View allAll Photos Tagged WaterManagement
From October 16 till 22 I was at LEGO World The Netherlands with my fellow LLMTC friends. Together we’ve created a joint train lay-out ranging from a city to factory yards to station buildings and rural landscapes. My part for this year was Linderei Bahnhof which although from 2021until now never was at LEGO World and a new part: A Dutch polder landscape set in the 1920’s with a wind mill based on the landscape behind my house.
Around the year 1000 we had a warmer climate than the present, resulting in better harvests and an expanding population. The inhabitants of the terp/wierde dwellings on the coastal marshes started to look for more living space. Groups of settlers travelled inland following the small water ways and started cultivating the adjacent raised bogs. Due to drainage for cultivation the peat started to oxidize and the surface sunk. Over time this shrinkage amounted to a couple of meters resulting in the multiple displacements of the farms to higher (uncultivated) grounds. In the end the situation became so dire the inhabitants had to build dykes to protect the cultivated lands and in the final stage a need for wind mills arose too pump out excess water on the river as the only means to keep dry feet.
I’ve depicted the little river ‘Westerwoldse A’ which as you can see has a higher surface (six plates) as the low lying polder to the left. The right bank is significantly higher as the polder due to some Pleistocene river dunes. On top of the dyke a wind mill is working hard too pump water out of the polder in to the river in order to keep the lands dry. Behind the mill is the little farmhouse of the miller family. Being a train builder I had to include a railway, which is not present in the actual situation. The railway crosses the river by means of a rotating bridge. The bridge can turn open by operating a hand leaver on both sides of the layout. The bridge operator lives in the house on the right bank together with his wife who is operating a ‘living room’ café for travelers along the ‘jaagpad’ or towpath in English.
On the river you can see a classic ‘Groninger Tjalk’, a flat bottomed sailing vessel used for transporting a variety of goods ranging from peat to clay to bricks and more. On the small inland water ways sailing was not possible so the vessels were towed by the skipper his family. Sometimes professional towers were available with a horse for this heavy work. The rigging is fairly accurate and like the real thing the mast can be lowered as well. Also on the river is a small ‘praam’ with a farmhand transporting manure.
The higher, sandy right bank is dryer as the polder and supports a couple of oak trees and a semi heather used for grazing the (ridiculously expensive) cows. I’ve included all kinds of (brick-build) animals and little scenes with people like the ‘peddler) losing a wheel of his cart. Furthermore there is a classical Gronings wooden laundry frame with a cloth on it, the bridge crossing sports a balloon sign and behind the mill on the polder side you can see a water level indicator.
All buildings (and the Tjalk) are scaled 1:45. The wind mill is powered by a Power Functions L motor connected to an rechargeable LEGO battery box which on setting 1 gives the mill blades a realistic speed. I’ve created a technic construction too make the mill cap turn ever so slowly if the mill blades are turning. This gives visitors the change to see the mill from all sides. The mill performed perfect for the whole seven days of LEGO world. Only problem I’ve run in to was one L motor that died after two days. Lesson for the next event, not only the battery box should be easy accessible but the motor should be as well 😊
For the landscaping I’ve used olive green and dark tan and for the water trans brown tiles on a black plate. This results in some nice natural colours and a realistic looking landscape.
Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think!
From October 16 till 22 I was at LEGO World The Netherlands with my fellow LLMTC friends. Together we’ve created a joint train lay-out ranging from a city to factory yards to station buildings and rural landscapes. My part for this year was Linderei Bahnhof which although from 2021until now never was at LEGO World and a new part: A Dutch polder landscape set in the 1920’s with a wind mill based on the landscape behind my house.
Around the year 1000 we had a warmer climate than the present, resulting in better harvests and an expanding population. The inhabitants of the terp/wierde dwellings on the coastal marshes started to look for more living space. Groups of settlers travelled inland following the small water ways and started cultivating the adjacent raised bogs. Due to drainage for cultivation the peat started to oxidize and the surface sunk. Over time this shrinkage amounted to a couple of meters resulting in the multiple displacements of the farms to higher (uncultivated) grounds. In the end the situation became so dire the inhabitants had to build dykes to protect the cultivated lands and in the final stage a need for wind mills arose too pump out excess water on the river as the only means to keep dry feet.
I’ve depicted the little river ‘Westerwoldse A’ which as you can see has a higher surface (six plates) as the low lying polder to the left. The right bank is significantly higher as the polder due to some Pleistocene river dunes. On top of the dyke a wind mill is working hard too pump water out of the polder in to the river in order to keep the lands dry. Behind the mill is the little farmhouse of the miller family. Being a train builder I had to include a railway, which is not present in the actual situation. The railway crosses the river by means of a rotating bridge. The bridge can turn open by operating a hand leaver on both sides of the layout. The bridge operator lives in the house on the right bank together with his wife who is operating a ‘living room’ café for travelers along the ‘jaagpad’ or towpath in English.
On the river you can see a classic ‘Groninger Tjalk’, a flat bottomed sailing vessel used for transporting a variety of goods ranging from peat to clay to bricks and more. On the small inland water ways sailing was not possible so the vessels were towed by the skipper his family. Sometimes professional towers were available with a horse for this heavy work. The rigging is fairly accurate and like the real thing the mast can be lowered as well. Also on the river is a small ‘praam’ with a farmhand transporting manure.
The higher, sandy right bank is dryer as the polder and supports a couple of oak trees and a semi heather used for grazing the (ridiculously expensive) cows. I’ve included all kinds of (brick-build) animals and little scenes with people like the ‘peddler) losing a wheel of his cart. Furthermore there is a classical Gronings wooden laundry frame with a cloth on it, the bridge crossing sports a balloon sign and behind the mill on the polder side you can see a water level indicator.
All buildings (and the Tjalk) are scaled 1:45. The wind mill is powered by a Power Functions L motor connected to an rechargeable LEGO battery box which on setting 1 gives the mill blades a realistic speed. I’ve created a technic construction too make the mill cap turn ever so slowly if the mill blades are turning. This gives visitors the change to see the mill from all sides. The mill performed perfect for the whole seven days of LEGO world. Only problem I’ve run in to was one L motor that died after two days. Lesson for the next event, not only the battery box should be easy accessible but the motor should be as well 😊
For the landscaping I’ve used olive green and dark tan and for the water trans brown tiles on a black plate. This results in some nice natural colours and a realistic looking landscape.
Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think!
Water splashes down from a manhole 70 feet above the drain..
red and blue strobe along with natural lighting down the tunnel.
The Noordeveldsemolen is a Dutch polder mill near the village of Dussen, province of North Brabant. The mill, a national monument, was built in 1795 and rebuilt in 1997 after the fire in 1992.
© All of my photos are unconditional copyrighted unless explicitly stated otherwise. Therefore it is legally forbidden to use my pictures on websites, in commercial and/or editorial prints or in other media without my explicit permission.
Some of my photos are sold at reasonable prices through various stock photo agencies.
For example look here for my images on Shutterstock:
www.shutterstock.com/g/rmorijn?rid=556147
Or order it as a print on canvas, acrylic, aluminum or another background here:
A unesco world heritage site in the Netherlands for the preservation, education of water management, windmills
The Tiendwegse Molen is a hollow post mill on the Giessendamse Tiendweg in Giessendam/Neder-Hardinxveld in the Dutch municipality of Hardinxveld-Giessendam. The mill was built in 1906 to drain the Benedentiendweg section of the Giessen Oude Benedenpolder polder. This mill replaced a mill that burned down in December 1906. At the time, the Tiendwegse Molen was purchased from the polder board of the Groote Waard polder in Noordeloos. A steam pumping station was put into use there, which made the mill superfluous. The Grote Molen, as it was previously called, was transported in parts, first over water and finally via a specially constructed narrow gauge railway on which a steam locomotive with a number of wagons ran. The mill was operational in its new location until 1953.
The Tiendwegse Molen has been owned by the SIMAV since 1968. The mill has been milling since that year. From 2006, the Tiendwegse Molen grinds exclusively in a circuit. A major restoration took place in 1985.
De Tiendwegse Molen is een wipmolen aan de Giessendamse Tiendweg in Giessendam/Neder-Hardinxveld in de Nederlandse gemeente Hardinxveld-Giessendam. De molen is in 1906 gebouwd ter bemaling van de afdeling Benedentiendweg van de polder Giessen Oude Benedenpolder. Hij verving een in december 1906 afgebrande molen. De Tiendwegse Molen werd destijds gekocht van het polderbestuur van de polder Groote Waard in Noordeloos. Daar was een stoomgemaal in gebruik genomen die de molen overbodig maakte. De Grote Molen, zoals hij voorheen heette, werd in onderdelen vervoerd, eerst over water en tenslotte nog via een speciaal daarvoor aangelegde smalspoorspoorlijn waarover een stoomlocomotiefje met een aantal wagons reed. De molen is op zijn nieuwe plaats tot 1953 functioneel in bedrijf geweest.
De Tiendwegse Molen is sinds 1968 eigendom van de SIMAV. Sinds dat jaar is de molen maalvaardig. Vanaf 2006 maalt de Tiendwegse Molen uitsluitend in een circuit. Een ingrijpende restauratie vond plaats in 1985.
© All of my photos are unconditional copyrighted unless explicitly stated otherwise. Therefore it is legally forbidden to use my pictures on websites, in commercial and/or editorial prints or in other media without my explicit permission.
Some of my photos are sold at reasonable prices through various stock photo agencies.
For example look here for my images on Nationale Beeldbank (Dutch language):
In addition to this impressive artwork, "Deltawerk," you can view several models of international hydraulic structures along the watercourse route. These models have been used by the Hydraulics Laboratory since the early 1950s for research purposes, including those on the water management of the Port of Rotterdam, the Libyan oil port, and the Maasvlakte.
Petra, originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is a historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to the mountain of Jabal Al-Madbah, in a basin surrounded by mountains forming the eastern flank of the Arabah valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba.
Span: Acueducto del Complejo hidroeléctrico Futaleufú.
Clic 2x para máx' ampliacion.
Engl: Aqueduct of the Futaleufú Hydroelectric Complex.
Click 2x for maximum enlargment.
Facts and Figures
Capacity of a windmill:
40 m3/min = 40.000 litres/min
Capacity of the Nederwaard pumps:
1350 m3/min = 1.350.000 litres/min
Capacity of the Overwaard pumps:
1500 m3/min = 1.500.000 litres/min
Length of the blades: 13 meters
Windmills left in Holland: 1000
Costs of maintenance per windmill:
on average $ 50.000 per year
Minimum space between buildings and the windmills:
400 meters
www.kinderdijk.org/facts.shtml
Kinderdijk is a village in the Netherlands, belonging to the municipality of Molenwaard, in the province South Holland, about 15 km east of Rotterdam. Kinderdijk is situated in a polder in the Alblasserwaard at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers. To drain the polder, a system of 19 windmills was built around 1740. This group of mills is the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands. The windmills of Kinderdijk are one of the best-known Dutch tourist sites. They have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. In Alblasserwaard, problems with water became more and more apparent in the 13th century. Large canals, called "weteringen", were dug to get rid of the excess water in the polders. However, the drained soil continued to subside, while the level of the river rose due to the river's sand deposits. After a few centuries, an additional way to keep the polders dry was required. It was decided to build a series of windmills, with a limited capacity to bridge water level differences, but just able to pump water into a reservoir at an intermediate level between the soil in the polder and the river; the reservoir could be pumped out into the river by other windmills whenever the river level was low enough; the river level has both seasonal and tidal variations. Although some of the windmills are still used, the main water works are provided by two diesel pumping stations near one of the entrances of the windmills site. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinderdijk
Het dorpje Kinderdijk in Zuid-Holland staat bekend om zij 19 molens .Deze windmolens liggen aan de rivier de Lek en zijn sinds 1738 in gebruik voor het watermanagement in het gebied.
Leiden, NL
Some background info (Google-translated from Wikipedia):
The Kikkermolen is a seesaw mill on the Oegstgeesterweg in Leiden. The mill dates from 1752 and was built for the drainage of the Kikkerpolder and replaced a mill that burnt down in 1747. In the intervening years, the polder was drained by the nearby Maredijkmolen.
The very small mill (the smallest seesaw mill in the country) with a flight of 12.64 m is owned by the municipality of Leiden. Until 1966, the Kikkerpolder was drained exclusively by wind power. The last restored mill in 1996 runs regularly and can usually be visited at those times.
Project: 100 Windmills (nr 4/100)
Flooded floodplain in the Netherlands due to the high water level of the river. Much rain and melt water from Germany flows into the Dutch rivers during the winter season.
De uiterwaarden van de Boven Merwede aan de voet van de Merwededijk bij de Brabantse plaats Woudrichem staan onder water tengevolge van de hoge waterstand in de rivier.
From this elevated viewpoint overlooking Lake Mediano, I was struck by how this artificial reservoir has transformed the original valley into something that resembles a natural alpine lake. The extraordinary turquoise color of the water, caused by limestone sediments in suspension, creates an almost tropical appearance in this Pyrenean setting.
This aerial perspective reveals the full scope of the transformation that occurred when the Mediano dam was constructed, flooding the original valley and village. What were once hillsides and agricultural lands are now peninsulas and islands emerging from these jewel-colored waters. The contrast between the dramatic limestone cliffs in the background and the gentle, forested hills surrounding the lake creates a landscape of remarkable beauty.
Yet beneath this scenic surface lies the submerged history I've documented elsewhere - the church tower and solitary trees that occasionally emerge when water levels drop, silent witnesses to the community that once thrived in this valley. This panoramic view contextualizes those individual elements within the broader geographic transformation.
My intention was to capture both the undeniable beauty of this engineered landscape and the scale of change it represents, showing how human intervention can create new forms of natural beauty while erasing others.
Close to home lies the sluice of Leidschendam. A small historic village and I don't know why but I've never visited it with a camera.
Seen here is the guard house, build in 1886 and in the background the local church nicknamed the "Peperbus".
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Os Moinhos de Rei, em Cabeceiras de Basto, na Serra da Cabreira, representam um importante legado etnográfico e de engenharia hidráulica minhota, integrados no Trilho da Levada da Víbora. Construídos em granito e cobertos de musgo, estes moinhos históricos, alimentados pela água canalizada das levadas, demonstram a antiga dependência das comunidades rurais da força hidráulica para a moagem de cereais, como o milho e o centeio, essenciais na sua alimentação. O trilho acompanha o sistema de canais, revelando a simbiose entre a construção tradicional e o ambiente natural. O outono tinge a paisagem de tons ocre e castanho, contrastando com o verde intenso do musgo e a humidade da floresta mista circundante, composta por folhosas e resinosas. A preservação deste complexo moageiro permite aos visitantes compreender as técnicas ancestrais de gestão da água e o modo de vida rural pré-industrial, valorizando o património natural e a memória coletiva da região através do turismo de natureza.
The Moinhos de Rei mills in Cabeceiras de Basto, in the Serra da Cabreira mountains, represent an important ethnographic and hydraulic engineering legacy of the Minho region, and are part of the Trilho da Levada da Víbora trail. Built in granite and covered in moss, these historic mills, fed by water channeled from the levadas, demonstrate the ancient dependence of rural communities on hydraulic power for grinding cereals such as corn and rye, which were essential to their diet. The trail follows the canal system, revealing the symbiosis between traditional construction and the natural environment. Autumn paints the landscape in shades of ochre and brown, contrasting with the intense green of the moss and the humidity of the surrounding mixed forest, composed of deciduous and coniferous trees. The preservation of this milling complex allows visitors to understand the ancestral techniques of water management and the pre-industrial rural way of life, enhancing the natural heritage and collective memory of the region through nature tourism.
Kinderdijk was not on our radar when we arrived in the Netherlands last month. Once we discovered it - a UNESCO World Heritage site - it became one of the favorite parts of our trip. Composed of 19 mills, or pumping stations, Kinderdijk is the only place in the world where there are so many windmills close together. Except for two, which have been converted to museums, the windmills are operating to this day. They are inhabited (as is this one) and still participate in Holland's water management system in the low-lying polders.
Vorige week heerlijke snel voorbij trekkende wolkenluchten.... deze keer maar eens deze verkeersregelaars van onze rivieren vastgelegd met de big stopper.
A Sandhill Crane walking in the remnants of the marsh. Several of the holding areas are now almost dry. The bird population as a result is much lower due to the drought that has gripped the Treasure Coast.
Tucked into desert canyons in southwestern Jordan, carved stone facades cover red sandstone walls, tens of meters high. Just inside the rock faces, benches line cavernous rooms hewn there thousands of years ago. The red rock walls ring the ancient city of Petra, where expert stonemasons made the monuments for gods, kings and wealthy citizens.
Span: Complejo hidroeléctrico Futaleufú.
Clic 2x para máx' ampliacion.
Engl: Futaleufú Hydroelectric Complex.
Click 2x for maximum enlargment.
Each windmill has an adjacent cottage to house the caretaker and family. This caretaker is responsible for operating the windmill and keeping it in working condition. The windmills at Kinderdijk in South Holland are a group of 19 authentic windmills built in 1738 and 1740 to keep water out of the low-lying land. Print size 8x10 inches.
Happy Windmill Wednesday
I composed this photograph of a pleasing Amsterdam canal while visiting this city in May of this year. For those interested in the fascinating history of these waterways, read on.
Amsterdam was founded around 1250 with the building of the Dam that gave it its name. ‘Aeme Stelle Redamme’ is Medieval Dutch for: "Dam in a Watery Area".
The Dam is still there as the heart of the city. But today this former barrier between the River Amstel and the"Southern Sea" is one of the few places in the center of town that you cannot sail a boat to. The last part of the river leading to the dam fell victim to land-traffic in 1922. The street that came in its place is still called "Damrak", which is Dutch for: "Last section of the river, leading to the Dam."
The first canals were dug for water management and defence. As the city expanded in the Middle Ages, successive defence moats ended up inside the walls and lost their function. But they acquired an important new one: local transport of merchandise. The warehouses along the old moats could store enormous quantities of trading goods that could be`pipelined through those moat-canals to a harbour full of ships that sailed all over the world that was known in those days.
Trade exploded in the 17th century, Amsterdam's Golden Age. In one very ambitious expansion project that took 50 years, the 3 main canals of the city were dug and the houses around them were built. Completed around 1660, it made the city grow to 4 times its size and gave it the most intricate and efficient system of navigable waterways in the world. A maze of connecting canals brought merchandise from all over the world to the doorstep of every canalside merchant. A fleet of thousands of small barges carried the goods from the big ships in the harbor to every corner of the city. More than a thousand warehouses on the canal-sides were supplied by these man-powered barges. On top of that, 9 specialized floating markets catered to the daily needs of 17th century Amsterdammers. In those days, more goods were moved on barges in the canals by human power, than would even be possible today with trucks along the canalsides.
The 20th century needed space for cars and other land traffic. Many canals were filled in to make streets and parking spaces. Not without struggle: fierce protest had rescued the famous Seven Bridges of the Reguliersgracht already in 1901.
But in 1955, a local police commissioner still submitted a serious proposal to the City Council to solve all traffic problems by filling up all the canals to make highways. He was almost tarred and feathered for it. Amsterdammers are fond of their Canals.
Almost half of the original water in Amsterdam was lost to landfills, but a full 25 percent of the city's surface still consists of navigable waterways. With 65 miles of ancient canals, Amsterdam is still the most watery city in the world.
In the summertime, the canals can still be dense with sailing traffic. 15000 pleasure boats are registered in Amsterdam and the city is a favourite destination for private yachts from Germany and France. Eight local marina's serve their needs and two big new ones are under construction. A few times a year, at big events like the Queen's Day and the Gay Parade, traffic jams on the canals can get quite serious. Rest assured that on an average day, canal-tour boats dominate the scene on the usually quiet waterways.
In the old days, when the canals were still used for transport of merchandise, living on a houseboat was a sign of poverty in Amsterdam. But as their transport function dwindled in the last century, the old 'industrial' canals became upmarket residential area's. Old warehouses on the canalsides were converted to Deluxe apparment complexes. The barges that supplied them began a new life as comfortable houseboats with ample living spaces in their former cargo holds. They are all quite old. The oldest one was built in 1840 as a waterboat for fresh drinking water (Prinsengracht/Amstelveld). Many have been afloat for more than a century. Relative newcomers are the house-arks, floating bungalows that are usually built on a hollow concrete platform. These meet with increasing disapproval from local residents and Civil Authorities, who would like to see them move to canals with less historcal importance in the suburbs.
Most of the houseboats are private residences. Because of strict regulations, only a few have lodging space for rent legally.
Watermanagement is still the most important function of our canals. Without them, the city would drown. Circulating the water is also vital for sanitary reasons. In the days when windmills had to do the job, the stench of the water could become unbearable in periods with little wind or rain. One canal was even filled in for its stench by Royal Decree, from the only King who ever lived in Amsterdam.
Napoleon Bonaparte's brother Louis was King of Holland between 1806 and 1811. He had City Hall on Dam Square rebuilt to be his palace. The stench of the canal behind the palace kept his wife Constance from her sleep, so he ordered it to be filled in to make a "smart and respectable Avenue" The name of that street is still 'Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal', which translates into: "Front defence moat on the new side".
Today, the water in the canals is cleaner than it has ever been in their history. Three times a week, 14 of the 16 existing waterlocks around the city close up, so clean water can be pumped in from the big lake IJsselmeer. The current that creates pushes the dirty canalwater out through the open locks on the other side of the city. Specialized cleaning boats with big scoops and nets patrol frequently to clean surface dirt. Nowadays, all the houseboats in the city are connected to the sewer system. The cleaner water has attracted life. About 20 different species of fish and crabs live a healthy life below the surface. That bounty attracts waterbirds like herrons, ducks, coots, gulls and recently even cormorants.