THE WATERWOLF

The strongly meandering river Hunze (now Reitdiep) connected the city of Groningen to the sea until 1877. The Reitdiep is the main drainage of the north and west of the province of Groningen and the northern part of Drenthe.
Until 1877, the Reitdiep ensured the natural drainage of excess water from large parts of Groningen and Drenthe to the sea. In 1877 the Reitdiep between Zoutkamp and Nittershoek was closed. Due to the silting up of the outer channel of the river, the water could not be sufficiently drained to the open sea.
When the wind was persistent, the sea level was high, which hindered or even made the natural discharge impossible. As a result, large areas were flooded, especially when there was a lot of rainfall. Because the inhabitants wanted their feet dry and the farmers did not want to lose their flourishing arable and pasture land, the province and central government decided to build a large pumping station.
In 1920, the electric pumping station De Waterwolf in the Reitdiep started its important task, the drainage of water from a large part of the province of Groningen and the northern part of Drenthe.
The Waterwolf was unique for its time and is a beautiful piece of industrial heritage. Today, the pumping station is still in operation. In fact, it fulfils a key function in the drainage of excess water towards the Wadden Sea. The pumping station was specially built to drain the excess water from the Electra catchment area behind it. The name Electra comes from the Electra water board that managed this pumping station and that in turn derives its name from the fact that this was the first pumping station in the Netherlands to be electrically powered. This water board was eventually merged into the Noorderzijlvest water board. Between 1975 and 1978, the pumping station's electric motors were replaced by diesel engines.

Biker