Growing dike: protecting our coastline

With the Meegroeidijk, we are responding to sea level rise without having to make major changes to the dike. Whereas dike reinforcement normally takes years, we are building the dike layer by layer from the top down. We are using silt from the port of Lauwersoog for this purpose. In doing so, we are contributing to better water quality in the Wadden Sea.

How does the dike react to a layer of silt?

We are investigating how the grass cover reacts to the applied silt. Does it simply grow through the new clay layer? How strong is the new turf? And are there perhaps special grass mixtures that perform particularly well? The silt we applied earlier has already matured into clay and adheres to the grass cover. That is promising.

The Meegroeidijk is a collaboration between the Brabantse Delta Water Authority and the Rijnland Water Authority. The Meegroeidijk is largely financed by STOWA, the Flood Protection Program, and the Interreg project BONSAI. Four countries are participating in Bonsai: Belgium, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. The project will run until 2029. The total joint budget is €10,699,561.10, of which €6,419,736.62 comes from EU subsidies.