That the Dutch landscape is sometimes full of surprises is demonstrated by DS’ analysis of territory De Voorsterklei.
In the search for a solution to peak water discharge in the IJssel River, the Department of Public Works thought it had found a solution by digging an additional channel. This would increase the discharge capacity of the IJssel River and allow water to be retained longer in the area. But the question was whether it would be wise to dig an additional trench in the Voorsterklei. The municipality wanted to know what kind of landscape this was, since one cannot just dig anywhere. This knowledge proved to be an important basis for further planning.
DS then analyzed the area. This analysis revealed that the area in question is a very valuable landscape with traces of habitation from 1100 AD. The area was mapped using the map layer method (see ISLA). This allowed the officials who helped decide on the possible trench to place the operation in history in relation to the soil, water resources and ownership of the area.
Because of the new knowledge about the valuable De Voorsterklei area, Rijkswaterstaat, in consultation with the municipality of Voorst, ultimately opted for dike reinforcement instead of digging an additional trench. In this way, the current landscape with ancient relics remains intact. Maintaining the quality of the landscape would have been quite a challenge when digging an additional trench.
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