Evides supplies water from the surrounding polders and lowers it into the ground from special infiltration channels. Soil organisms purify the supplied water. We then pump the water out of the ground via shallow drains and make it suitable for our customers in a purification system. Most of the water is intended for industry. But in case of emergency, we can also supply drinking water to the residents of Hulst here. The soil in the water extraction area consists of sand. The soil is too poor for agriculture, but the forests provide space for all kinds of plants and animals that are not common in Zeeland.
The water extraction forests consist mainly of exotic trees that have been planted for forestry. But there are also old pedunculate oaks and beech trees, which provide shelter for birds, insects and mammals. There are small-scale fields around Sint Jansteen, which we sow with old grain varieties. Part of the crop remains in the winter so that birds can still find food. Bushes and small trees at the edges of the fields provide space for special insects. Partridges, yellow wagtails, meadow pipits and skylarks breed among the wild field weeds. Cultivated crops and nature conservation reinforce each other in this beautiful Zeeland-Flemish area.