International Scheldt Commission

Total surface Scheldt River Basin: 22,116 km² Total surface Scheldt River Basin District: 36,416 km² Overall length of the Scheldt as principal river; 350 km, 140 km of which have been canalized and consist of more than 250 flood-control dams and locks Source located at 95 m above sea level River basin’s highest point: 212 m (Wallonia) River basin’s lowest point: - 2 m (the Netherlands) Population of the Scheldt River Basin District: 12.855.000 inhabitants Average population density in the Scheldt River Basin District: 352 inh./km² An annual water volume of 10 million m³ flows to the sea (an average flow of 115 m³/sec.) 1 billion m³ coming from and heading for the sea flow in and out the estuary twice every day.

Hydrographic basin

The River Scheldt rises near the small village called Gouy-Le-Catelet, in the North of France. The well is located on the Saint-Quentin plateau, at 95 m above sea level. The Scheldt then flows through Wallonia, Flanders and the Netherlands, and discharges in the North Sea at Flushing. The river is 350 km long and large sections have been canalized. Over 250 dams and locks artificially connect parts of the river, also linking the river to its tributaries and canals. Upstream from Ghent, the Scheldt has been canalized over a distance of 138 kilometres.   

The river section between its well and Ghent is called ‘the Upper Scheldt’, between Ghent and Antwerp, this changes into ‘Maritime Scheldt’, and beyond Antwerp we’re talking about ‘Western Scheldt’. Along with the Western Scheldt, the Maritime Scheldt makes up the Scheldt estuary, which is about 160 km long. Near Ghent, the river is some 65 metres wide, near Antwerp this is 450 metres. It widens subsequently to some 5 kilometres near the mouth at Flushing.
The Scheldt and a number of its tributaries (Durme, Rupel, Grote and Kleine Nete, Dijle, Zenne and Dender) are subject to the tidal movement. The tidal waters coming from the river mouth invade the estuary. This explains why near Flushing, over 1 billion m³ of water flow in and out the river twice a day, whereas the yearly river drainage amounts roughly speaking to 4 billion m³.