Grift

With the disappearance of these industries, the Grift also largely disappeared underground. Broadly speaking, the Grift had disappeared between the railway line and Anklaarseweg. The city’s main sewer has been laid underground along those sections of the route.

The Grift flows through part of the south-west of the city, the city centre and the northern part of the city. Before the stream restoration began in 2005, the Grift flowed above ground from Eendrachtstraat to just beyond the railway line. The stream was missing from the route in and around the city centre: along PWA-laan, Brinkpark, Hofstraat, diagonally from the former V&D building to Beurtvaartstraat, via Van Aelstlaan and Vlijtseweg. To the north of Apeldoorn, however, the stream did flow alongside the Apeldoorns Kanaal. The Grift is the main stream among the streams in Apeldoorn.

The restoration of the Grift is being carried out in phases. In recent years, large sections of the Grift have been brought back to the surface. This reinforces Apeldoorn’s Veluwe identity and allows people to enjoy the flowing water whilst walking or cycling. New ecological corridors are being created. And space is being provided for rainwater that has been diverted from the sewer system. Part of the water from the Grift is infiltrated near Epe. This means it is returned to the groundwater. It is a circular water system.

The Climate Adaptation Knowledge Portal The National Climate Strategy has included the Grift town centre and surrounding area as a pilot project.

De Grift in a World Economic Forum video

River restoration is also known as ‘daylighting’ in English. Read more about how cities around the world are tackling this in the article by the World Economic Forum. The video also features the Grift, interspersed with footage of global cities such as New York and Seoul.