Drain Unblocking Groningen Province

The province of Groningen: clay, peat and a city on sand

The province of Groningen is largely sea clay. In the north, on the Hogeland and along the Wadden coast, heavy clay carries the old mound villages. Rainwater hardly soaks away there and has to be carried off through ditches and sewers. In the south-east lie the peat colonies around Veendam, Pekela and Stadskanaal, where the ground is soft and still sinking. The south of the Westerkwartier and Westerwolde have sandy soil, and the northernmost stretch of the Hondsrug runs right through the city of Groningen: a sand ridge on which the old centre sits high and dry while the districts around it stand on clay and peat.

For drains, that means three different problems. On clay the sewer fills up quickly in a downpour and the water backs up. On peat, pipes subside, creating dips where grease and sludge collect. And in the city, subdivided buildings from the nineteenth and early twentieth century, with many occupants, discharge into drains that were never designed for it. For drain unblocking in the province of Groningen we therefore always ask where you live, because a farmhouse in the Oldambt calls for different preparation from an upstairs flat in the Schildersbuurt.

Drain unblocking by region in the province of Groningen

The city of Groningen

The capital is a student city with a historic centre and old districts such as the Schildersbuurt, the Oosterpoort and the Korrewegwijk, where many buildings have been split into rooms and flats. Several kitchens and toilets there discharge into a single old drain with little fall. Around them lie post-war districts such as Paddepoel, Vinkhuizen and Beijum, with blocks of flats and shared soil stacks, and on the east side Meerstad is growing on wet land. For drain unblocking in Groningen we have a dedicated page with every district of the city.

The Hogeland and the Wadden coast

Winsum, Bedum, Uithuizen and Warffum sit on dwelling mounds in an open clay landscape. Many homes stand detached, with a long house connection (lateral) running through the garden to the sewer in the road. On the heavy clay rainwater does not soak away, so after rain the water stands in the chambers for a long time and drains run noticeably slower. Along the coast salty air adds to this, attacking metal gratings and covers.

Eemsdelta: Delfzijl and Appingedam

Delfzijl and Appingedam have old centres on the water, with vitrified clay pipes under the streets and cellars that get wet sooner at high water. In this part of the province cracks in walls and pipes do occur; a drain that no longer connects properly as a result lets soil in and keeps blocking. A camera inspection shows whether a blockage is a one-off or a damaged pipe.

Oldambt and Westerwolde

Around Winschoten large farmhouses and long ribbon villages stand on heavy clay, with house connections that are sometimes tens of metres long. With pipes that long the fall is small and dirt settles quickly. Westerwolde, with Bourtange, Ter Apel and Vlagtwedde, is on sand instead: there it is tree roots and leaves that narrow the outside drain.

The peat colonies: Veendam, Pekela, Stadskanaal and Midden-Groningen

Along the canals of Veendam, Oude and Nieuwe Pekela, Stadskanaal and Hoogezand-Sappemeer, houses stand on soft peat that sinks unevenly. The pipe under the garden develops bends and dips as a result, and a chamber that used to empty well starts holding water. Many homes date from the sixties and seventies and still have vitrified clay pipes with joints that have shifted.

Westerkwartier

Leek, Zuidhorn, Grootegast and Marum lie on the transition from clay in the north to sand and peat in the south. The ground differs from village to village, and sometimes from street to street, and so does the cause of a slow drain. The engineer therefore checks the inspection chamber at the property boundary before starting indoors.

Common blockages in the province of Groningen

A full sewer after a downpour on the clay

On the Hogeland, in the Oldambt and in the clay districts around the city, a summer cloudburst sends the sewer backing up through the lowest point: a shower gully on the ground floor or the chamber in the garden. Stop using water for a while and check whether the street gullies are full too. If the water does not go down once the rain has passed, there is a blockage in your own house connection. The engineer first checks the chamber by the front wall, flushes the pipe with the high-pressure jetter and, if it keeps happening, advises on a non-return valve.

A subsided drain on peat

In Veendam, Pekela and Hoogezand-Sappemeer a drain often runs slowly again within a few months of being unblocked. That points to a dip in the pipe. The engineer cleans the pipe and uses the camera to see where the water stands; after that you know whether part of the pipe needs to be relaid.

Shared drains in subdivided town houses

In the Schildersbuurt, the Oosterpoort and around the Korreweg, several rooms discharge into one pipe with little fall. Grease from several kitchens and hair from the shower combine into a hard plug. If the toilet is blocked, do not flush again, close the isolating valve to the cistern and warn your housemates. The engineer works with a toilet auger or a small machine and follows the pipe downwards until the blockage is gone.

Drain unblocking service for the whole province

As a drain unblocking service we come to every municipality in the province of Groningen, from the Wadden coast to Westerwolde. These are the jobs we see most often:

• A toilet that overflows or will not flush: toilet unblocking with an auger or machine, without chemicals.
• A shower or bath that will not drain because of hair and soap: shower drain unblocking, including cleaning the gully and the trap.
• Sludge, sand or roots in the house connection: sewer cleaning with the high-pressure jetter.
• Problems that keep coming back on soft ground: a drain camera inspection reveals subsidence, fractures and cracks.

Who is responsible for what

As the owner of a home you are responsible for the drains inside the house and for the pipe on your own land, up to the inspection chamber or access fitting at the property boundary. Beyond that lies the municipal sewer; exactly where the boundary runs varies by municipality in the province of Groningen. In a block of flats in Paddepoel or Beijum the soil stack and the shared collector drain fall under the owners' association (VvE) or the landlord, and in a subdivided student house the shared drain is the landlord's responsibility. Water coming from the street or from a ditch is a matter for the municipality or the water board. Afterwards the engineer tells you what he found, so you can report it to the right party.

Calling, price indication and rates

Call 085 333 4698, by day, at night or at the weekend. Tell us which drain is blocked, where you live and what you have already tried. You get an assessment and a price indication straight away; once you agree, an engineer from Afvoer Ontstoppen is on the way to you, usually within the hour.

Unblocking a drain costs from €129. The call-out charge is not included, and outside office hours an emergency rate applies. For a bigger job, such as cleaning and inspecting a long house connection at a farmhouse on the Hogeland, you can ask for a price in advance. You decide for yourself, with the price indication in hand. Customers give us 5/5 based on 48 Google reviews.

Cities in the province of Groningen with their own page

For the capital we have a separate page with districts, common problems and local points to watch: drain unblocking in Groningen. If you live in Winschoten, Delfzijl, Veendam, Hoogezand, Leek or one of the villages on the Hogeland, we come out there just the same. An overview of every place with its own page is in our service area.

Is your drain blocked right now? Call 085 333 4698 for drain unblocking in the province of Groningen. We are available 24/7 and will send an engineer as quickly as possible.