Start of climate-proofing Oeffeltse Raam approach

On Wednesday, June 8, Peter van Dijk, member of the executive board of water board Aa and Maas and alderman David Sölez of the municipality of Land van Cuijk signed an implementation agreement for the redevelopment of the Oeffeltse Raam. With this signing, the preparatory work can begin. The stream, which runs through De Maasheggen, among other places, will be adapted so that it can better absorb the effects of climate change.

What will happen?

Waterschap Aa en Maas and the municipality of Land van Cuijk are going to develop the Oeffeltse Raam into a stream that can better cope with the effects of climate change. Peter van Dijk, daily board member of water board Aa and Maas explains why: "In 2016, farmers along the Oeffeltse Raam and entrepreneurs at the Saxe Gotha business park had to deal with a lot of flooding. We are increasingly facing heavy rainfall and longer periods of drought. We want to solve these problems with the redevelopment." Measures have been devised such as the construction of a water storage facility to collect excess water from Saxe Gotha industrial park during heavy rainfall. A water supply will also be created from the Meuse near Sambeek to solve the drought problem. The stream will be optimized so that there is sufficient water throughout the year for optimal nature development and to maintain the groundwater level for the agricultural sector.

From plan to execution

In 2019 a start was made to work out solutions for dealing with the Oeffeltse Raam together with, among others, ZLTO, farmers, adjacent business park Saxe Gotha and Brabants Landschap. The municipality and the water board researched the interests in the area and talked to all parties about their ideas. Based on these ideas and possible solutions, one plan was drawn up. The start of the implementation of the measures from the plan is expected to be in July of 2022. The first to be constructed will be water storage. David Sölez, alderman of the municipality of Land Van Cuijk explains, "During the implementation of this project, ecology will also be taken into account by deploying ecological guidance in the field and carrying out a preliminary inspection for breeding birds still present. Earlier measures have been taken to relocate the protected pool frog to a pool further away. The project broadly improves the water management of the area and also makes a positive contribution to flora and fauna." Construction of the two intake pumping stations near Sambeek will start later, expected during 2023.

Learn more

Would you like to stay informed about the latest developments of the redevelopment of the Oeffeltse Raam? Then sign up for the newsletter: www.aaenmaas.nl/oeffeltseraam. Also view more information about the project online.