Dutch Dikes Dry Out as Low Rhine Levels Cut Cargo Capacity
Drought has left peat dikes weaker and forced Rhine cargo ships to carry as little as 400 metric tons, officials said.
- Drought conditions gripped the Netherlands as houseboats sat in low water on the Waal river in Nijmegen, straining the nation's water management systems.
- Van Duijvendijk, flood defense manager at the Schieland en de Krimpenerwaard water corporation, oversees one of 21 Dutch organizations responsible for flood control and dike maintenance during droughts.
- On Saturday, the Rhine's water level in Cologne dropped below the October 2018 record low, while Marcel Beck, manager of western German ports at RheinCargo, reported a "devastating impact" on shipping capacity.
- Unlike American author Mary Mapes Dodge's 19th-century story, modern patrols use apps to report drought damage. Volunteers serve as "eyes and ears on the dike," enabling Van Duijvendijk to manage 60 miles of barriers.
- Groundwater hydrologist Vince Kaandorp of Deltares suggests simple measures like hedges can help soil act as "sponges" to retain water. Authorities are studying these low-tech methods to distribute water more evenly across seasons.
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Rhine barges run at 20% of capacity as freight rates surge
Falling water levels on the Rhine are forcing barges to operate with a fraction of their usual load and have sharply raised the cost of river transport, as drought and extreme temperatures affect Europe's main inland waterways.
The stability of the dikes on Terschelling is under pressure due to the persistent drought. Wetterskip Fryslân will conduct extra checks on the sea dikes for cracks and will temporarily stop allowing sheep to graze on them. Tourists, residents, and farmers are advised to use the available water sparingly. "The grass cover on the dikes must remain stable to withstand high waves during the storm season," dike warden Luzette Kroon told the NOS. "If…
Netherlands drought brings concerns
WADDINXVEEN, Netherlands -- Jeroen Wouda and Dirk Boom walk slowly along a Dutch dike, hunting for cracks in the low-lying Netherlands' famed water defenses as a drought gripping Europe has fueled raging wildfires in France and Spain and sent the Danube and Rhine rivers to record low levels.
Associated Press News
Dry, hot summers are putting Dutch dikes at risk and threatening German river trade
The Netherlands and Germany are suffering the consequences of a European heat wave that has brought dought and sparked devastating wildfires in France, Spain, Portugal, Crete and elsewhere.
Dike warden Jeroen Wouda discovered a crack in the peat dike: "My probing stick was thirty centimeters into the dike."
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