A City Gives Its River a Second Channel

A City Gives Its River a Second Channel is an original illustration set in Spiegelwaal, Nijmegen, Netherlands. It lies in mid-latitudes, where the climate is oceanic — mild, wet through the year.

A broad lowland river passes a Dutch city and long bridge, while a parallel side channel curves behind a narrow new island of grass, paths, and young willows. Set-back dikes, low overflow sills, and floodable parkland are visible, with ordinary high water beginning to spread into the extra corridor.

Why was a new river channel cut through inhabited land beside the main flow?

At Nijmegen the main Waal narrowed against a bend, raising flood levels when large discharges arrived. Moving the dike inland and excavating the Spiegelwaal created a second route that temporarily carries water and lowers pressure on the old channel, while the island remains public space at ordinary levels. The designed combination of urban bridge, side channel, lowered floodplain, and set-back dike expresses the Dutch Room for the River strategy.

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