Jaap Dijkma normally works at the desk at the Hunze en Aa’s water board. This morning he walks along the swampy flooded banks of the Hunze near Spijkerboor. “I check the dike for new digging damage from beavers. With the high water they start digging in places where they normally don’t sit.”
As far as it fits into their normal work, employees make daily inspection rounds during this soaking wet period. This also applies to policy officer Brenda Boerema. According to her, you notice that it is very busy at the water board. “Everyone is alert and ready. The hydrologists with the calculations. What kind of water levels do we expect? But also the field service with sandbags that install mobile barriers.”
The water levels are dropping. Friday is the last round for the office staff for the time being. Even though they have signed themselves up for these extra inspections, Dijkma is happy that he can continue with his own work. “We walk ten kilometers over dikes and it is cold and slippery. But it is also very satisfying.”