Does the enormous water buffer help enough to maintain the water level in the Bargerveen nature reserve? The Committee for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) still has doubts about this. Especially during periods of prolonged drought, the question is whether the area can be kept sufficiently moist. The municipality of Emmen, one of the parties involved, has indicated that it will go back to the drawing board.
Various water buffers have been constructed in recent years at Bargerveen, a more than 2,100-hectare raised bog reserve in Southeast Drenthe. These reservoirs are intended to prevent the raised moor from drying out and settling.
In fact, the buffers must ensure a higher water level, which stimulates the growth of the peat. The largest intervention, the construction of a buffer of 220 hectares along the southern edge, has yet to be carried out.
A supply of water is required for the buffer to function properly. This is done via the Dommers Canal. Every year, this involves 250 cubic meters of water in the winter and 60 cubic meters in the summer. According to the EIA Committee, the calculations that have been submitted about the required quantities have not sufficiently taken into account the dry summers that the Netherlands has been experiencing since 2017.
With that in mind, the question is whether those quantities are available from the regional water system. As long as that is not clear, the question remains whether the buffer zone will function properly. The council is therefore considering it again.
The intention is that the intended buffer zone will also be partly used for recreation. In the southwest corner, along the Kerkenweg near Nieuw-Schoonebeek, one and a half hectares will be made available for such initiatives. Among other things, catering is a possibility. On the east side of the buffer, the possibility is offered to build so-called eco-lodges. In addition to walking and cycling paths and playgrounds, it is also the intention that canoes can be launched there.
A zoning plan amendment is now also underway, as the buffer will be located on (partly) former agricultural land. Inquiries with the municipality have shown that two views have now been received. “These are about nitrogen emissions from the recreational facilities and the effects of this plan on the water level in Germany,” said a spokesman. “We will investigate this in more detail and will be presented to the Executive Board and the city council in the new year.”