can someone tell me what this is and why it is shaped like this? found in Utrecht zuilen

7 comments
  1. It’s a weir, it controls upstream (the road side, in this case) water levels. A small part in the entirety of our flood control infrastructure.

  2. Indeed a weir. You will notice the water levels in the small stream/pond is around 50 cm higher than in the Vecht river, and water flow towards the river is restricted.

    About 500m downstream of the Vecht at that location, you’ll find at the end of the Klopvaart a ‘gemaal’ which controls water from the Overvecht polder area to the Vecht river by other means.

    It’s a nice watersystem in this area, historically also linked to the fortresses of the N. Hollandse Waterlinie.

    Check [www.ahn.nl](www.ahn.nl) (Actueel hoogtebestand Nederland) to get a feeling for the land heights to get some idea about the larger area.

    And here ([rijksmonumenten.nl/monument/532203/klopvaart/utrecht/](rijksmonumenten.nl/monument/532203/klopvaart/utrecht/)) some more info as wel on the general water history of the area.

  3. Like others mentioned it’s a weir.

    To add to that:

    I think it’s shaped like this because the sewage cleaning plant next to it uses this waterway to get the clean water to the Vecht river.

    If there goes something wrong there and it has to disperge of water that is not entirely clean, this weir cleans it a bit more.

    You can see the wooden ‘bridge’ in front of the weir, the water has to go underneath it, so this keeps al the floating waste from coming through.

    Than you see a grate that keeps the bigger waste from coming through.

    And than you have the shape of the weir, this is to have a long area to overflow so the water level that is overflowing is much smaller than with a straight weir and also the velocity of the water overflowing will be much lower. That way the chance of waste that does not float to go over is smaller than with a straight weir.

    Lastly you see a valve to close the whole thing off if necessary (you only see the shaft to control it, the valve is beneath the deck.

    ​

    All just assumptions on my part, I have never seen this place before 🙂 But I think I’m pretty close.

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