in several villages that are likely to be flooded. The municipality warned that it is very dangerous to ignore warning signs in the floodplains.

Emergency pumps have been installed at two Limburg waterways, the Tungelroyse Beek and the Uffelse Beek. The water board in southern Limburg is also paying close attention to the drainage of the Geul River in particular.

The Hunze en Aa Water Board in the northeast of the country has restarted the Kleine Zeesluis in Farmsum, the Rozema pumping station in Termunterzijl and the historic diesel pump at the Duurswold pumping station in Groningen. The board thinks that there can be two more heavy outflows at sea on Tuesday near Delfzijl, and the hamlet of Nieuwe Statenzijl. This will be difficult on Wednesday because the sea water will be pushed up higher by the strong wind. In Friesland, a historic monument pump near Lemmer, known as the Ir. DF Woudagemaal, was activated again.

The Rhine River water level will only briefly continue to fall at Lobith, where the river enters the Netherlands. But that will change from Wednesday, according to infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat. The water level will then rise again, mainly due to rain, in the entire river basin. This should reach a peak at Lobith around Monday.

The water is then expected to be about the same level as during the high point observed around Christmas. It only occasionally happens that there are four measured high water peaks in a row on the major rivers.