Jan 8, 2024 at 9:18 PM Update: an hour ago
The water level in a watercourse on the Stuwweg in Maastricht has dropped so much that a number of houseboats have partially or completely sunk into the silt. A spokesperson for Rijkswaterstaat said this on Monday evening.
By closing an emergency dam, no new water flows into the canal, while the water on the other side leaks out through a broken dam.
Rijkswaterstaat therefore wants to restore the water level in the watercourse as quickly as possible to prevent further damage to the boats. This can be done by repairing the broken dam, but first all work on the emergency dam must be completed. Although this emergency dam has now been closed, according to Rijkswaterstaat, some final work is still needed.
As soon as this is over, work will begin on temporarily closing the broken dam, so that no more water can leak out of the now created basin. “Once the broken dam has been repaired, the emergency dam can be partially breached and the water will flow in again,” a spokesperson for Rijkswaterstaat said in an explanation on Monday.
The residents can go to their boat on Tuesday to assess the damage and grab some belongings. Insurance claims experts then look at how the boats can get off the ground safely without damaging them.
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Repair of broken dam was not possible due to current
Rijkswaterstaat said it had tried to repair the broken dam first, but that was not possible because there was too strong a current and the surrounding ground was too swampy for heavy equipment. Last weekend, two Air Force helicopters largely closed the hole, but water continued to leak.
The dam that was originally supposed to hold back the water from the canal was two-thirds washed away last Wednesday by the heavy currents of the high water. This caused a houseboat to drift and collide with a bridge, which has since collapsed. Tackling this problem will be a later concern for Rijkswaterstaat, first the broken dam must be repaired so that water can no longer leak out.
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Chinook helicopters help build an emergency dam in Maastricht
2024-01-08 20:18:00
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