Texel farmers are waiting for rain: ‘Underground water storage ready for use’

The first installation for the underground storage of water is on the land of arable farmer Mark Slot in De Cocksdorp. Hundreds of meters of drainage hoses went into the ground on his land for the pilot project last year Sweet Future† The intention is for farmers on Texel to have fresh water in stock all year round.

It is currently exceptionally dry in North Holland and the persistent drought is also visible on the fields and meadows on Texel. The need for sufficient fresh water water has been a problem on the island for years. Slot: “The storage system now seems to be working slowly. We don’t really need it in the field yet, but it is already very dry. I will have to mow the grass a little earlier before it dries out further.”

The second installation is under construction on the land of arable farmer Arnold Langeveld. “With several installations on the island, about 600,000 cubic meters of water can be stored underground,” says Langeveld.

“It took longer than hoped with testing and permits. We have to make sure that the water is 100 percent clean before it goes into the depths. We have just completed the permits. Unfortunately, the wet period with rain was already over by then. .”

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Langeveld: “We can no longer pump water into the ground at the moment. You can already see that the surface water is decreasing due to the drought. It is not that bad at the moment, but yes, there is no rain coming for the time being.”