Miracle cure for condemned levees

As a child, Jos Karsten walked the Markermeer dike. Now he is director of JLD Contracting, an SME company from Edam that works on a so-called "JLD dike stabilizer," a plastic pin that reinforces dikes so they once again meet safety requirements.

Simulated levee breach

The promises of the dike stabilizer are almost too good to be true, agrees Karsten (49). But so far, all research results from tests in an artificial dike in Purmerend are positive. The stabilizer strengthens a dike on the inside. The pin is inserted within minutes with a small machine and is made of a special type of flexible plastic. Karsten: "A dike has to be able to move.

The ultimate test will follow in April, when a dike breach will be simulated. Karsten, who is working with knowledge institute Deltares and Antea Group, among others, hopes that his stabilizer will receive a statement from ENW, the institute that draws up the calculation rules for dike safety, by the end of this year. With this declaration, water boards will not have to conduct additional research if they want to use the stabilizer

Export Plans

Expectations are high. Rijkswaterstaat thinks that 2,000 kilometers of dike will be rejected in a new test in two years. 'If we can do 10% of all Dutch dikes, I will have accomplished a great mission in my life.' Export plans for Europe, Asia and the United States are also ready. Afraid of competition, the entrepreneur is not. Patents should protect the invention, which has taken more than seven years to develop.

Karsten can't wait to get to work with real dikes. As an entrepreneur, he keeps far from the political discussions about the Markermeer dike. But, he says, 'I would very much like to do a piece of the dike. It's still my dike.'