Necessity
Right from its very completion, the D.F. Woudagemaal played an important role in controlling the level of the surface water in the province of Friesland. The centuries-old practice of discharging water naturally via the Dokkumer Nieuwe Zijlen into the Lauwerszee and at Lemmer into the Zuyder Zee when water levels were low, no longer sufficed. Since a large drainage area (approximately 300,000 hectares) would be dependent on the pumping station, the D.F. Woudagemaal necessarily required a very large capacity. Although in 1913 the end of the steam era was drawing near, steam was the chosen source of power. This was a tried and tested technique, which was important in regard to the desired operational reliability. It was built with a capacity of 2500 hp - enough for pumping 4,000 m3 of water per minute.

Commissioned
The D.F. Woudagemaal was built during World War I under the authority of the Provincial States of Friesland. In 1947 the pumping station was named after Dirk Frederik Wouda (1880-1961), then chief engineer and director of the Public Works Department of the Province of Friesland. He was responsible for designing and constructing the pumping station. D.F. Wouda was assisted by J.C. Dijxhoorn (1862-1941) in the calculation of the installations. Construction was granted to the ‘Jaffa’ machine factory (formerly L. Smulders & co.) in Utrecht, which subcontracted the bricklaying, concrete pouring, etc., to others in the region. The pumping station was officially opened by Queen Wilhelmina on 7 October 1920.