Deventer closes harbour indefinitely due to low river levels

Deventer is closing its harbour to ships from this weekend after the summer drought caused the water level in the river IJssel to drop to exceptionally low levels.

The municipal council said on its website that the sluice gates would close to prevent “damage to water barriers, problems for ships and risks for houseboats”.

The rules state that the sluice gates must be closed if the level of the river outside the harbour falls below 45cm above Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP), the baseline measure roughly equivalent to sea level.

That level is expected to be reached on Saturday. Ships will be allowed to enter the harbour until Thursday, but will have to leave by Friday evening.

The last time Deventer’s harbour was closed due to low water levels was in 2018, when it was able to reopen after two weeks.

The Twentekanaal, which runs between Almelo, Hengelo and Enschede, has been closed since last Saturday because the water level is too low. The regional liaison group Twente Board has written to infrastructure minister Vincent Karremans asking for financial support for affected businesses.

Koninklijke Binnenvaart Nederland (KBN), the collective body for inland waterway operators, said the closure would cost the local economy between €125,000 and €500,000 a day. The canal will reopen once the water level rises to 9.10 metres above NAP.