More rain is expected in the coming days, but the peak seems to have been reached. The fallen water is now being pumped away and drained at high speed. The water board expects this to be successful after two or three days. The pumping stations are running at full speed and the weirs are open.
People themselves can’t do much against the flooding, except put down sandbags or keep the divers free and wait for the water to recede.
According to Reijnders, the abundance of water also has a positive side. In the Veluwe, the groundwater level, which had fallen sharply after the last dry years, is recovering. “That is good for nature and the groundwater supply.”
Bellows weir inflated several times
The heavy rainfall of the past few days does not cause problems everywhere. For example, there is little flooding in Flevoland. “We have only received a few reports from Oosterwold about gardens that were under water,” says spokesman Johan Pieters of the Zuiderzeeland Water Board. He says that is more common in that area.
The water management in Flevoland is well organized, says Pieters, so that heavy rainfall almost never causes major problems. “Our pumping stations are well prepared for this. We have already run them extra in advance and the water has returned to normal levels within a day or two.”
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