Sagging sewer in Almere: subsidence, warning signs and who pays

If your sewer has sagged, the waste water no longer drains away properly and you keep getting blockages or smells. In Almere this is often caused by subsidence: the house stands on piles, but the garden and the pipe underneath sink with the ground. On your own property you pay for the repair yourself as the owner; in the street the municipality is responsible.

In this article you will read why sewers in Almere sag, which signs point to a sagging sewer, who pays for what, how the municipality’s major maintenance plays a part and which solutions there are.

Why does the sewer sag in Almere?

The main cause is subsidence. Almere is built on soft polder soil that is slowly settling. According to the Dutch public administration magazine Binnenlands Bestuur, streets in some places have sunk by more than half a metre in 25 years. Houses that stand on piles do not sink, but the garden, the street and the pipes in the ground do.

This creates tension and a difference in height between the point where the drain leaves your house and the part of the pipe further along in the garden. The pipe can start to sag (get a “belly”), shift at a joint or even break. Water and dirt stay in a belly, and that is where the blockages form.

The ground does not sink equally fast everywhere. The municipality itself names this as one of the reasons for tackling some neighbourhoods sooner. According to Binnenlands Bestuur, for example, the old bed of the river Eem, where the Regenboogbuurt lies, is sinking faster. On our page about sewer pipes and drains you can read how we repair a sagging or broken sewer.

Sagging sewer: how do you recognise it?

You usually recognise a sagging sewer by blockages that keep coming back, even when you do not flush anything wrong down the drain. Outside, you often also see that the garden or path has sunk. Look out for these signs:

• recurring blockages in the toilet, the shower or the ontstoppingsstuk (rodding point), always in the same place;
• water draining slowly from several drains at the same time;
• bubbling or gurgling noises in the toilet or shower drain when you flush;
• a sewer smell in the house or in the garden, especially after a rain shower;
• a sunken garden, patio or path, or tiles lying at an angle above where the pipe runs;
• a dip or hole in the garden, sometimes close to the front of the house or the rodding point;
• damp or water in the crawl space around the sewer pipe;
• a broken or crooked connection at the outside wall, where the pipe leaves the house.

Is it a blockage or a sag?

An ordinary blockage is solved after unblocking it once. If the blockage comes back within a few weeks or months, always at the same point, there is a good chance that the pipe has a belly or a shifted joint. Then unblocking only treats the symptom. A camera inspection shows you what is really going on in the pipe.

Who pays for a sagging sewer: the municipality or the owner?

That depends on where the sag is. The sewer in the street belongs to the municipality. The pipe on your own property, from the house up to the rodding point at the property boundary, belongs to the owner of the home.

• On your own property: as the owner, you pay for the repair yourself. The municipality of Almere also writes that owners raise their own gardens and adjust their sewer connection on their own property. A shared back path is often owned together with the neighbours, according to your title deed, and you can then share the costs as well.
• In the street: the municipal sewer and the connection from the rodding point onwards are the municipality’s responsibility.
• Rented home: contact your landlord or housing association. According to the municipality, during major maintenance the landlord is responsible for raising the ground.

If the rodding point is full of water, first call the municipality on 14 036 before you hire a company yourself. If you have a company come out first and the blockage turns out to be in the municipality’s part, you pay for it yourself. You can read exactly how this works in our article blocked sewer in Almere: municipality or plumber?

Does insurance pay for a sagging sewer?

That differs per policy. Univé, for example, lists a sudden break of the sewer as covered, but not damage due to wear and tear or ageing. Sagging is often a gradual process. So check with your insurer beforehand whether the repair and any consequential damage fall under your policy, and check your terms and conditions.

What is the municipality of Almere doing about sagging sewers?

The municipality replaces the sewer in the street during major maintenance of a neighbourhood, and sooner where necessary. According to the municipality, the sewer in Almere has to be replaced about 50 years after it was laid. When choosing neighbourhoods, the municipality looks at the condition of the sewer, the age of the neighbourhood and the subsidence.

The schedule on the municipality’s website:

• Regenboogbuurt: finished in 2025;
• Muziekwijk Zuid: finished in 2026;
• De Hoven, Muziekwijk Noord and Danswijk: work starts in 2027;
• De Marken (including De Steiger): starts in 2028;
• Landgoederenbuurt and De Meenten: starts in 2029.

Almere Haven is not in this overview. According to the municipality, the maintenance there is taking longer than expected, partly because the sewer has to be replaced sooner.

Sagging sewers in Almere Buiten

In the Landgoederenbuurt and the Bouwmeesterbuurt in Almere Buiten, the sewers have sagged in several places because of subsidence. According to the local news site 1Almere (5 August 2026), the municipality is replacing the sagging sections street by street and two new sewage pumping stations will be built, expected in the first quarter of 2027. Residents will be informed in advance for each sub-area. The article mentions no costs for residents; it is about the sewer in the street.

Wait for major maintenance or have it repaired now?

If your neighbourhood is on the schedule soon and you have no acute problems, waiting is often sensible. The municipality itself says that only after the work will you know at what height the street and pavement will lie. If you already have a broken sewer connection, a hole in the garden or blockages that keep coming back, the municipality says you have to take action yourself.

A useful way to weigh it up:

1. Acute problems (water coming back into the house, smells, a hole in the garden): have it repaired now.
2. An occasional blockage and your neighbourhood is on the schedule within a few years: have the pipe inspected, keep it clean and plan the repair together with raising the garden.
3. Your neighbourhood is not on the schedule yet and the sagging is getting worse: do not wait, but have the part on your own property repaired.

How is a sagging sewer repaired?

First it is established where the pipe has sagged and how badly. Then the sagging part is dug up and relaid, or the whole connection on your own property is replaced.

1. Inspection: a camera inspection shows you where the belly, break or shifted joint is.
2. Excavation: the garden or paving above the sagging part is opened up.
3. Repair or replacement: the sagging part is removed and replaced with a new pipe with the right fall towards the municipal sewer.
4. Bedding: the pipe is laid on well-compacted ground, so it does not start sagging again straight away.
5. Testing and closing up: the water has to drain away properly before the trench is filled in and the paving relaid.

Do it yourself or call a professional?

You could do the digging yourself, but laying a sewer pipe with the right fall and good joints is a job for a professional. A pipe with too little or the wrong fall soon blocks again. The connection at the outside wall and to the rodding point also has to be done properly.

What does it cost to repair a sagging sewer?

That mainly depends on the length of the pipe, the depth and what lies on top of it. For a camera inspection of the sewer, the Dutch review platform Werkspot gives €150 to €300. For laying sewer pipes up to 10 metres, Werkspot gives €1,000 to €1,300 including VAT and materials.

What affects the price:

• how long the sagging section is and how deep the pipe lies;
• what lies above the pipe: grass, tiles, a patio or a shed;
• whether the pipe continues under the house or in the crawl space;
• whether the garden also has to be raised.

Klusbedrijf MSZ does not work with fixed package prices. We charge by the hour: the first hour on site costs €181.44 incl. VAT (€149.95 excl. VAT), then €108.84 incl. VAT (€89.95 excl. VAT). For larger sewer work, we discuss with you in advance what needs to be done.

How do you prevent problems with a sagging sewer?

• Do not flush wet wipes, grease or food scraps; they are the first things to get stuck in a belly.
• Keep the rodding point accessible and look into it now and then, especially if the drain is getting slower.
• With recurring blockages, do not just have them cleared, but also have the cause investigated.
• Plan raising the garden and repairing the sewer connection together, so you only have to dig once.
• Follow the municipality’s schedule for your neighbourhood, so you know when it is the turn of the sewer in your street.

When should you call a professional?

Call a professional if a blockage comes back within a short time, if water backs up into the shower or toilet, or if you see a dip or subsidence in the garden above the sewer pipe. For a blockage you cannot clear yourself, professional drain unblocking helps straight away. Afterwards you can look together at whether the pipe needs repairing.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know for sure that my sewer has sagged?

You get certainty with a camera inspection of the pipe. Recurring blockages at the same point, a sunken garden and gurgling drains are strong indications.

As the owner, do I have to pay for the sewer connection in my garden?

Yes. The pipe on your own property, up to the rodding point at the property boundary, belongs to the owner. The municipality of Almere states that owners adjust their sewer connection on their own property themselves.

I rent my home. Who arranges a sagging sewer?

Contact your landlord or housing association. During major maintenance in Almere, the landlord is responsible for raising the ground.

When will my neighbourhood in Almere get major maintenance?

The municipality publishes a schedule on almere.nl. It includes De Hoven, Muziekwijk Noord and Danswijk (starting 2027), De Marken (2028) and Landgoederenbuurt and De Meenten (2029).

Is it better to wait with the repair until the major maintenance?

Without acute problems, waiting is often sensible, because you will then know the new height of the street. If you already have a broken connection or keep getting blockages, do have it repaired now.

Is a sagging sewer dangerous?

Usually not immediately, but it can lead to smells, water backing up into the house and a hole in the garden. The longer you wait, the greater the risk of damage to the pipe and the paving.

Sagging sewer in Almere? We can help

Klusbedrijf MSZ is a family business from Almere and available 24/7. We repair and replace sagging sewer pipes on private property in Almere, Lelystad and the surrounding area. See our page on sewer pipes and drains for more information.

The first hour on site costs €181.44 incl. VAT (€149.95 excl. VAT), then €108.84 incl. VAT (€89.95 excl. VAT) per hour. In Almere we charge no call-out charge; elsewhere in our service area a fixed amount of €42.35 incl. VAT (€35 excl. VAT). See our prices or request a free quote. Call or WhatsApp 06 19 74 36 78 and feel free to send a photo of the sunken garden or the rodding point via WhatsApp.