Diksmuide (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A broad protest in Diksmuide opposes PFAS pollution in the Ijzer, impacting water sports and drinking water. Johan Vercruce (Diksmuide Kayak Club) and Klaas Van Nevel call for government action.
People protest in Diksmuide, province of West Flanders, Belgium, against PFAS pollution in the Ijzer. People are worried about chemicals called PFAS being dumped into the Ijzer. They say these chemicals are harmful to people and the environment. Johan Vercruce, from the Diksmuide Kayak Club, said that kayakers could be exposed to these toxic substances without even knowing it.
Klaas Van Nevel, who rents kayaks, wants the government to clean up the water instead of letting companies dump these chemicals. He wants them to stop the pollution at the source. The Diksmuide Triathlon Club also agrees. They want to hold a triathlon in the Ijzer next year, but they’re worried about the water quality. They might have to cancel their event because of the PFAS.
Is the government doing enough to stop PFAS pollution in the Ijzer?
The protest against PFAS isn’t just about water sports. The Diksmuide GP association is also worried about these chemicals. They don’t want the government to let companies dump PFAS into the Ijzer.
The water company, De Watergroep, is also unhappy about this. They’re worried that the PFAS will make the water unsafe to drink in the long run. Lots of people are now calling on the government to do more to stop water pollution. They want the government to fix the problem instead of letting it get worse.
Spokesperson Brigitte Vandamme says,
“The discharge takes place approximately 4 km from the intake point of raw water from the lizer to the reservoir of water production centre De Blankaart. The impact of the discharge on the water quality at the intake is not negligible.”
TWZ, the company that’s dumping PFAS into the Ijzer, isn’t saying anything right now. Saskia Vandenheede from TWZ says that they got permission from the government to dump the chemicals, but the process isn’t finished yet. People can still say they don’t want the company to do it.
Vandenheede mentioned that while the process is still going on, they don’t want to talk about it publicly. TWZ is waiting to see what happens before they say anything. They want to wait until the process is finished before making any public statements.
The government of West Flanders says it was right to let TWZ dump PFAS into the Ijzer. Bart Naeyaert, who’s in charge of environmental permits, said that TWZ cleans up wastewater, which is good because it makes it easier to purify water. He said that PFAS is a new problem, but TWZ is trying to fix it by using better ways to clean up the water.
He mentioned that TWZ is already doing some things to make the water cleaner, but they need to keep working on it to make sure the PFAS levels are low enough. Naeyaert said that by next October 2026, TWZ has to make sure the PFAS levels are below the legal limit.
