Pumping station Noordeind and Geerpolder

The polder board of the Noordeind- and Geerpolder started in 1929 with the construction of an electric pumping station on the Smidskade along the Leidse Vaart. It opened in February 1930.

On the Smidskade in Langeraar, not far from the bridge, is the polder pumping station of the Noordeind- and Geerpolder. In the first months of the year 2009, it was renovated to guarantee the required drainage capacity for this polder and to improve the control possibilities.

The Noordeind- and Geerpolder was founded on 1 January 1879 and was a merger of the Geerpolder and the Noordeindsche polder. Before 1857, the Geerpolder was not part of Rijnland, but of Amstelland. The merged polder consisted of two departments: Noordeind and Geer.

An octagonal mill built in 1790 on the Leidse Vaart pumped the Noordeindsche polder and since 1824 also the Geerpolder. The merger of the two polders in 1879 did not lead to a change in the drainage. The wind shovelling mill was often unemployed because of long periods of windlessness. The water then rose high. This caused many complaints from landers, mostly gardeners. High water caused acidification of the soil, which had a negative impact on the quality of the vegetables. That is why the polder board started in 1929 with the construction of an electric pumping station on the Smidskade along the Leidse Vaart.

The opening of the new pumping station took place on 11 February 1930. The polder board proudly showed the guests a functional and architecturally modest pumping station, equipped with 'an improved steel auger, suitable for a head of 1.55 cm. and with a capacity of 12750 litres per minute and an electric motor with an output of 10 hp., manufactured by Brown Bovry'.

The mill was demolished after the electric pumping station was put into operation. Parts of hood, shaft and rods were used for the Veendermolen near Roelofarendsveen.

More than 80 years later, the small pumping station, now completely contemporary in terms of drainage technology, is still ready when it comes to maintaining the water level in the Noordeind and Geerpolder.

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