Wouda Pumping Station

The ir. D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station is a pumping station in the Netherlands, and the largest still operational steam-powered pumping station in the world. 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. 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