Beach nourishment operations Quackstrand officially started

Mr. Robert van der Kooi, chairman of the Voorne-Putten recreation board, together with partners: Hellevoetsluis municipality, Southwest Netherlands sport fishery, Netherlands sport fishery and Natuurmonumenten, gave their go-ahead for enlarging the beach at Quackstrand. Quackstrand beach is a busy recreational area and was constructed in the 1970s after the completion of the Haringvlietdam. Over the years, the beach eroded that much that it  now no longer meets today's requirements. Baggerbedrijf De Boer started to strengthen the coast by applying extra sand by the technique of beach nourishment.

BEACH NOURISHMENT WORK

The beach nourishment work is an important part of the  “Quality Impulse Quackstrand Beach Hellevoetsluis” project. With a beach nourishment, an amount of sand is pumped on the beach so more space for nature and recreational purposes can be created. The sand that is being pumped on shore comes from extraction areas in the North Sea. From the North Sea the sand is brought to Quackstrand beach with a trailing suction hopper dredger. After that, the sand is pumped on the beach from the ship via a pipeline. Arrived at the beach, the sand is levelled out by bulldozers. This process continues seven days a week, until the end of February 2020. The recreational beach will be extended both in length and width. In total, more than 4 hectares of sand will be pumped on the shore which is around 8 soccer fields. This will result in an extra wide beach in the bend and better accessibility.

EQUIPMENT

To get the sand on the beach, Baggerbedrijf De Boer B.V. hired the ships SCALD (Trailing suction hopper dredger) and Bar-Melus (Crab dredger). On the beach itself, a shovel, bulldozer and a hydraulic crane machine will ensure that the sand will be distributed at the correct height.

PROJECT DURATION

The beach nourishment work falls under the "Quality Impulse Quackstrand Beach Hellevoetsluis" project. This project officially started in September 2019, because in addition to widening the beach also a boulevard and, in the landscape integrated, parking facilities will be constructed. The aim of the project is: generating more beach, fishing and water fun at the Haringvliet, but there is also a focus on profit for nature lovers. All this work is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

COOPERATION

Recreation Board Voorne-Putten is the client for the quality boost Quackstrand beach. The plans have been worked out with various organizations, entrepreneurs, associations and residents of the area. In this project, the Recreation Board Voorne-Putten works together with the municipality of Hellevoetsluis, Sportvisserij Zuidwest Nederland and Sportvisserij NL (representatives of the fishing clubs), and Natuurmonumenten (Dutch Society for Nature Conservation and the co-owner and manager of Voornes Duin).

These cooperation partners together financed the Quackstrand beach quality incentive. In addition, there is additional funding received from the Province of South Holland via the Haringvliet and Voorne Putten landscape tables and the Haringvliet Dream Fund. Staatsbosbeheer, as manager of the area, is responsible for the implementation of the project. Staatsbosbeheer is commissioned by the Dutch government to strengthen the position of nature in the Netherlands. As a leading national public body and as landowner and manager of a sizeable amount of nature reserves they work to conserve and develop the Netherlands’ characteristic green heritage.

RECREATION BOARD VOORNE-PUTTEN

In the Recreation Board Voorne-Putten, the municipalities of Brielle, Hellevoetsluis, Nissewaard and Westvoorne work together. They represent the interests of nature, landscape and outdoor recreation. The Recreation Board was established under the Common Regulations Act. More information about the project can be found at: Website Staatsbosbeheer  (Note: Dutch language)

ABOUT BAGGERBEDRIJF DE BOER- DUTCH DREDGING

Baggerbedrijf de Boer is a medium-sized dredging company, based in Sliedrecht. The company’s activities consist of dredging and the performance of measurements and other hydraulic engineering activities in the broadest sense of the word. The family business has been around for more than half a century and has developed into an organization with approximately 220 employees and 30 ships. Abroad, the company operates under the name “Dutch Dredging”.