| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Official name | ir. D.F. Woudagemaal (D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station) |
| Location | Tacozijl, Lemsterland, De Fryske Marren, Netherlands |
| Criteria | Cultural: (i), (ii), (iv) |
| Reference | 867 |
| Inscription | 1998 (22nd Session) |
| Area | 7.32 ha (18.1 acres) |
| Buffer zone | 20.68 ha (51.1 acres) |
| Website | www |
| Coordinates | 52°50′45″N 5°40′44″E / 52.84583°N 5.67889°E |
  Location of Wouda pumping station in Friesland  Wouda pumping station (Netherlands) | |
The ir. D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station (ir. D.F. Woudagemaal) is a pumping station in the Netherlands, and the largest still operational steam-powered pumping station in the world.[1] On October 7, 1920, Queen Wilhelmina opened the pumping station. It was built to pump excess water out of Friesland, a province in the north of the Netherlands. In 1967, the coal furnaces were converted to run on heavy fuel oil.
It has a pumping capacity of 4,000 m3/min (1,100,000 U.S. gal/min). The pumping station is currently used to supplement the existing pumping capacity of the J.L. Hooglandgemaal in Stavoren in case of exceptionally high water levels in Friesland, which usually happens a few times each year. The pumping station has been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list since 1998[1]