The Hunze en Aa’s water board is also in favor of keeping the Pekelderhoofddiep navigable. If no more boats could pass through the canal, this could sometimes lead to ‘regret’ at Pekelders.
The water board writes this in a letter to the municipality of Pekela. They wanted to know from Hunze and Aa’s what the water managers would think if no more boats could sail through the Pekelder Hoofddiep. The municipality has already asked the province of Groningen this question.
A direct consequence of an unnavigable main depth would be that the water board does less maintenance. This would mean, for example, that there is less dredging. The channel then becomes shallower and water plants can grow longer and become larger – that would be good for the ecological water quality. In addition, there would be less maintenance on locks. The locks are water heritage, says the water board.
Regret
All in all, it would mean that the maintenance picture would no longer be as desired by Pekela. The cultural-historical character of and around the Pekelderhoofddiep would be less apparent. The water board reminds the municipality that after two years of less maintenance, many complaints were already received.
With other similar ideas in the Drentse Monden, for example, the water board has already gained experience with making canals unnavigable. “These experiences show that people often look back with nostalgia and regret.”
The water drainage and supply remain sufficient at an unnavigable depth.
The response will be coordinated with the province of Groningen, the water board writes. The municipality had asked both organizations what their position was on the navigability of the canal. The 34 bridges over it need major maintenance. But the municipality has no money for that. Some of the inhabitants therefore argued for dams or fixed bridges. But both the water board and the province do not like this.