Column by Marieke van den Boom-Witzel: Living with water

This is an old message.
Councilor Marieke van den Boom-Witzel
Councilor Marieke van den Boom-Witzel

It has been exactly 30 years since, as an 8-year-old girl, I saw the water of the Meuse River in our backyard. While many older people now say that February 1995 was an exciting time because they had to leave their homes behind, I only think back on it with a smile. The neighborhood children and I built a raft. We floated around for hours between the playhouse, trees, and soccer goal. Until the water got too high and the raft threatened to go over the garden fence. Then we had to abandon ship.

The Land of Maas and Waal has previously experienced major flooding.

Many of us still remember the high water of 1995. But of course, this was nothing compared to the flood disaster of 1926. On the morning of December 31, 1925, the dike near Overasselt broke. As a result, the entire Land van Maas en Waal was flooded. To prevent further damage, dike reeve De Leeuw decided to blow up the dike in Dreumel. This allowed the water to flow back into the Meuse. No lives were lost during the flood itself, but the water caused a great deal of damage in an already poor area.

It is an event that virtually none of us have experienced.

But it is definitely part of our history. And there are still little things that remind us of it.
Just think of the Dijkgraaf de Leeuwweg and the flood-damaged houses that are still standing there. But also the mentality that we have as Maas and Walers.

It's time to show ourselves

While The Hague is now discussing the 'Soil and Water Steering' guidelines, we are used to nothing less. We know what it's like to live with water. That is why the five municipalities affected by the 1926 flood disaster (Heumen, Wijchen, Beuningen, Druten, and West Maas en Waal) have joined forces. Together, we will commemorate what happened next year and show what it has brought us. But even more importantly, together we will show how we are facing the future with water. Because where better to show how to live with water than in the Land van Maas en Waal?

Marieke van den Boom-Witzel
alderman