Living below sea level

Today a blip about potentially getting wet feet. As if yesterday's blip wasn't scary enough!

A large part of The Netherlands is below sea level. Water management is essential to prevent large areas from flooding. Dikes are an obvious tool for this but that's not enough. We need to get rid of water on a daily basis.

Traditionally, windmills were used as pumping stations to transport the water from lower lying areas to higher grounds. A system of lots of mills took care of pumping the water out to sea.

The windmill you are seeing here is the Krimstermolen (Krimster mill), also known as the Phoenix. It was originally built in 1904 as a replacement for another mill that was lost in a fire. When it was no longer in use it was relocated in 1977 to its current location near the village of Zuidwolde. It now serves as a backup for the electric pumping station you see on the left.

The Dutch word for pumping station is 'gemaal'. This particular station is called the Casper Hommes Gemaal.

For more detailed information about the Krimstermolen, click here.

Enjoy your day!