Wouda Steam Pumping Station - Wouda Stoomgemaal

The Wouda Steam Pumping Station near Lemmer in Friesland went into operation in 1920 and is the biggest steam pumping station ever built in the Netherlands. Under extreme weather conditions, when there is heavy rain and a hard north-easterly wind, the Wouda pumping station is started up again. The Wouda steam pumping station has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1998. The construction of the Wouda pumping station had everything to do with regulating water levels. As a coastal province, Friesland had suffered much flooding over the centuries. In 1902 the Dutch government appointed an advisory committee, which had to utter wise words on flood prevention. 'Build dikes and a pumping station', was the retort. For the realisation of the plans an important role was given to the then head engineer of the provincial water board - Dirk Frederik Wouda. Wouda chose steam power, which was a lot cheaper then the diesel engines in the original plan. He even considered powering the pumps electrically, but this too remained in the drawer due to its high costs. There was also a good technical reason to choose steam, the pumps had to be able to operate at different speeds and steam offered the best way to do this. Visit WWW.FAUNAFILM.NL for more information about the 26-part TV-series HERITAGE SITES of the WORLD on DVD or VHS.



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