Weir lock of Idegem

To make the Dender more navigable, the river was canalized. Before the works, the Dender was about 80 km long, now it is only 65 km. Weirs maintain the water level for shipping. Because there is too little draught for cargo ships, you only see pleasure craft on this stretch of the Dender.
There are eight locks on Flemish territory on the Dender. All manually operated locks from Ath to Aalst are 41.87 m long and 5.20 m wide. This also applies to the lock of Idegem. Next to the lock is a weir that regulates the amount of water in the Dender.
How does a lock work?
Locks bridge a difference in height in a waterway.
Versassen or schutten is sailing through a lock. A lock has two gates with a lock chamber in between. At least one of the doors must be closed at all times. The lock is done after both doors have been closed. The difference in height between the water on both sides of the lock is called the lock height or the gradient. The lock of Idegem has a drop of 2.3m.

Departement Omgeving