The water level in the canals of Amsterdam drops by 7 centimeters before moving the houseboat

Around 2,700 million cubic meters of water were discharged from Amsterdam’s canals to move a houseboat. The houseboat didn’t fit under a bridge, so Rijkswaterstaat lowered the water level by about 7 centimeters, he writes NH News.

All the water ended up in the North Sea via the IJmuiden pumping and drainage station complex. Since the sea water level was low that afternoon, the water could be drained that way. So the water naturally flows to the sea, so almost no energy costs had to be incurred. The process took about 2.5 hours, reports the municipality of Amsterdam.

Due to work on the quay walls, the houseboat on the Gelderskade had to be moved to a spot about 100 meters away, where it will remain for at least two years. The transfer to the other side of the Geldersekade during the work on the quay was not possible for safety reasons.