Published on: March 3, 2026, 3:24 PM
Due to a power outage on Sunday afternoon, March 1, 2026, the sluice gates of the Stevinsluizen at Den Oever (Afsluitdijk) could not be operated temporarily. As a result, at high tide, a large amount of saltwater from the Wadden Sea flowed into the IJsselmeer.
We are monitoring the development of the salinity using measuring points. We will remove the salty water from the IJsselmeer as quickly as possible.
We do this by discharging as much as possible at Den Oever during low tide on the Wadden Sea. The fresh water from the IJsselmeer then pushes back the salt concentration (the so-called salt layer) during discharge. The large supply of fresh water from the IJssel helps with this. This is beneficial for nature and for the drinking water company PWN and the water boards. No increased salt concentrations were measured at the drinking water intake at Andijk.
Power outage
The doors of the discharge complex could not close on time due to the power outage. After the outage was resolved, the next moment of equal water level was used to test and close the discharge complex. This succeeded on Sunday evening just before midnight.
Due to favorable weather conditions, the inflow of seawater had no effect on water safety. The discharge complex is functioning normally again. The focus is now fully on reducing salinization in the IJsselmeer.