3 River point

In Rumst, the Nete and the Dijle merge to form the Rupel, which flows into the Scheldt 12 kilometres away and is therefore the shortest river in Belgium. Today it is a freshwater tidal river under the influence of the tide of the North Sea, but in the early Middle Ages and Antiquity it was a wide shallow river with extensive peat-rich marshes on the left bank. The name Rupel would therefore go back to rim- (flowing) and -pel (swamp, pool, both Celtic-Germanic) or according to other sources be a combination of rough or rough with the Latin palus, 'swamp' (Ru-peel).

For almost 100 years, the Rupel was an open sewer. Wastewater was discharged untreated into the Rupel and its tributaries. Today there are again more than 25 fish species such as eel and roach, but also perch, flounder, European catfish and smelt.

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