Alderman .A.A. (Marieke) van den Boom-Witzel

It has been exactly 30 years since, as an 8-year-old girl, I saw the waters of the Maas flooding our backyard. While many older people now describe February 1995 as a stressful time because they had to leave their homes behind, I look back on it with nothing but a smile. We built a raft with the neighborhood kids. We floated around on it for hours between the playhouse, the trees, and the 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 van Maas en Waal has experienced major flooding in the past

Many of us still remember the high water of 1995. But of course, that 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 region was flooded. To prevent further damage, dike reeve De Leeuw decided to Dreumel the dike in Dreumel . This allowed the water to flow back into the Meuse. No one died during the flood itself, but the water left behind extensive damage in an area that was already impoverished.

It’s an event that almost none of us have ever experienced

But it is indeed part of our history. And there are still little things that remind us of it.
Just think of Dijkgraaf de Leeuwweg and the flood-era houses that still stand there. But also the mindset we have as people from the Maas and Waler regions.

It's time to show ourselves

While in The Hague there is now talk of the 'Soil and Water as Guiding Principles' guidelines, we are accustomed 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 united. Together, next year we will commemorate what happened and show what it has brought us. But even more importantly: together we will show how we face the future with water. Because where better to demonstrate how to live with water than in the Land of Maas en Waal?

Marieke van den Boom-Witzel,Alderman
Alderman

It is not often that we, as West Maas en Waal, receive visitors from The Hague. So when State Secretary Rummenie of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN) came to the region, we seized the opportunity to show him what our municipality has to offer and what concerns us. And although I believe we live in the most beautiful place in the Netherlands, that day I was particularly proud of the new generation of Maas en Waal entrepreneurs who presented themselves.

The successors got off to a flying start

The State Secretary and his entourage were welcomed at Bloemenpark Appeltern. Of course, Ben van Ooijen couldn’t resist sharing his passion and persuading the State Secretary to pose for a photo among the tulips. But he soon handed the baton over to his son Bart with complete confidence. Bart conveyed the park’s beauty to his guests with at least as much passion and knowledge. He also shared his vision for the future—where the park is headed and what it will take to get there.

Thinking in terms of opportunities and innovation

When we talk about the agricultural sector, the conversation often centers on livestock farming and crop farming. But it’s no coincidence that we’re located in the Fruit Delta of the Netherlands. Luuk Tijssen understands the challenges facing the sector, yet he hasn’t let that deter him from taking Altforst his father’s fruit farm in Altforst . As the Netherlands looks to become more self-sufficient in food production, fruit is an important source of nutrition. Luuk represents a new generation of growers who, through innovation, can produce more fruit that is healthier and more affordable. As a highlight, he had the State Secretary fly a drone over the pear orchard to scan each tree individually and thereby treat each tree separately.

The future belongs to the young

If this is the new generation that will keep the economy in West Maas en Waal running, then we can confidently leave it to them. They have certainly managed to put our municipality on the map.

Marieke van den Boom - Witzel
Alderman

Last summer, I was in France with my family. I can immensely enjoy those beautiful, small French villages. This year, a question arose that I still don't have an answer to: how would all these houses have to get off natural gas? A question that came up because we are taking important steps in that direction in West Maas en Waal.

By 2050, we must phase out natural gas

That is a national agreement that we, as a municipality, must implement. In my view, the government is responsible for providing utilities such as gas, water, and electricity. But the new way of heating homes in the future is a local responsibility.

But where do you start? 

We have begun an investigation into the options available to us for transitioning homes away from natural gas. If we switch every home to electric heating, we’ll face a problem, because there isn’t enough electricity to power it all. That means we’re going to explore whether we can install a district heating network. Research shows that the best location for this within our municipality is north of Zandstraat and west of Molenstraat. There are enough homes in that area to see if we can build a good system to heat the homes using water from the Waal River and heat from a large company.

We really need our residents’ help with this

This brings us right to our residents’ doorsteps. After all, the warmth needs to be brought inside their homes as well. That’s why we started with our residents. Over the past few weeks, city employees have visited 700 homes to explain the plans. And to ask if they’d like to join us. To my great delight, many residents have indicated that they want to take on this challenge together with us. This marks a very important step forward. Because without the involvement of our residents, there’s simply no chance of success. And when our residents think and act alongside us like this, as Alderman , I Alderman feel truly inspired.  

Marieke van den Boom - Witzel
Alderman