Tour of Eilandspolder

No ice skating again this year! People in Friesland are very disappointed, but so are those in the Eilandspolder! For those who are unfamiliar with this polder, does the name Anton Pieck ring a bell? That's the place.

Small picturesque ribbon villages, farmhouses, swaying reeds, chirping birds, dikes, and of course lots of water between all the islands. Typical of the Eilandspolder, an ideal skating environment. The Eilandspolder Tour, organized by the Thialf ice skating club (!) from Grootschermer (founded around 1900), normally attracts hundreds of skaters. But even when there is no ice, the polder is beautiful. In this environment, our project team encounters all kinds of specific circumstances that are characteristic of dike reinforcement in a Natura 2000 peatland area. The plant remains in the soil of this area are sinking further and further. As a result, the entire polder is slowly sinking, and so are the dikes.

I would like to take you to see the dike reinforcement challenges in Driehuizen, Grootschermer, and De Rijp, three gems in this North Holland polder.

Driehuizen, village of pancakes, electric boats, and customization

In this ribbon village along the Schermerringvaart canal, the dike runs through the backyards of all the houses on the water. That is precarious because you are working on someone else's property when reinforcing the dike. Last time, they said, a flat barge carrying a lot of clay sailed past the gardens. The clay was deposited on the bank with a crane, and then you basically had to figure it out for yourself. This resulted in mini dikes, raised vegetable gardens, flattened flower beds, and slightly higher rose gardens.

This time, we are taking a completely different approach. We have focused heavily on kitchen table discussions and customization. This is a great opportunity to explain the function of the dike as a flood barrier and to tailor the design, within the possibilities, to the wishes of the residents. But it's also quite difficult because you are constantly weighing up the necessary height and width of the dike against narrow gardens with limited space.

How much soil do you add, taking into account the soft ground? Some houses are so low that the ground almost touches the windowsill. What's more, you don't want to come back in a few years' time to dig up the gardens again. So far, however, the team's close contact with the residents has been bearing fruit. Certainly after the wet autumn and winter we've just had, we no longer need to explain the necessity of dyke reinforcement here.

Grootschermer, the village of ice skating club Thialf and water compensation

Further on, you arrive in Grootschermer via the Menningweerdijk. Looking at the houses, it seems as if time has stood still here. But the amount of traffic certainly hasn't. A very narrow road carries the axle load of many agricultural vehicles, cars, and buses. In fact, there is no room at all for all that traffic. Next to the road is a very narrow tumble dike that has been rejected for height, between which parking spaces have been squeezed in. Due to the limited space, cars are often parked with two wheels partially on the dike. The need for dike reinforcement has given us the opportunity to address the situation. In our design, we widen the dike slightly to give it a little more protection. As a result, we are filling in a strip of water along the entire thoroughfare. Fortunately, in consultation with Landschap Noord-Holland, we have found a solution for the necessary water compensation. A piece of land just behind the ribbon development will be turned into a wetland area. In this way, we are stimulating nature on site and the water compensation has also been given a place.

De Rijp, open-air museum in a Natura 2000 area

Busloads of tourists come to visit De Rijp every day. Understandable, because this village is North Holland at its best. We have a dike reinforcement project in the outskirts of this centuries-old whaling village. Staatsbosbeheer (the Dutch Forestry Commission), its tenants, and countless birds in the protected nature reserve are our most important stakeholders here. Due to the protected status of the area, the dike reinforcement will mainly be carried out using electric equipment. This way, we disturb nature as little as possible and we are also working in an extra sustainable way. In any case, we cannot transport much soil over the narrow and vulnerable roads. We will therefore probably use the Beemsterringvaart canal to transport soil and equipment. However, not everything can be transported by water. That is why we are in constant consultation with Stadswerk072, the implementing organization of the municipality of Alkmaar (the new owner of the roads), to find solutions for our planned dike reinforcement activities along and transport by road.

There are quite a few snags involved in reinforcing the dikes in the Eilandspolder. These are just a few that give you an idea. However, I hope that it will encourage you, perhaps with a little professional bias, to take a look at this unique polder yourself, either by boat or by bike.

Chrétienne Nielen