Sand engine

Coordinates: 52 ° 3 '9.2 "  N , 4 ° 11' 4.8"  E

The hook on the card caused by sand flushing

Zandmotor aerial view

View of Kijkduin across the "lake" in the Sand Motor (August 2017)

Sandmotor ( Dutch zandmotor ) is the official name for a coastal protection project on the Dutch coast. An artificial sandbank was raised in front of the actual shoreline in the province of South Holland , which is mainly distributed on the northeastern beach between The Hague / Scheveningen and Hoek van Holland due to the prevailing westerly winds and the also prevailing westerly currents and compensates for the usual sand losses caused there by flooding should.

Suction ship during the construction phase

In the period from March to November 2011, an approximately two-kilometer long, one-kilometer-long hook-shaped peninsula with a size of 128 hectares protruding into the sea was washed up in front of the existing dune belt on the beach between Ter Heijde and Kijkduin . The 21.5 million cubic meters of sand used for this purpose were sucked up from the seabed by ships 10 km from the coast and pumped to the shore. Since then, wind and currents have deformed the artificial dune and the first plants have started to colonize it. If the measure is successful, the permanent embankments and stabilization of the sandy coast that were previously necessary will no longer be necessary for a long time.

The costs are borne by the Dutch state (58 million euros ) and the Province of South Holland (12 million euros).

The artificial sand area is freely accessible to the public and can be used for tourism, for example for sand sledding. On the other hand, swimmers on neighboring beaches are endangered by changing currents.

In 2017 it could be proven that the sand engine is actually maintaining the coast. There is an interest in using it in other coastal cities as well.

Web links

Commons : Sandmotor  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the project (English, Dutch)
• Sand motor is supposed to fill up beaches. Current research from December 30, 2016 on Deutschlandfunk
• The sand engine of Holland. [w] wie Wissen , Das Erste , October 1st, 2016 with video contribution

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Opnieuw zwemverbod bij de Zandmotor. RTL Nieuws, August 20, 2012.
2. ↑ Zandmotor temporarily closed after death. TheHagueOnline, August 21, 2012.
3. ^ Daniel Münter: Netherlands - The pact with water. arte.tv , documentation 2017, min. 5:19 - 10:49 and 51:12 - 52:18.