Empoldering involves creating low-lying areas of land, called polders, reclaimed from bodies of water through building dikes and drainage systems. Polders are enclosed by dikes to prevent flooding and protected further with drainage canals and pumps. The process of creating polders involves draining the area, planting reeds to improve the soil, burning the reeds and mixing the ash into the soil, and eventually making the land ready for agriculture, construction, and other uses after around 15 years.