The Scheldt

See also: the Scheldt (homonymy)

The the Scheldt ( Schelde in Dutch, of Latin Scaldis ) is a Fleuve which takes its source in France, close to Gouy in the Aisne with the foot of the abbey of the Holy Mount Martin (18th century), located at 49 ° 59' 16,7784'' North and 3° 15' 56,5704'' Is at an altitude of 97 meters, and crosses the Belgium, there it passes by the towns of Tournai, Ghent and Antwerp, It enters then to the Netherlands while passing between the Boundary stones 269 has and B. In the past, it separated in two arms, but only the Western branch still joined the the North Sea between Breskens and Flessingue with the Netherlands. It is 430 km long.

It is a river which played a determining role in economic development and policy of the Flanders, of the the Brabant and the Hainaut since the Moyen-âge. It was used a long time as border between France and the Saint Germanic Roman Empire. Vauban used it to defend the fortified towns of Valencian, Bouchain, Cop-on-the Scheldt and Cambrai; in 1870 it was used to stop the Prussian .

It is a slow and not very powerful river on which the influence of the Marée is felt up to 160 km of the mouth. Its estuary ( Westerschelde ) made up to five kilometers of width and the mudholes which it created have an ecological richness exceptional.

In France, a diagram of installation and management of water is being prepared, but the reflections are also led to the international level.

Installations of the source

Until the 17th century, the Scheldt took its source with Ponchaux , hamlet which is attached today to Beaurevoir. At the beginning of the XVIIIe century, drainage works of the small valley of Beaurevoir required an important ground contribution in the zone of the source. Following this work, the source of the Scheldt disappeared from Ponchaux to reappear to approximately 4 km on its current site of Gouy, beside the abbey of Mount-Saint-Martin.

Installations of the course

Dug at the XVIIIe century upstream of the source, a drain - named channel of the Torrents - curves in the dry valley, in order to drain the agricultural land, and nourishes the river in period of rain.

It is channel ized and navigable starting from Cambrai (since 1780) and crosses in particular Valencian to France, Tournai, Ghent and Antwerp to Belgium, before finishing its race in the Netherlands.

Some 250 lock S and Barrage S were established on its course and that of its principal affluents among which one can quote the Scarpe, the Lys and the Sensée.

Installations of the delta

After famous the floods of 1953, the Netherlands realized, within the framework of the Plan Delta, a series of stoppings in order to protect the Polder S.

Governorship

The Scheldt runs in 3 countries and 7 areas. In addition to a major axis of transport, it is, with the Meuse, one of the sources of drinking water of the Netherlands (after treatment). As an ecosystem, he does not know a border. For a better coordinated management, associations were made up, French-speaking and nerlandophones; the alive Scheldt, association of prefiguration of a European GEIE created in 1994, and the Scheldt without border in Belgium. In the Netherlands, several great associations also seek to protect and restore the wet ecosystems of the Scheldt.

the alive Scheldt via its charter, aims at encouraging, on all the catchment area of the Scheldt, an integrated management of water, the functional rehabilitation of its natural environments; wet and associated (and in particular “forsaken” with the Scheldt, still called Arm-death or “cut” , while developing its functions transport and of leisures, and this in the duration via information, the sensitizing and a total reorganization of the catchment area supported on the principles of the Sustainable development

The States should as for them apply the parent directive to Water, with the assistance in France of the Agence of Water Artois-Picardy, within the framework in particular of the green and blue Trame of the area North-Not of Calais.

The Scheldt, like the the large Rhine and other River S Europeans crossing from the industrial parks and of intensive agriculture was and remains very polluted. The management of the Muds of clearing out, of the After-effects of war of the consequences of the degradation of the wetlands and pollution is one of the challenges which the inhabitants and authorities must take up of the basin-slope. The management of possible a Assembled oceans (cf many zones of Polder) and Climate changes will be another.

Catchment area and affluents

See Area catchment of the Scheldt

Random links: