De Laak, craving for water

What we still see as a large stream here was the Demer about 10-15,000 years ago. You have to imagine the landscape differently, namely as a wide plain with several meandering rivers. At some point, the Demer will change its course to the south and meet the Dyle near Werchter. But an arm of the river, the current one, Laak survived and left the Demer near Aarschot to flow into the Dyle in Ninde.

The Laak was included in a dug system of slate streams and canals to drain the rainwater and seepage water and to drain the wet soils. Unlike the Demer, the Laak was not canalized and has retained its tortuous appearance.

In 1974 the Laak in Aarschot was closed off from the Demer. Only rainwater and sewage provided a water supply and gradually the stream began to silt up. Efforts have been made for decades to make the stream fully water-bearing again.

Jan Rymenams