[2][3] The name translates to Brine (Pekel) River (A),[2] and used to flow from the Dollart into a large raised bog.

[4] The Pekel A was a brackish river which had its mouth at the Dollart near Winschoterzijl, and flowed into a large raised bog where it ended.

[10] In 1478, the castle Pekelborg [nl] was built near the mouth of the river by Groningen, and was conquered in 1499 by Edzard I of East Frisia.

[5] The river was canalised and deepened by 1608, and the company started to build houses along the canal for their 500 workers.

A Utrecht-based company who was exploiting the area around Hoogezand was also purchased, and soon the city of Groningen controlled the south-eastern part of the province as a colony.

[21] Oude and Nieuwe Pekela developed into the centre of the cardboard and potato starch industry.

[22] In 1971, the factories were forced to create water treatment plants before discharging into the canal.

The pollution was not limited to the Pekel A, because the southern end of the Dollart had become hypoxic and a dead zone.