The idea was to transform the former nor into farmland. The dewatering intensified when the Vitsø pump mill was inaugurated in 1836, which used a so-called Archimedes' screw to lift the water above the dam.
During the storm surge of 1872, the water broke through the dam in several places and the entire area inside was flooded with salt water. The upper part of the mill keeper's house was blown out into the Baltic Sea, and after the storm, it and some of his belongings could be picked up on the east coast of Als, where they were stranded. The mill weathered the storm and pumped water until it was listed in 1958. Vitsø Mill has since undergone a number of major restorations, including the restoration of its thatching.
In the late 1950s, drainage was further accelerated with the construction of a new dike within the old dam, the digging of canals and the establishment of an electric pump. In 1964, land reclamation reached a peak with a total of 1.5 km2 of land drained.
In 1992, Vitsø was protected at the same time as Søbygård. In 2009, the state began a partial restoration of Vitsø Nor. Ditches and canals have been removed and water levels raised, so that about half of the area will be lake and the rest meadows.
