Editing Meuse (section)

==Distributaries==
{{Main|Bergse Maas|Afgedamde Maas|Oude Maas|Nieuwe Maas}}
[[File:Rijn Maas Delta.jpg|thumb|The lower part of the [[Rhine]]-Meuse [[River delta|Delta]]]]The mean annual discharge rate of the Meuse has been relatively stable over the last few thousand years. One recent study estimates that average flow has increased by about 10% since 2000&nbsp;BC.<ref>Ward PJ, H Renssen, JCJH Aerts, RT van Balen & J Vandenberghe (2008), "Strong increases in flood frequency and discharge of the River Meuse over the Late Holocene: impacts of long-term anthropogenic land use change and climate variability". ''Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.'' 12: 159-175. http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/12/159/2008/hess-12-159-2008.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217074601/https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/12/159/2008/hess-12-159-2008.pdf |date=2020-02-17 }} [Ward ''et al.'', 2008]</ref> The hydrological distribution of the Meuse changed during the later Middle Ages, when a major flood forced it to shift its main course northwards towards the river [[Merwede]]. From then on several stretches of the original Merwede were renamed "Maas" (i.e. Meuse) and served as the primary outflow of that river. Those branches are currently known as the Nieuwe Maas and Oude Maas.

However during another series of severe floods the Meuse found an additional path towards the sea, resulting in the creation of the [[Biesbosch]] wetlands and [[Hollands Diep]] estuaries. Thereafter the Meuse split near [[Heusden]] into two main distributaries, one flowing north to join the Merwede and one flowing direct to the sea. The branch of the Meuse leading direct to the sea eventually silted up (and now forms the [[Oude Maasje]] stream), but in 1904 the canalised [[Bergse Maas]] was dug to take over the functions of the silted-up branch. At the same time the branch leading to the Merwede was dammed at Heusden (and has since been known as the [[Afgedamde Maas]]) so that little water from the Meuse entered the old Maas courses or the Rhine distributaries. The resulting separation of the rivers Rhine and Meuse is considered to be the greatest achievement in Dutch hydraulic engineering before the completion of the [[Zuiderzee Works]] and [[Delta Works]].<ref name=BergseMaas/><ref name="Wols 2011"/> In 1970 the [[Haringvlietdam]] has been finished. Since then the reunited Rhine and Meuse waters have reached the North Sea either at this site or, during times of lower discharges of the Rhine, at [[Hook of Holland]].<ref>Rijkswaterstaat: ''Water Management in the Netherlands'', 2011</ref>

A 2008 study<ref>Ward ''et al.'', 2008</ref> notes that the difference between summer and winter flow volumes has increased significantly in the last 100–200&nbsp;years. It points out that the frequency of serious floods (''i.e.'' flows > 1000% of normal) has increased markedly. They predict that winter flooding of the Meuse may become a recurring problem in the coming decades.