Because of the ongoing period of drought, and on the advice of the National Water Coordination Committee, the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management has switched to the so called KWA scenario (‘Klimaatbestendige Wateraanvoer’).
One of the decisions made is that it is necessary to adjust the lock passage regime in IJmuiden to reduce saltwater intrusion from the North Sea Canal into the Amsterdam Rhine Canal.
Therefore Port of Amsterdam will start the optimisation of the passage process, from Thursday 26 July 2018 at 06.00 pm. This means that we will strive to carry out each lock passage with as full a lock as possible and restrict the filling of empty locks where possible.
To optimise the lock passages, we will apply a maximum waiting time for both the Middensluis and the Noordersluis locks of 1.5 hours as a result of the measure.
By taking this measure, we will make a positive contribution to the fragile balance between fresh and salt water in the Amsterdam Rhine Canal.