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Soil Information

Are you looking for soil information? All soil data of the municipality have been entered into a digital soil information system. The municipality therefore has information about the quality of the soil or, for example, the presence of an underground tank for many locations. You can enquire at the Haaglanden Environment Service whether soil information is available for a particular plot of land. To do so, send an e-mail to vergunningen@ODH.nl.

Soil testing and soil contamination

You can encounter soil contamination in various ways: when buying or selling real estate, when applying for an environmental permit, or when reusing or disposing of soil. Soil research shows whether soil pollution is present and to what extent. In case of serious soil pollution, remediation may be necessary.

Soil can become contaminated in many ways. A common cause is leakage from an underground oil storage tank. The use of contaminated fill material, especially in older residential and rural areas, has also led to soil contamination in some places. In addition, (business) activities such as forges, bulb farming, chemical laundries and gas plants may have led to soil contamination.

Application of soil and earth moving

It is not permissible simply to excavate or dredge sand, soil or dredged material somewhere and place it in another place or use it. This is because there is a possibility that the sand, soil or dredged material may be contaminated. This soil can then mix with the cleaner underlying soil and in this way the contamination spreads. There is also a danger that the contamination in the soil will be washed out by rainwater and into the underlying layer.

This is why the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment has drafted the Soil Quality Decree. The purpose of this Decree is to ensure that soil in the Netherlands is managed sustainably. If soil is used anywhere, the quality of the soil must be suitable for the (future) use at the application location. Also, the quality of the receiving soil must not deteriorate.

The Municipality of Wassenaar has updated the local policy on the (temporary) excavation, storage and application of sand, soil and dredged material in 2023. The policy is included in the Nota bodembeheer Wassenaar 2023, which can be found at the bottom of this page. 

The Municipality of Wassenaar has created an interactive website where you can find out in an easy way what possibilities there are for the reuse of sand, soil and dredged material. Visit the interactive website.

Using soil in water

For the use of sand, soil or dredged material in ditches or other surface water, the Water Board is the competent authority. Two Water Boards operate in the municipalities:

• Delfland Water Board
• Rhineland Water Board

Use of stony building materials

Rules also apply to the application of stony building materials, such as rubble granulate, on or in the soil, and the municipalities of Leidschendam-Voorburg, Voorschoten and Wassenaar are the competent authority. The Handreiking Besluit bodemkwaliteit (PDF document 649 kB) discusses in more detail the rules for applying stony building materials.

Soil quality map 2022

In 2022, the Municipality of Wassenaar has prepared a new Soil Quality Map 2022. The Map has changed little from the previous soil quality map and the average soil quality in the subareas of Wassenaar has remained the same. For more information about the Soil Quality Map and the Soil Note, please contact the municipality at 14 070 or gemeente@wassenaar.nl.