Bart Schultz
In an earlier contribution to Flevolands Geheugen I have already written about windmills. Therefore, only the other driving devices will be discussed here.
Steam engines had been in use for a long time before they were applied for the discharge from polders in the Netherlands. In his book Stoombemaling van polders en boezems (Steampower pumping from Polders and collecting and transport systems), published in 1885, Adrien Huet describes in detail how the introduction of the steam engine for the discharge from polders took place. Steven Hoogendijk was the first to conduct a test with a steam engine in 1776 to pump water from the city centre of Rotterdam. High water regularly occurred here, which was caused by the polder windmills discharging their water into the Rotte River, causing it to flow into the city centre. However, these tests remained tests.
In the meantime, Rhijnse Lieve Brouwer had succeeded in 1781 in building a steampower pumping station for Jan Hope on his country estate Groenendaal near the city of Heemstede. This pumping station pumped water to the country estate during dry periods, in order to prevent the drying out of the sandy soils. The pumping station performed very well. It was therefore the first properly functioning steampower pumping station in the Netherlands, used to prevent drying out, in a country that had the greatest difficulty with discharging its excess water.
The first steampower pumping station that functioned well for the discharge from a polder functioned for the Blijdorp Polder. The pumping station, with a capacity of 43 cubic metres per minute at a lift of 2.20 metres, was put into operation in 1787. However, it was not possible to sell the pumping station to the landowners, so that it remained idle.
The first steampower pumping station that functioned for a polder for several years was put into operation in 1794 in the Eerste Bedijking der Mijdrechtsche Droogmakerij. Although the pumping station functioned well, it was mostly idle in the winter of 1794-1795, mainly due to a lack of coal and frost. In the summer of 1808, the pumping station burned down. In July 1809, a new steampower pumping station was put into operation. It continued to function well until November 1812, but the costs were high, mainly due to the high amount of seepage and the price of coal. For this reason, the pumping station was taken out of operation and later demolished.
The 1,138-hectare Polder of Nootdorp was the first drained lake that was completely drained using a steampower pumping station in 1844, followed within a few years by the much more extensive draining of the Haarlemmermeer.
In connection with the available power, in addition to the power to be delivered by the engines, the time needed to start up the engines and the time needed for cleaning and operation were important. Initially, it could take 10-30 hours before the steam engines were ready for operation. The boilers had to be cleaned once a week, so that approximately 25 working days per month were available for actual pumping.
Suction gas engines have been used since the beginning of the twentieth century. They had a low fuel consumption and were easy to operate. However, they also had a number of disadvantages. For example, due to the required combustion equipment and gas purification system, a heavy foundation block was necessary and the engine and accessories had to be cleaned regularly. Firing was difficult. As a result, the operation was dirty and unpleasant, and required more care than with a steampower pumping station. Suction gas engines were only used in a few polders.
The first diesel engine was installed in the Niedorper Polder in 1904. It was an engine that drove two centrifugal pumps, each with a capacity of 30 cubic metres per minute. After that, more and more diesel engines and other combustion engines were used for the discharge from polders. Diesel engines were almost immediately ready for use, and underloading and overloading can easily be accommodated.
The first application of electric pumping took place at the pumping stations that were used around 1900 for a number of small polders during the relocation of the mouth of the Meuse. Electric pumping stations are easy to operate and can also be easily controlled automatically. As a result, the smaller and medium-sized pumping stations are now usually electric pumping stations. With the possibilities for automatic operation, these pumping stations can be used very efficiently, whereby it is possible to use the pumping mainly on the basis of cheaper night electricity with a water level regulation that is tailored to this.
In the larger polders, the windmills have mostly been replaced by steam engines, and these in turn by diesel pumping stations or electric pumping stations. In the smaller polders, however, many windmills have been replaced directly by electric pumping stations. This was partly caused by the fact that the electricity companies charged such rates that auxiliary pumping was very expensive, but a complete switch from wind pumping to electric pumping was attractive.
