Meers - Floodplain lowering

Meers - Floodplain lowering

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Site description

The site near the village of Meers is home to a very dynamic stretch of the Meuse river. The river has a strong declining slope near the current exit of the pool. This leads to a rapid in the river which has led to the formation of both the 'old' and the 'new island'. At the same time the river's dynamics have, in the past, led to the river trying to cut off the meander near Meers. This led to dangerous situations for the nearby inhabitants. To protect the village dikes were build to restrain the river. The banks and floodplain of the area are used for gravel mining.

Measures selection

To restore the dynamic character of the river a cooperation between the Dutch Water Authority (Rijkswaterstaat), a nature protection organisation (Natuurmonumenten) and the gravel mining company (L'Ortye) was initiated. The dykes were lowered to allow more inundation of the floodplain. At the same time the gravel mining company started to lower the area by undeep mining of the gravel in the floodplain. This was done in such a way that a slow rising gradient was created in the landscape; the area being lowest near the river slowly rising. Also, a high water channel was dug as a safety measure during peak discharges. All this work has led to dynamic landscape with many different habitats and river dynamics. The main advantage was that part of this project could be carried out by making arrangements with a gravel mining company in such a way that both the company and the ecological state of the area benefited.

Related Measures

• Lower river banks or floodplains to enlarge inundation and flooding
• Shallow water courses
• Reduce water consumption
• Reduce erosion
• Create low flow channels in over-sized channels
• Construct semi-natural/articificial wetlands or aquatic habitats

Related Pressures

• Alteration of instream habitat