pumping

Safety
sufficient water
clean water
Zuiderzeeland Regional Water Authority
stations
northeast polder
For more information on pumping stations in the Northeast polder, A polder does not keep itself dry. Rain and seepage through the dikes necessitate pumping
go to www.zuiderzeeland.nl away excess water. This is the task of the Zuiderzeeland Regional Water Authority’s
pumping stations.

POBox 229 - 8200 AE Lelystad T +31 (0)320 274 911 waterschap@zuiderzeeland.nl

Lindelaan 20 - 8224 KT Lelystad, F +31 (0)320 247 919 www.zuiderzeeland.nl
the Netherlands
northeast POLDER PUMPING STATIONS Pumping
stations play a key role in keeping water in the polders at the required levels. Three
pumping stations are in almost constant operation to keep the Northeast polder
habitable. If they failed to pump, the land would be covered with large lakes in just
one short week. The Northeast polder’s residents only have ‘dry feet’ thanks to the
pumping stations Vissering at Urk, Buma at Lemmer and Smeenge at Kraggenburg.

How it began are different to those for pasture. The Additionally, some areas of the Northeast The Northeast polder’s three pumping stations are:

Preparations for reclaiming land started in
1936. On 13 December 1940, the last gap
in the Northeast polder’s dike system was
sealed. Then the water could be pumped
out. The first pumping station to enter
service was Buma, at Lemmer, followed a
couple of months later by Smeenge. The
construction of the Vissering pumping
station encountered problems and was not
completed till 1943. This was too late to have
contributed to draining the polder. On 9
September 1942, the bottom was reached, at
4.4 metres below NAP.
Water levels
All types of drainage channel should contain
just the right amount of water.
The Zuiderzeeland Regional Water Authority
has established ideal water levels for each
of the Northeast polder’s sub-areas. This is
different for conservation areas than for
residential or farming areas. And water
levels required for arable farming areas
Zuiderzeeland Regional Water Authority
defines these ‘ideal’ water levels in so-called
water-level decisions. Required levels can
usually only be realised by draining water
using pumping stations, but sometimes it is
actually needed to let water back in.
Draining water
The Northeast polder’s drainage channels
cover just 1% of the polder’s total surface
area. This means that, if it rains, water levels
rise quite quickly. The pumping stations
must have sufficient capacity to drain
this excess water rapidly. On average, the
Northeast polder’s pumping stations drain ±
465 million m3 of water annually.
Letting water in
In very dry periods, it is sometimes
necessary to allow water into the polder to
keep water quality at required levels, and to
provide sufficient water for irrigation, for
example.
polder (Ens, Schokland, Urk) rise slightly
above their surroundings. Water is supplied
to these areas more often as they are very
vulnerable to desiccation. Sufficient water
is supplied by siphons in the IJsselmeer,
the Ketelmeer, the Zwartemeer and the
Vollenhoverkanaal.
Safety, sufficient water, clean water
Zuiderzeeland Regional Water Authority
Buma at Lemmer
The Buma pumping station started pumping on 7
January 1941. It has three electric motors. Together,
they drain 1.71 million litres of water per minute
from the polder. This pumping station is named
after Mr A. Buma, who drew up one of the many
plans (which was never carried out) for enclosing
the Zuiderzee and the Waddenzee with dikes and
draining them. Buma was also joint founder of the
Zuiderzee Association.
Smeenge at Kraggenburg
The Smeenge pumping station entered service on 22
April 1941. The pumping station’s two motors are
electrically powered. H. Smeenge LLM, after whom
the plant is named, was one of the great champions
of the Zuiderzee Association founded in 1885.
Vissering at Urk
The Vissering pumping station eventually began full
operation in 1943. It has three electric engines:
two run on natural gas, one on diesel. Together,
the pumps drain 2.32 million litres of water per
minute from the polder. The engines produce heat
while in operation, providing environmentally-
friendly residual heating for the adjacent industrial
estate. It was named after G. Vissering LLM, former
president of the Nederlandsche Bank, chairman of
the Zuiderzee Association, and member and vice-
chairman of the Zuiderzee Council.