Excursion

On Thursday afternoon we will visit the Kering Huis (https://www.keringhuis.nl/english) and the Maeslant storm surge barrier.

Maeslant storm surge barrier

No other flood barrier in the world has larger moveable parts than the Maeslant storm surge barrier. This part of the Delta Works  can withstand a storm tide of 5 metres above NAP.

The Maeslant barrier is located in the Nieuwe Waterweg near Hoek van Holland and was built between 1991 and 1997. The structure is operated entirely automatically and, together with the Hartel barrier and the expanded Rozenburg dike, forms the Europoort storm surge barrier. The Maeslant barrier is a forward flood surge barrier, which means that it receives the full brunt of flooding from the sea and so protects the residents of the province of Zuid-Holland.

The Maeslant storm surge barrier

• was closed for the first time in 2007
• has two doors, each 210 metres wide, 22 metres high and 15 metres deep. When the barrier closes, they fill with water and sink to the bottom within two hours
• operates with ball-and-socket joints, each of which is 10 metres in diameter and weighs 680 tonnes

 

The Maeslant storm surge barrier closes if the water level is predicted to rise to more than 3 metres above NAP near Rotterdam or more than 2.9 metres above NAP near Dordrecht. The closure of the barrier and the decision to close it both occur fully automatically. In principle, no human intervention is required. Nevertheless, if flooding is expected, an operational team from Rijkswaterstaat is always on hand to monitor the automatic process and to intervene manually if necessary.

Source: Rijkswaterstaat