The drought in the Netherlands is over. Even on the ‘high’ sandy soils in the east and south of the country, the groundwater level has recovered to or slightly above normal. That is the first time since the very dry summer of 2018.
Time and again the past years have been much drier than normal, but the wet winter and the rainy period of the past few weeks have changed that. “Moreover, the temperatures are persistently low, which means that much less water evaporates than normal,” says drought expert Niko Wanders of Utrecht University.
Weatherman Marco Verhoef confirms: “Last year we had a warm and dry spring. It was sunny and because of the higher temperatures, more evaporated. Now we have a very average rainfall pattern. But because it is much colder than average, less evaporates. The net result is that you have more water left over. “
Good news for nature
The consequences are noticeable. In the west of the country, the drought had already passed at the end of last year. Meanwhile, the groundwater level in the often dry Achterhoek is also higher than normal in many places, reports Gelderland broadcaster. Also in the higher areas such as the Peel on the border of Brabant and Limburg, the groundwater levels have “reasonably recovered” from the dry summers of 2018 and 2019, reports Broadcasting Brabant.
Fields are dry in various places in the south and east. This is because the sandy top layer dries out quickly due to the sun, if it breaks through. It only needs to be dry for a few days for the sand to drift again. Deeper in the soil, the soil is now moist. That is good news for nature, says Wanders. He points out that, for example, the heather, but also other plants and trees have suffered badly from the drought and can now recover.
One stop in it
At the same time, the drought expert warns not to sit back and relax. “Since 2018, many local measures have been taken. Drinking water companies are thinking more carefully about retaining groundwater. Farmers are doing the same: often you have to think of what is called ‘reverse drainage’. In the past, excess water was drained off as quickly as possible, now. we do the opposite and try to hold on to the water. We put a stop in it, “said Wanders. Water boards install drought dams (iron dams in waterways), farmers build wells. So that water remains available in the unlikely event that it gets too dry again.
Only in ditches in the Achterhoek are now hundred drought props placed to hold back the water. Apart from that, the water board, together with more than 150 farmers, has installed a large number of culvert valves. These are inflatable balls that close water passages (divers) in ditches and ensure that rainwater does not run off. All measures that are meant “to hold every drop” but this spring seem unnecessary. Last month, water even flowed over a drought dam at Stroombroek, not far from Doetinchem.
Extremely dry summer
Yet Wanders thinks that “we need to make bigger adjustments”. “We have to roll out the measures further in the future,” said the expert. He points out that we are now in a relatively cold period with normal precipitation levels, but that this can change very quickly. “Even more, in 2018 we had exactly the same weather around this time of the year. But then an extremely dry summer followed.”
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