The plan sets out what needs to be done and how it will be paid for. Work in the stream valley is expected to start at the end of 2027, once the preliminary design has been worked up into a final design over the coming months. The preliminary design was discussed on Wednesday 11 March at a drop-in meeting at Café De Amer in Amen, and those involved will see the final design before it is adopted. This year the permits will also be prepared and the exchange of land will continue.
The Amerdiep, one of the streams in the Drentsche Aa area, was straightened in the past so that farmers could get the water off their land more quickly. As a result, nature in the surrounding area dried out and the risk of flooding further downstream increased. If the valley holds on to water for longer again, that risk becomes smaller. The water also needs to become cleaner, partly for the extraction of drinking water in the Drentsche Aa area.
“By making the Amerdiep more natural again, we hold on to water for longer in the place where it falls. That helps in extreme rain and in drought alike. In this way we are working towards a water system that is better prepared for climate change,” says Anja Woortman, a member of the water board's executive.
The stream valley is to make room for wet grassland, marsh and woodland, which provide a home for insects, fish, amphibians and birds. Because nature areas will be better connected with each other, plants and animals will also be able to spread more easily. For the farms around the stream, the province and the water board are looking at whether their fields can be laid out better, for example by exchanging land.
Landowners and local residents have had a say since the project started in 2022, at the kitchen table, at meetings in the area and in sketching sessions. Among the changes this has led to, some hedgerows have been redrawn on the plans to avoid a nuisance from mosquitoes.