Highest Maas River water level has passed Maastricht; Noord-Brabant opens flood defenses

The highest water level in the Maas River has passed, according to infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat. After the peak on Thursday morning, the river level again rose briefly during the overnight hours into Friday morning, but the water level was much lower than previously expected. There will not be a second peak on Friday.

The high water wave on the Maas River is now near Stevensweert, which is part of the municipality of Maasgouw. The village is located in central Limburg. On Thursday, the Maas River just south of Maastricht at Sint Pieter discharged 1,700 cubic meters of water per second. Such high water occurs once every three to four years, according to the water authorities there.

The supply of rainwater from France and the Ardennes is now declining rapidly. Hundreds of dike guards from the Limburg water authorities are constantly inspecting different points along the dikes. All of the weirs in the Maas have been raised to allow the water to flow through as quickly as possible.

The Maas will remain at a stable high rate of discharge of 1,500 cubic meters per second for a while. The water level will drop further over the course of Sunday.

Noord-Brabant also managing to hold back floods

The three water boards in the province of Noord-Brabant are also using many of the water storage facilities in their regions to prevent flooding. The Maas high water point also means that all waterways in the province are also filling up due to the heavy rain. For the first time, the new Kleine Dommel water storage area near Heeze has been used to protect Eindhoven and Geldrop against flooding, according to the De Dommel water authority. The Kleine Dommel can hold 1.5 million cubic liters of water.

The Diesdonk water collection area near Helmond and Asten has been used to lower the water level on the Zuid-Willemsvaart. The canal between Maastricht and Den Bosch was so full on Thursday that the locks could no longer be operated. As a result, inland navigation came to a standstill. This was resumed on Friday, according to the Aa en Maas water board. The storage facility at Veghel is ready to be used, so that residents near that location do not face flooding.

In the region covered by the Rivierenland water authority, which has to deal with both high water on the Maas and high water on the Waal River, has repaired the Kolffgemaal near Hardinxveld-Giessendam. A pump at the important station failed a few days ago due to a broken motor. The floating pumping station, De Pannerling, from the Betuwe was brought to Hardinxveld-Giessendam and the Kolff pumping station was running again on Friday.

The board hopes that the water level on the Linge River will drop during Friday. The Linge has overflowed its banks at different points.