The Esschestroom, also Essche Stroom is a small river near
Esch in
North Brabant
North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the w ...
Name
The Esschestroom is also called Essche Stroom, which is a mere matter of spelling. Another name is 'Run' which is a very common name for brooks. This can lead to confusion with the
Run near
Veldhoven
Veldhoven () is a municipality and town on the Gender in the southern Netherlands, just southwest of Eindhoven.
Topography
Dutch topographic map of Veldhoven (town), Dec. 2013
Population centres
The modern town of Veldhoven is an agglomerat ...
. In medieval times the Esschestroom and some of the upstream water was called
Dieze
The Dieze is a short river in North Brabant, the Netherlands, tributary of the Meuse (). It is formed by the confluence of the rivers Aa and Dommel in 's-Hertogenbosch. The part of the Dieze in the centre of 's-Hertogenbosch is called Binnendiez ...
.
Geography
The Esschestroom is about 7 km long. Just east of
Oisterwijk
Oisterwijk () is a municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands.
Population centres
* Haaren
* Heukelom
* Moergestel
*Oisterwijk
Topography
''Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Oisterwijk, 2021''
Transportation
* Railwa ...
it is formed by the confluence of the
Voorste Stroom and the
Reusel
Reusel is a village and former municipality in the south of the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is one of the villages of the municipality Reusel-De Mierden.
The village is known on their village dialect (Reusels), which is still spoken, and ...
, which is locally called
Achterste Stroom. Downstream it is joined by the
Rosep, the
Nemer, and just before Esch by the
Kleine Aa or Dommeltje. The Esschestroom then flows through Esch and joins the
Dommel
The Dommel is a small river in Belgium and the Netherlands, left tributary of the Dieze. It is 120 km long, of which 85 km in the Netherlands. The Dommel takes in water from the Keersop, Tongelreep, Run, Gender and Kleine Dommel streams and merg ...
just west of
Halder.
History
The river was canalized in 1965. Many meanders and
kolks that used to store excess water were filled up during this operation. The clock kolk () was filled up with waste from the village (which?). In time the river got the nickname 'Dirty Stream' because of all the local industry that polluted the river.
Ecology
In the first decade of the 21st century there was a plague of the
floating pennywort in the Esschestroom. In the Netherlands it is foreign, invasive, and tends to clog up waterways.
In 2005 a plan was made to restore the water storage capacity, the ecological and the recreational values of the Essche Stroom. It became a very large project that is still active in 2020. Some of the constituent projects have already been completed. Some of these projects led to re-opening filled meanders of the Esschestroom. Other projects targeted the migration of fish and frogs.
One of these projects was the project Halsche Beemden, finished in 2014. It brought back about three kilometers of meanders between the highway A2 and the railway from Boxtel to 's-Hertogenbosch. Furthermore, ponds were created for
amphibian life. The canalized Esschestroom stayed in place for storing excess water, and the area east of the new meanders would be allowed to flood in case of emergency. The new natural reserve that was thus created soon attracted plants, fish and wildlife. The project also created facilities for hiking and canoeing.
Further north the project was finished in 2015. Here the canalized Esschestroom itself was rerouted, so it meandered again over 2.5 km. The dykes were moved further from the shore, and made place for lower waterlines which were allowed to flood. From 2015 visitors were welcomed to the area.
Gallery
File:Essche Stroom bij Kasteel Nemerlaer 2.JPG, Sluice in the Esschestroom viewed upstream near Nemerlaer Castle in Haaren.
File:Essche Stroom bij Kasteel Nemerlaer 3.JPG, Esschestroom viewed downstream near Nemerlaer Castle in Haaren.
File:Essche stroom (omgeving de Halder).jpg, Esschestroom near Halder.
External links
Essche Stroom in BewegingWebsite of the project Essche Stroom in Beweging.
Notes
{{Reflist, 2
Rivers of North Brabant