The Overdiepse Polder is one of the places where the river will be given more space. A special project because local polder residents and farmers already jointly sought information about this development during an early stage and they provided the final solution: the ‘dwelling mounds plan’ (terpenplan). A sustainable solution for safety and the agricultural use of the polder. The water from the river will flow through the polder every 25 years on average. This will lead to the high water level at the Bergsche Maas river dropping by approximately 27 cm where the Overdiepse Polder is located. You will still be able to notice this drop in the water level far upstream.
The province of Noord-Brabant has further worked out the terpenplan together with the involved authorities, a group of consultancies and a very active participating group from the Overdiepse Polder interest group. The government has asked the Brabantse Delta water board to take charge of implementation. The province will continue to be responsible for land acquisition. The other administrative partners and the interest group will also continue to be closely involved in the implementation phase.
The polder will undergo a metamorphosis as from 2010. A far-reaching measure for the landscape and the residents in the polder. Not all companies, after all, can remain in the polder. A number of farmers will have to build up a new existence elsewhere during the years ahead. A new primary dike will be built along the Oude Maasje river that will be a mirror image of the current dike on the north side of the polder. The region in-between the new dike and the Oude Maasje will have a designated use as a nature reserve. Artificial hills that have a high position will later on offer space to nine agricultural companies on the north side of the new dike. When all existing farms have been demolished, the current dike on the north side will be lowered. Cyclists and hikers will be able to do a ‘polder roundtrip’ once the new paths have been built.
By the end of 2015 we will have the New Overdiepse Polder for a sustainable agricultural land use and more space for the discharge of the water of the Meuse River.
