From Friday, March 14 until the end of April 2025, Rijkswaterstaat will be working on the beaches of Cadzand and Groede. For coastal maintenance, trailing suction hopper dredgers will deliver 610,000 m3 of sand from the North Sea to Cadzand.
Subsequently, the beach at Groede (between Nieuwesluis and Breskens) will be reinforced with 325,000 m3 of sand. This extra sand is necessary to protect Zeeuws-Vlaanderen from the sea.
The beach and dunes form an important protection against the sea. However, wind, waves, and currents continuously remove sand from the coast. We measure the Dutch coast annually and based on this data, a sand replenishment program is developed. This way, the Dutch coastline is maintained. The work at Cadzand starts on March 14 and lasts approximately 5 weeks, depending on the weather.
The work takes place on the beach between Cadzand Haven and the Verdronken zwarte polder. Then follows the beach at Groede, between Nieuwesluis and Breskens. Work is expected to continue here until the end of June. During the operations, the work area is cordoned off. Once the newly deposited sand is dry and firm enough to walk on, the beach will be accessible to bathers again.
Alderman Marian van Oostenbrugge: We are pleased that Rijkswaterstaat is providing our beaches with extra sand again. Its impressive to see how this process works. The work is important for our protection against the sea.
‘Recreational Sand Fund’
We carry out sand replenishments for sea protection. For municipalities on the Zeeland coast, it is also important that there is enough dry sand on the beach for residents and tourists, besides safety. In 2022, the Zeeland coastal municipalities established a recreational sand fund. The purpose of this sand fund is to preserve the beaches for recreational use, in addition to the regular replenishment program.
The operations on the beach of Cadzand are part of a pilot with this sand fund. These are specifically carried out in spring. Usually, contractors from Rijkswaterstaat have 2 years to complete a replenishment. If this leads to higher costs, they are financed from the sand fund. Additionally, extra sand is applied in Cadzand on top of the already planned replenishment, at the expense of the sand fund.
After the pilot, Rijkswaterstaat and the Zeeland coastal municipalities will jointly evaluate the outcomes to determine whether this approach can be more widely applied in the future.
More information about Sand Supply Cadzand
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