Watermill landscapes

A window into historically wet (nature) areas

Watermills have had a major impact on the landscape since the Middle Ages. Impounding water for milling changes both the level of the stream and the groundwater upstream from the weir. Today, many water mills and associated dams have disappeared or are inactive. However, watermills can play an interesting role in local water management, which is why we worked together with a number of millers from Flanders and the Netherlands, affiliated with the Molenforum, Levende Molens and Molenstichting Noord-Brabant.

Just over a hundred water mills have been preserved in both Flanders and the Netherlands, although not all of them are still active or capable of grinding. They are often protected as monuments and located in a protected village-scape or cultural-historical landscape. The miller's craftsmanship has also been added to the Inventories of Flanders and the Netherlands. Thanks to the Netherlands categorizing it, it has now been recognized by UNESCO on the Representative List for the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

We have been aware of the use of water mills and waterpower as an energy source since the Middle Ages. Mills were used for grinding grain, pressing oil and, from the seventeenth century onwards, played a role in making paper or working iron. This diversity of function for the water mill can be continued to this day. We started looking for possible sustainable functions together with the heritage community, managers, researchers and experts.

Water mills are sustainable in the sense that they use waterpower to grind. For example, they can play a role in short supply chain and local, small-scale (organic) agriculture. Generating energy is also a possible application for the water mill, although it does require a constant weir, which is not possible or desirable everywhere. But in addition to these functions for the mill, there may be even more important opportunities in the smart use of the watermill's weir effect and in making use of the watermill landscape. An often centuries-old damming right and a fixed water level are a determinative factor for a water mill. This results in a very specific, wet landscape. Such a watermill landscape consists of the watermill itself with associated weir, surface waters such as the stream, ditches and canals, and the wider influence area of the backwater.

Mills have harnessed energy and natural resources for centuries. This is not only a significant heritage, but also so culturally important that we should not forget it. We can activate the mill today in all kinds of ways.

- Erik Van Hemelrijck

The miller's knowledge of managing the weir and its impact on the surrounding landscape has been passed on from generation to generation. Today, this knowledge can be used to contribute to social goals and sustainable management of the wet landscape around the mill. The damming will also raise the upper groundwater table on adjacent plots and make the valley much wetter in places. Rain and seepage water will therefore also be able to infiltrate better, which again benefits the groundwater level. Just as with grassland irrigation, experts also emphasize using the mills for rewetting. Such a new role for the mill can also provide better protection for both the mill and the landscape in the long term.

The watermill landscape is a relic of a situation that used to be found everywhere. You can still see what the landscape can look like when it is very wet.

– Hein Elemans

The wet and biodiverse landscapes that the watermills create were once widespread in Flanders and the Netherlands. Watermill landscapes today show what a wet environment can look like (again) and how best to deal with it. However, restoration of such a watermill landscape is not that simple, both for the miller and the watercourse manager. In some places the mill weir has disappeared or has not been in use for decades. Rebuilding dams is difficult at such locations, partly because the former wet backwater area may have sometimes been given other functions, such as habitation. Long-term impoundment also changes the properties of the watercourse and the environment. Certain fish and plant species need fast-flowing and low water, which is not possible at the mill weir. Free fish migration is a bottleneck. Solutions such as fish passes or a bypass channel make (temporary) fish migration possible once more, but also affect the dam level of the mill. In addition, irrigation water is regularly pumped from the waterways during dry periods, which prevents the mill from pumping and grinding. Solutions to these potential barriers to new watermill landscapes require collaboration and compromise.

And in the future?

A watermill is often only seen as a protected monument, with bottlenecks for water management. But by seeing the mill in its landscape, as well as the social and economic significance of it, new possibilities are feasible. The watermill landscapes can be crucial for climate adaptation and sustainable water management objectives. It may therefore be useful to take a closer look at existing watermill dams.