Brede Groene Dijk pilot project kicks off

The Hunze en Aa’s water board and EcoShape have started the construction of the Brede Groene Dijk pilot project near Delfzijl in the Northeast of The Netherlands.

The seawall will be widened over a length of 750 meters with clay, which is made of dried (ripened) sediment from the nearby Eems-Dollard estuary.

According to EcoShape, the seawall along the Dollard must be reinforced in order to remain safe in the future. As a trial, the dike will be widened over a length of 750 meters.

Until 22 July, EcoShape will transport the clay from the clay ripener location in Delfzijl to the Brede Groene Dijk (wide green dike) for the construction of the dike. The construction of the dike will be completed on October 1, 2022.

A lot of data and information has already been collected about the quality and strength of this clay over the past three years. EcoShape will monitor the pilot project in the field for three years.

If the trial proves successful, the water board wants to strengthen the rest of the dike in the same way. The plan is to build clay ripeners along the seawall for this purpose. The clay is then already at the location, so transport is not necessary.

The Brede Groene Dijk pilot project is part of the Eems-Dollard 2050 program in which the municipality of Eemsdelta is also involved and which is led by the province of Groningen.