Watervlakken 2026: Mapping Standing Waters
Watervlakken 1.0, released in 2018, was the first georeferenced digital file to map all standing surface waters in Flanders. As the landscape is constantly changing, the dataset is updated every two years. This new edition is the fifth version of the map (2026).
The new dataset contains more than 94,000 polygons. As well as giving their exact location and outline, this file offers the possibility to unambiguously locate and relate existing and new information about almost any stagnant water body. The map was updated using orthophoto images from 2024 and 2025, the Flanders Digital Terrain Model, the results of a water probability model and information from available maps, as well as user-provided information. More than 2,700 new water bodies have been added to the map. These are primarily newly created ponds, garden ponds, and swimming ponds. Approximately 1,100 water bodies have disappeared from the landscape, mainly due to infilling or prolonged desiccation. However, without further analysis, the differences between successive versions cannot be interpreted as trends in the number or area of standing water bodies in Flanders.
Watervlakken 2026 is available as a shapefile, ESRI FileGDB, GeoPackage, and GML. The map can be viewed and consulted through Geopunt and in the geography section of the Flemish Biodiversity Portal. It can be downloaded from the Geopunt catalogue and Zenodo. The accompanying report provides background information. Suggestions or improvements can be sent to watervlakken@inbo.be.
An Leyssen, Evert Bruyninckx, Quinten De Bruyn, Vincent Smeekens, Kevin Scheers, Jo Packet & Carine Wils
Read more:
- Leyssen A., Bruyninckx E., De Bruyn Q., Smeekens V., Scheers K., Packet J., Wils C. (2026). Watervlakken 2026: polygonenkaart van stilstaand water in Vlaanderen. Uitgave 2026. Rapporten van het Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek 2026 (64). Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek, Brussel. https://doi.org/10.21436/inbom.155805256
- https://www.vlaanderen.be/inbo/en-gb/data-applications/watervlakken/
Image above: Klein Schietveld (photo Yves Adams - Vildaphoto)