Rhine River reaches fourth high water peak on Sunday

The Rhine River will reach its highest level on Sunday near Lobith, Gelderland, where the river enters the Netherlands from Germany. It will be the fourth high water peak observed since November 22. It is extremely rare that such high water levels are measured in Lobith in a relatively short period of time.

The Dutch infrastructure agency, Rijkswaterstaat, had expected that the highest level would be approximately 14.35 meters above NAP, the standardized average North Sea water level. That measurement was reached on Sunday morning, and it was approximately 15 centimeters below the water peak shortly observed before New Year's Eve.

The water level could rise by few more centimeters, but then it will begin to fall again at the end of the afternoon on Sunday. The Rhine near the German border should return to normal levels for this time of year on Wednesday, with little or no rainfall expected in the river basin.

The high water wave will then travel through the various parts of Netherlands via the Waal, Linge, Lek, Merwede and IJssel Rivers starting on Sunday. That process will take several days.

As a result, the flooding along the major rivers will continue next week, partly because the soil is completely saturated by the rain and can no longer absorb water. The various water boards, authorities and Rijkswaterstaat will continue to closely monitor the soaking wet dikes, especially for damage that could make the dike unstable. The dikes are designed for much higher water levels than 14.35 meters above NAP.

To process the volume of water, Rijkswaterstaat put the large weirs on the Lower Rhine near Driel and the Lek near Amerongen to use. The Princess Marijke locks in the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal near Tiel are closed to shipping traffic. The adjacent Ravenswaaij barrier is also closed.

The high water means that measures have been taken along the rivers, such as closing the quays and some streets in Nijmegen, Tiel and Arnhem. Items such as benches and signs in the floodplains were already removed during a previous high water period. Herd managers already moved their cattle onto dry land after Christmas, where necessary.

Rijkswaterstaat expects that the high-water channel next to the IJssel between Veessen and Wapenveld in Gelderland will not have to be used. A high-water channel is used to create more space for an abundance of water in the river.