The Brouwersdam is the seventh structure of the Delta Works in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Brouwersdam forms a barrier across the former

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

known as the Brouwershavense Gat. As a result, the area of water became known as the

Grevelingenmeer Grevelingen or Grevelingenmeer (Lake Grevelingen) is a closed off part of the Rhine-Meuse estuary on the border of the Dutch provinces of South Holland and Zeeland. It is situated between the islands of Goeree-Overflakkee (South Holland) and Sch ...

Construction

The Grevelingendam between Goeree-Overflakkee and Schouwen-Duiveland was completed in 1965. The Gravelingen south of Goeree-Overflakkee were still connected to the North Sea. The storm surge could therefore be higher here, so dykes were raised on the south side of the island in 1965. Construction of the Brouwersdam was begun immediately after the Gavelingendam was completed in order to shorten the period of higher flood. After more than six years, in the spring of 1971, the dam was finished. Between 1964 and 1971 there had been some very high water levels. In November 1966 the water was just a few centimeters below the level of the infamous floods of February 1, 1953. Construction of the six-kilometer long dam was begun in 1962. The inlet between Goeree-Overflakke and Schouwen-Duiveland was 30 meters deep. As with other dams,

caissons Caisson (French for "box") may refer to: * Caisson (Asian architecture), a spider web ceiling * Caisson (engineering), a sealed underwater structure * Caisson (lock gate), a gate for a dock or lock, constructed as a floating caisson * Caisson (pe ...

with holes were lowered, allowing the tides to go through during the construction of the dam. This avoided creating too strong a current in the narrowing gap. This method was used for the northern gap at De Kous. Besides the caissons for the Southern gap, the Brouwershavense Gat, a cableway was used. From the cableway, large blocks of concrete were dropped in the trench, on top of which sand was sprayed. This constructed two large

sandbars In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It o ...

. The local channel was too deep and the water flowed too fast for the caissons method. After all the caissons were lowered, all the gaps were plugged. The Brouwersdam was finished in 1971. Following the completion of the Gravelingen the fall in water level exposed about 3,000 hectares of dry land. The road to the dam (National Highway 57 ) was commissioned on March 30, 1973. Later another passage lock, the Brouwerssluis, was installed in the dam and was completed on 1 June 1978 .

Activities

Halfway through the dam is a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

and the holiday park, Port Zélande . In the area water sports such as kite-surfing and

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

are popular. The Rijdend Tram Museum Foundation operates a route from Ouddorp (Punt de Goeree), via Port Zélande, to Scharendijke using historic stock from the Rotterdamse Tramweg Maatschappijt. The three-day "Concert at Sea" music festival has been held annually since 2006 at the Brouwersdam.

References

{{reflist Dams in the Netherlands Dams completed in 1971 Delta Works