After a few downpours today, plants and fields can handle it again for a while. With a view to the future, it is important to store rainwater as much as possible. That is why the Sweet Future Texel project has been started on Texel. on two locations rainwater is stored in the ground. Can these kinds of projects help against upcoming droughts?
It is exceptionally dry in North Holland and the persistent drought is also visible on the fields and meadows on Texel. The need sufficient fresh water has been a problem on the island for years.
Farmers on Texel wish to make their island self-sufficient in fresh water. Texel is still completely dependent on rainwater for its freshwater supply and on the drinking water mains to the mainland. Because it is an island, the ground consists mainly of salt water. It is also drier on average than in the rest of the Netherlands.
From the project Sweet Future Texel the water, originating from adjacent plots, is brought into the subsoil by means of pressure. There it is held. In the summer, farmers can irrigate the cropland with the stored water. Jorrit Voet of Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier is also an important project in the opinion of Jorrit Voet. “Rainwater is free. These types of storage systems are becoming increasingly important,” he says.
Water storage at arable farmers
The first installation for the underground storage of water is located on the land of arable farmer and dairy farmer Mark Slot in De Cocksdorp. Hundreds of meters of drainage hoses went into the ground on his land last year for the pilot project. “This morning it started to thunder and I heard rain and I was very happy about that, because it has been very dry.”
Today’s rain just isn’t enough. “We need a storm like this for two weeks to be able to store enough.” Today’s rainwater has only entered the top layer of the ground, so it does not yet end up in the water storage. Voet explains: “The ground completely absorbs this storm. Maybe a little bit goes to storage, but most of it stays in the soil.”
The project that is taking place on Slot’s field is of great importance to all Texel farmers, he believes. “Farmers on the mainland can pump water from the IJsselmeer. We cannot do that.” A water storage has a lot of value for him. “This way you can better bridge the dry periods. Because it is getting drier.”
Still, according to him, the rest of the farmers in North Holland should also be careful and come up with solutions against drought. “Of course we cannot continue to draw on the IJsselmeer forever. That will also stop at some point.” Investing in underground water storage is also a good investment for them.
According to the arable farmer, it will only really be possible to notice whether his drainage system is working at the beginning of next year. “In the winter a lot of water is stored and we can use that in the dry periods.” But today’s rain makes him happy too. “Every drop is welcome.”
See how the plan works in the animation below. Text continues after the video.
Water from the ditch
Nico Zonneveld has his own nursery in Heerhugowaard and has been using rain and ditch water from a nearby ditch to irrigate his crops for 25 years. “We get our water from here. It’s clean and free,” he explains.
Zonneveld is extremely happy with his own water storage facility, because it means he doesn’t have a lot of worries in the summer. “We have 2000 square meters of plants here. If you have to spray all this with tap water, I will pay 10,000 euros for it at the end of the year. That is not the intention.”
A number of rain showers today makes farmers, nature and also the Water Board happy. However, it may rain even more, because water is of vital importance to arable farmers. “Retaining and storing water, that’s what we should all eventually be going for”, Voet concludes.
What can you do on a small scale yourself?
Of course you can also lend a hand yourself. First of all, use water wisely. More greenery in your garden to hold the rainwater also helps. And then we have another tip: the rain barrel. You save the water that you collect during drizzly days for periods of drought.
By connecting the downspout to a rain barrel and not to the sewage system, the sewage system is spared. And with the collected water you can water the garden again. Rainwater does not contain lime, so you will do the flowers and plants a great favor with it.
A handy tip: Waterschap Amstel, Gooi en Vecht gives 30 euros subsidy per rain barrel.
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