The Sustainability Center in the Asserbos has been suffering from leakage for some time. Rainwater flowed into the building for years at the bottom. According to the owner of the municipality of Assen, that problem has now been solved. But it’s also been leaking from above for ages. And there is still no cure for that roof leak.
The water that entered the sustainability center from below turned out to be the result of poor drainage outside the building. Due to a hard loam layer in the ground, right behind the building, the water cannot sink into the ground after a heavy rain shower. The excess rainwater found an alternative way: the foundation of the sustainability center.
Strange noises in a few conference rooms, caused by air currents over standing water, discovered the flooding under the floor. The municipality of Assen has now had this problem tackled. Measures have been taken for 100,000 euros, so that the excess water can still be drained. For example, a special irrigation channel has been installed, along which the rainwater is drained.
The problem with long-term flooding is that water has been standing in the foundation for a long time. And that can cause consequential damage. Under the floors is also the air duct system that regulates the ventilation in the building. According to the municipality, there is a chance that these pipes will rust because they have been exposed to water for a longer period of time. “As a result, it is possible that they have to be replaced earlier than the expected life,” the municipality warns. Whether corrosion also occurs is being closely monitored, according to a municipal spokesperson.
The sustainability center in the Asserbos, where nature and environmental education is given, was opened in 2015. There are also classrooms for practical education from Pro Assen. The cost of the building, which mainly consists of sustainable building materials, was 4 million euros. Construction company Jansman from Luttenberg in Overijssel carried out the project.
The contractor has indicated that it is not responsible for the flooding underground, because the layer of loam behind the building was not known to them. That is why the municipality, as the owner of the building, has solved and paid for this water leakage itself.
This is different for the leakage that enters the building from above. The problem is most likely in the roof construction. And that water is leaking, according to operator Phusis, who runs the catering section, ‘has been like this for ages’. Traces of water leakage are visible in various places in the wooden ceiling of the sustainability center.
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