Sandbags, stronger dikes or moving: Markermeer is struggling with extreme water levels

Marianne van Leeuwen has just sold her house on the Durgerdam dike. The ribbon village is monumental, the view of the Markermeer is grand, and yet she leaves for the Veluwe. Because of climate change. “I think we will have a lot of problems with water in the low-lying parts of the Netherlands.”

In Durgerdam, those problems are literally on her doorstep this weekend. On the Durgerdammerdijk, an old cobblestone road, the water board has placed a wall of sandbags in a vulnerable spot. The water is still at least one meter below the street, but the water board wants to prevent waves from crashing over the dike.

The water in the Markermeer has gradually risen since Christmas to what Rijkswaterstaat calls “extreme” height. A lot of rain and meltwater flowed into the IJsselmeer via the major rivers. That water can go to the Wadden Sea via so-called discharge sluices in the Afsluitdijk, but due to strong headwinds – even storms – and the large volume of water, the discharge was not successful enough. The level in the IJsselmeer and the Markermeer continued to rise.

The highest level in the Markermeer, 47 centimeters above NAP, was reached on Sunday morning. “We have never experienced this,” says Marianne van Leeuwen. The floodplain in front of her house is flooded. She's a little worried. “The water is against the dike and the dike is already saturated with water.”

Widened, raised and strengthened

The Hollands Noorderkwartier Water Board has been working on the strengthening the Markermeer dikes. Thirty-three kilometers of dike, from Hoorn to just before Durgerdam, will be widened, raised and reinforced with sheet pile walls. It is a major project; the costs have now risen to 700 to 800 million euros. Only in Durgerdam has dike reinforcement been postponed for ten years. The foundations of the old dike houses turned out to be too weak. That is why the foundations are now being strengthened first, followed by a new plan.

“Measurements have shown that the dike is fine, especially those sandbags,” says Derk Bouhuijs. He has lived on the Durgerdammerdijk all his life and thinks that the sandbags were mainly placed there to justify the dike reinforcement. “A psychological, political game is being played.” In the past, says Bouhuijs, before the Houtribdijk was constructed between Enkhuizen and Lelystad in the 1960s, the water could also rise in this way. Residents of Durgerdam were used to high water. “I understand very well that the people of Durgerdam are now acting a bit giggly.”

It is “definitely not the case” that those sandbags are for the stage, responds Arnold Langeveld, water board (director) of Hollands Noorderkwartier. “The current dike in Durgerdam does not meet safety standards. It doesn't last.”

Flooded campsites

Last week there was nuisance outside the dykes in North Holland due to flooding. In Hoorn and Volendam there was water on streets outside the dike and quays, marinas and campsites along the Markermeer were flooded.

In Uitdam, a ribbon village located ten kilometers north of Durgerdam, there is more than fifteen centimeters of water on the streets in a EuroParcs holiday park outside the dike. Regional manager Teun Jansen has never experienced anything like this, he says. Four of its parks, all outside the dike (or without a dike) along the Markermeer and IJsselmeer, suffer from flooding.

In Uitdam he placed large sandbags and rented five pumps. There are still plenty of guests. Two guests canceled in advance, the others stayed. “Children love the water fun.” Jansen thinks that his company will have to arm itself against high water in the future. EuroParcs is now building a dike itself at one park. “And maybe we have to buy pumps ourselves.”

Black flags

When plans for the dike reinforcement were made a few years ago, residents of several villages objected. Protests broke out in Uitdam at the beginning of 2021. Residents placed black flags on the Markermeerdijk, right behind their houses. Although the design of the reinforced dike had been adjusted after their objections, they said it was insufficient. In short: with an unnecessary amount of concrete.

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Ineke Hoekman, who was active in the critical village council with her husband Jaap at the time, looks forward to the work every day. “Three more years to go,” she says. The dike will ultimately not be raised, but a sheet pile wall has been driven into the dike. All transports for the reinforcement also drive on a temporary road outside the dike. As a result, residents can only reach the water via an emergency bridge constructed by the water board, and the project has also been delayed for two years. “That really hurts here.”

Water Board Arnold Langeveld, who has only been in office for six months, finds it “difficult” that residents in Uitdam maintain that the dike reinforcement should have been tackled differently. “My predecessors did this to the best of their knowledge. We build dikes according to current standards and we do our utmost to respond to the wishes of residents.”

According to Ineke Hoekman, the water board communicates better than before, but she would still have preferred a different approach. The current high water level does not change her ideas about dike reinforcement, she says. The residents want a green dike, better integrated into the landscape. “We have never opposed the dike reinforcement in itself. The dike must be safe.”

Need a lot of money

Then it concerns the question that concerns almost all residents and stakeholders around the Markermeer: ​​what should happen in the future? How can, for example, water be better drained to the Wadden Sea via the Afsluitdijk?

The Langeveld Water Board emphasizes that a lot of money will be needed for dike improvements. 24 billion euros until 2050, outgoing Delta Commissioner Peter Glas wrote to the House of Representatives in November. Langeveld: “The climate is changing, it is serious. And we have to anticipate that.”

Ineke and Jaap Hoekman have no plans to leave Uitdam. “Living by the water is simply beautiful.”

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