Sleeper Dike

A sleeper dike (in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

''slaperdijk'') is a

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

which does not normally face water, but serves as a backup if a "front-line" dike in front of it breaks. The sleeper dikes are usually located at places where there is a high risk of dike breakthrough or where there used to be such a risk. The dike is only potentially safeguarding the land from the sea/river, and is "sleeping", hence the name. Sometimes there is even a secondary sleeper dike, which can be called a "

dreamer dike Dreamer may refer to: General use * A person experiencing a dream * An idealist * A recipient of DACA Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Dreamer'' (Bobby Bland album), 1974 * ''Dreamer'' (Haste the Day album), 2008 * ''Dream ...

". Many of the sleeper dikes are historical, and no longer have a function in protection against the water, after the dike improvements of the

Delta Plan The Delta Works ( nl, Deltawerken) is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta from the sea. Constructed between 1954 and 1997, the works con ...

. However, in case of a breakthrough they do divide up the land in sections, and therefore stop the waterflow in some parts, and slow down in others. Also many of these dikes are protected because of their cultural historical and ecological value. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sleeper Dike Disaster preparedness Geography of the Netherlands Dikes