High water in Limburg, 4 years ago, prompted extensive research into the behavior of the (Border) Meuse bed. Rijkswaterstaat and Wageningen University & Research (WUR) joined forces for this research. The study provides insights into what happens on the riverbed and offers tools to better predict river behavior in the future.
High water in Limburg
During the high water of 2021, Rijkswaterstaat started a special measurement campaign. While tree trunks drifted down the river, measuring vessels mapped the riverbed again. In the Common Meuse, a largely unnavigable stretch of Meuse in Limburg, large pits had formed in the riverbed.
These so-called erosion pits caused damage to pipelines, ferry landings, and riverbanks. We wanted to thoroughly investigate these phenomena so that we know better what to expect in the future, said Roy Frings (river morphologist at Rijkswaterstaat).
Research on erosion pits
Together with Hermjan Barneveld (Researcher WUR ) and Ralph Schielen (Water safety & morphology advisor), Frings investigated the cause of the erosion pits. The Meuse has been widened in various places to improve flood safety. In this way, the river can dispose of its surplus water.
Such widenings were not possible everywhere. In those places, relatively narrower sections have formed (bottlenecks) with a significant increase in flow speed as a result. This caused large underwater dunes to walk over the riverbed during the high water in 2021.
In some places, fine sand lies beneath the coarse riverbed. The deepest parts of the dunes reached through the gravel layer and quickly washed away the fine underlying sands. This created the deep washouts. Barneveld: Besides investigating why the erosion pits formed just now, we also wanted to know where all that sand was being washed away to.
Fieldwork in all Meuse floodplains and a special laser technique revealed that 80% of the sand was deposited on the Meuse floodplains. This is within 25 km of the last erosion pit at the ferry Berg-Meeswijk.
Future
The research shows that it is very important to know the composition of a riverbed more accurately. This allows for risk locations for erosion to be mapped and it is easier to determine which river measures are appropriate and in what order it is safe to implement them. Due to climate change, the likelihood of extreme high water is increasing, causing the Netherlands to face erosion problems more often.
One of the focal points of the program Room for the River 2.0 is to stop the bed erosion of the Meuse and Rhine. The research provides important insights for that, said Schielen. Frings: This is how Rijkswaterstaat works towards a safe and future-proof river system.
Publication
The research was published on July 10, 2025, in the renowned scientific magazine Nature . Read the full English article .