Rijkswaterstaat lowered the water in the Amsterdam canals by seven centimeters this afternoon especially for Karianne’s houseboat on the Geldersekade. For example, the ark just fit under the Bantammer Bridge. The houseboat has to be moved because of work on the quay walls.
It’s a no-brainer trip. Karianne’s houseboat will be located on the other side of the bridge, a few hundred meters away. But for that trip, Rijkswaterstaat pumped 2700 million liters of water from the Amsterdam canals into the sea. “That’s five times the Arena is full,” says Marco Kooiman, who works for the municipality’s Bridges and Quay Walls program. “That can be done by opening the floodgates at IJmuiden. Literally flushing. And if it is really very low tide, it doesn’t cost any energy either.”
The houseboat has also been weighted, including with wheelie bins full of water. It’s a bit of trial and error, but Karianne’s house slides fairly smoothly under the bridge. Karianne has been living on the ark at the Geldersekade for 24 years. She watches with pain in her heart how her house slides under the bridge. “It’s not the same Geldersekade there as here. And even if we come back, everything just has to go. The terrace that was here for a long time is gone, of course we enjoyed living on it.”
Karianne must be on the ‘wrong’ side of the bridge for at least 2 years. Then she goes back to her old place. And then immediately a new ark comes. And maybe that’s not such a bad idea. Because after moving under the bridge, a leak has arisen. The leak was quickly closed, but the fire brigade had to show up to pump the houseboat empty again.
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