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What does the Roer and Overmaas Regional Water Authority do?
 

The Roer and Overmaas Regional Water Authority is responsible for flood prevention and for clean and sufficient water!

As a regional water authority, we are responsible for the water in the streams, lakes, pools, springs and near-surface groundwater of the Maas and Roer region in the south of the Province of Limburg (Eijsden and Maastricht to Roermond).

We are responsible for: 

Preventing floods. The streams in Limburg must be wide and deep enough to cope with higher than normal volumes of water. Where they are not wide enough, we create rainwater buffers.

Clean water. Clean, good quality water for the flora and fauna of the region. Water you can swim in, without any danger to health. Dirty wastewater from toilets, dishwashers, showers and factories is purified in sewage treatment plants. The Roer and Overmaas Regional Water Authority and the Peel and Maasvallei Regional Water Authority have jointly set up the company “Waterschapsbedrijf Limburg”. One of its tasks is to ensure that the sewage treatment plants function efficiently.
 
The embankments of the Maas. Constructing and maintaining the embankments is an important part of the work of preventing the Maas from overflowing! 

Controlling musk rats and coypu. A single musk rat digs about 11 barrow loads of soil each year and thus undermines the embankments of the Maas, the banks of waterways and roads. The musk rat population increases year by year. Control is absolutely necessary to prevent flooding. 

A sufficient supply of water. Too much water is not good, but neither is too little. The countryside and agricultural regions should not be at risk of drying out.

Groundwater management. The Province of Limburg manages the groundwater in Limburg. The following aspects of this task have been delegated to the Water Board:
- extraction for agricultural purposes;
- extraction for industrial purposes involving less than 100,000 m³ per year;
- drainage wells and reclamation involving the extraction of less than 100,000 m³ per year or fall under the general rules.