Fish ladder Herentals on the Kleine Nete

The weir prevents fish from swimming upstream to spawn. To eliminate this obstacle, a remarkable construction has been built: at the height of the weir, a diversion has been laid in the river (a fish ladder). The water flows down a series of wide, low steps. Research has shown that more than 20 fish species are using this road, and fish can use the new fish passage to expand their habitat and swim to their upstream breeding grounds. The elimination of the migration barrier will benefit the entire fish fauna of the Kleine Nete. Thanks to the good water quality, the Kleine Nete and its tributaries now number no less than 20 fish species, including rare and protected species such as the Brook lamprey, River bullhead and Lesser and Greater loach. The Kleine Nete is now one of the purest rivers in Flanders.

In the fifteenth century, the wool and cloth industry in Herentals flourished enormously. For the production, the clothmakers from Herentals made good use of the proximity of the Kleine Nete and its side arms.

After all, water was indispensable for the manufacture of the fine cloth, but was also used to generate energy with water mills. The weir on the Kleine Nete, a few tens of meters upstream from Le Paige Castle, is not used to generate energy, but to control the decline of the river.

The weir prevents fish from swimming upstream to spawn. To eliminate this obstacle, a remarkable construction has been built: a diversion has been placed in the river at the height of the weir. The water flows down a series of wide low steps. Research has shown that more than twenty fish species use this route.

Source: Routeyou

Beautiful to see and discover or just relax on a bench nearby