An Ongoing Battle Against Water

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN THE NETHERLANDS

“With a mighty rush the ocean twice daily pours forth over an immense country, so that there is doubt as to whether the ground belongs to the land or the sea. A pitiable people lives there on high hills, erected by themselves to a height above the highest water levels known to them.”

THE above is a description by the first-century Roman author Pliny the Elder of the battle waged against water by inhabitants of the low-lying regions along the North Sea. Today this battle continues. In fact, about half of the more than 16 million people in that region live and work below sea level.

Despite the continuing battle, these inhabitants of the Netherlands, or Low Countries, do not consider themselves pitiable. Granted, their country may be low and small, * but it is among the world’s richest nations. And surprisingly, the Netherlands owes much of its prosperity to water and the battle against it.

An important reason why the Dutch, the inhabitants of the Netherlands, chose to stay in this region is the fertility of the land. It is well suited for agriculture, horticulture, and cattle raising. And because Europe’s major  rivers flow into the sea here, the country’s location is also economically strategic. No wonder that the Netherlands​—including Rotterdam harbor, the world’s largest port—​is called the gateway to Europe!

Longtime Construction of Dikes

Prosperity, though, did not come naturally. For the past 900 years, the Dutch have been building dikes to protect themselves against the waters, both of the rivers running through the country and of the sea. As a result, the Netherlands is now protected against water from sea and river by thousands of miles of dikes​—an impressive achievement!

Other countries have dikes as well. However, factors such as altitude make the dikes here crucial. Koos Groen, coauthor of the book Dijken (Dikes), said: “If the complete population of Switzerland were to choose to take a year-long holiday abroad, upon their return, their land would still be there. If the Dutch were to do so, upon their return half of their land and 75 percent of their houses would have disappeared.” *

Today the millions of Dutch who live below sea level are able to keep their feet dry and sleep well at night because a constant battle is waged. Consider the effort involved in maintaining the beaches and the dunes.

Maintaining Beaches and Dunes

During the course of thousands of years, a natural barrier consisting of beaches and dunes came into being and shielded this region from the sea. But this barrier is constantly weakened by erosion. To compensate for this loss, special ships dredge up sand from the bottom of the sea some 6 to 12 miles [9 to 20 km] off the coast and deposit it on or against the beach. Since 1970, nearly three billion cubic feet [more than 85 million cubic meters] of sand has been moved to keep the country’s dunes in shape!

Dune conservation, however, brings benefits to more than the human population. “Although the dunes take up only 1 percent  of the surface area of the Netherlands,” according to the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, “three quarters of all bird species living in the country and two thirds of all higher plant species are found here.”

The Line of Defense Shortened

The Dutch built the 20-mile-long [32 km] Afsluitdijk, or closure dike, in 1932. In one fell swoop, this dike changed the Zuider Zee, or Southern Sea, from an inland sea into a lake, the IJsselmeer. At the same time, it reduced the country’s coastline from about 1,180 miles [1,900 km] to a little over 800 miles [1,300 km].

Some 20 years later, in 1953, after a disastrous flood killed 1,835 people, dike builders took on an even bigger project. Their goal was to close all sea inlets in the southwestern part of the country except for those leading to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. This Delta Plan, as the project was called, eventually resulted in a further shortening of the country’s coastline to some 380 miles [622 km].

Protection Against the Rivers

The threat of water stems not only from the sea but also from rivers that flow through the Netherlands before emptying into the sea. Toward the end of winter, after the long rainy period and at the time the mountain snow is melting, huge swells of water from Switzerland, Germany, France, and Belgium gush through these rivers and enter the Netherlands.

Such colossal quantities of water can cause serious problems. In February 1995, for example, rivers in the center of the country became so swollen that it was feared the dikes might break under the pressure. If there were a breach, water would cover the land behind the dikes to a depth of many feet. Groen, quoted earlier, says: “Few people realize what could have happened had the river dikes given way.”

 A “Tub” Without a Roof

As no other country, the Netherlands is known for its polders, pieces of “new land” below sea level, enclosed by dikes. Until the end of the 19th century, the water level in polders was regulated by windmills. Nowadays computer-controlled pumping stations do the job. Peter Nowak, who maintains a pumping station near Amsterdam, explained what is involved.

“You could compare a polder to a bathtub,” Nowak said. “A polder is often situated several meters below sea level. The surrounding dike prevents the polder from being flooded. But a dike is not a roof. Heavy rainfall could cause the area inside, or the tub, to be filled. In order to ward off serious trouble, the water has to be pumped out by force. But where should the water go?”

A polder contains a network of ditches that drain water to the pumping station. To prevent these ditches from becoming clogged, every farmer must clean the ones in the area he owns. The pumping station then pumps the surplus water from the polder into the boezem, an ingenious system of lakes and canals acting as a storage basin outside the polder. Excess water in the boezem is discharged into the sea during low tide.

“Maintaining the right water level in the polder is vital for the Dutch economy,” continued Nowak. “During dry summers, water is let in because farmers need water in their ditches to grow their grass or crops. Some polders grow one of the country’s most famous exports​—flowers.”

Living Where the Sea Once Was

In the 20th century, polders were no longer viewed as merely additional farmland; they were also regarded as added living space. Half a century ago, when city planners set out to design towns in polders, they had little experience in organizing new communities. Today, however, if you visit the polders, you will see that the city planners succeeded in building livable communities on what used to be the bottom of the sea! Why don’t you come and see for yourself?

Did you say that you feel a bit wary of taking a stroll below sea level? That’s understandable, but many have been surprised to learn that they have already done so without knowing it. For example, if you have ever made a stopover at Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam, your plane landed on the bottom of a reclaimed lake. The fact that you did not even notice that you were about 13 feet [4 m] below sea level proves that the dikes in the Netherlands are still in good shape!

[Footnotes]

[Box/Pictures on page 18]

Meeting BELOW SEA LEVEL

One of the two Assembly Halls of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Netherlands is situated 16 feet [5 m] below sea level. “En route to our semiannual assemblies,” commented one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, “we often recall God’s words recorded at Job 38:8 and 11: ‘Who barricaded the sea with doors and said: “This far you may come, and no farther; and here your proud waves are limited”?’ These words remind us that the way in which Jehovah can control the incredible force of water is far superior to the works of human hydraulic engineers, impressive though their accomplishments are.”

[Box on page 19]

Who Looks After the DIKES?

Dikes and drainage systems need to be maintained and sometimes repaired. From the Middle Ages onward, local and regional water-management authorities, called water boards, have cared for this responsibility. These boards were based on a three-step principle: interest, payment, and say. He who has an interest in safe dikes must pay for management and maintenance. But he also gets a say in the authority guarding those interests and in the way the money raised should be spent.

Water boards have operated in the Netherlands since the 12th century. At present, more than 30 water boards exist. The power to set up, abolish, and regulate such boards rests with the provincial authorities. It is up to them to determine the size and makeup of the “dike army.” The members of this army live in the area they have to protect. They have good motivation​—the care and safety of their own families and their community. In times of high water, they patrol the dike, ready to go into action with sandbags and other equipment to prevent any breaches. This age-old system of water boards ensures that the dikes are well cared for.

[Maps on page 16]

(See publication)

Without dunes and dikes, this blue area would be flooded most of the time

[Picture on page 16, 17]

Huge sea dikes were constructed to protect the lower land behind the dikes

[Picture on page 17]

Every year millions of cubic feet of sand have to be replenished

[Picture on page 18]

It is not uncommon for cars to travel at a lower level than ships

[Picture on page 18]

The 1953 dike disaster

[Picture Credit Line on page 17]

Both photos: Met vriendelijke toestemming van het Nederlandse Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat

[Picture Credit Line on page 18]

Top two photos: Met vriendelijke toestemming van het Nederlandse Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat