The high water channel Ooijen-Wanssum worked well last summer when the water level in the Meuse reached a record high. Nevertheless, several homes and businesses have experienced flooding, while they had not counted on it.
In the hamlet of Ooijen of the municipality of Horst aan de Maas, several houses and businesses were flooded. The residents there were surprised that the water reached the houses and the companies. Tree and rose grower Jos Smits suffered a loss of 180,000 euros because he was not prepared for the water to flood his nursery. “It was not comparable to 1993 and 1995 because we now had a high water channel. We did have that, but that we have now received more water than others is very strange.”
Improvement
Smits is not insured for the damage, although he does receive an allowance. He thinks it is more important that such nuisance should be prevented in the future. That is also the approach of the municipality of Horst aan de Maas. In collaboration with other partners, it will investigate what can be improved in the short term and how citizens can be helped quickly. “Water now remains for a very long time, can we do something there so that it can flow away sooner and then offer some form of protection to people who have now had a nuisance.”
Also read: ‘1.5 meter quay to protect against high water’
widened
The high water channel Ooijen-Wanssum was one of many projects to manage high water levels in the Meuse in the future. In recent years, an old Maasarm has been widened and deepened over a length of many kilometers. Protection went hand in hand with the creation of a nature park. What was already clear during the high water last year has now been confirmed by a report commissioned by the municipality of Horst aan de Maas, which was published today. “The protection level of the high water channel has been achieved, but there are still people who have experienced flooding,” says responsible alderman Eric Beurskens.