A dog-shaped roll of clothing fabric, intended for children’s jackets, spreads a foul rotting odor in a cellar in downtown Arnhem on Tuesday. The same goes for the roll with the leopard print on top and all the other fabrics that cost 700 euros each that could spoil. “This all has to end,” says Simone Lange, 32, as she once again surveys the groundwater damage to the inventory of her clothing store Mae & June. “None of this is sellable anymore.”

However, the businesswoman did not immediately despair when she found herself ankle-deep in water last week. Perhaps naively, she never imagined that the 13th-century well in the cellar, covered by a sheet of glass, could flood her storeroom and tailoring studio – even the high levels of recent weeks did not faze her. But she thought: “I’m well insured, and I’m sure everything will be all right.”

Apparently this is not the case. Insurance does not cover water damage caused by groundwater, with all the consequences for Lange. The damage to fabrics, sewing machines, blouses, hair ties, photo frames and all the things she kept below street level amounts to at least 10,000 euros. “So I can really cry.”

The climax is not over yet

Langi wasn’t the only one surprised by the flooded basement last week. The water table is now so high in many places that water is finding its way up, even in areas where crawl spaces and basements normally remain dry. “I’ve spoken to people who have lived in the same house for thirty years and are experiencing it for the first time,” says a spokesman for the Rijn en IJssel water board, which includes Arnhem. Moreover, the climax is not over yet. Water levels on the Rhine and Issel are likely to reach the same height next weekend as during the Christmas holidays.

These types of extreme conditions – rising river levels combined with prolonged rainfall – will become more common due to climate change. Water boards are adapting to this, but they can’t prevent all the inconvenience, says a spokesman for the Federation of Water Boards. “So we have to learn how to deal with the fact that water damage and nuisance are part of it.”

This realization still needs to dawn on many citizens and business people, believes Edward Brans, professor of sustainability and environmental responsibility at Utrecht University. “You always see people thinking in severe weather: I’m having something unexpected and I can’t do anything about it, where can I put the ball?” Eyes then usually focus on the municipality or water board. Water boards have received numerous phone calls in recent days about flooded basements.

But according to Brann, attempts to restore groundwater damage are usually futile. “Water boards must weigh multiple and sometimes conflicting interests. Their resources are limited. It is not possible to prevent all individual damage. Owners are also responsible for regulating the groundwater under their property.”

To ensure that residents are not left completely to their fate in the event of natural disasters, there is a Disaster Damage Compensation Act. Victims can rely on this in unexpected and highly exceptional disasters, as happened in 2021, when the Maas river burst its banks in southern Limburg. At that time, 34 million euros were paid.

But what is exceptional or unexpected is debatable, says Professor Branz. In any case, the rise in groundwater levels is not the same, as is believed. It has been raining for twelve weeks in a row. It’s very annoying, but people should have seen this coming.

Hard lesson

So the harsh lesson is that citizens should better prepare for extreme weather fluctuations. But how do you do it? Insurance is not always possible. The Association of Insurers has been warning for some time that climate damage caused by drought, rising sea levels and heavy rains is increasing, and that it is sometimes financially impossible to insure. Damage caused by heavy rains or flooded canals is usually compensated for, but not for damage caused by breaches of large dams, for example. An estimated 99 percent of households and businesses are not insured for this purpose.

This also applies to damage to groundwater. “Insurers think this represents too big a risk,” says a spokesman for the Dutch Association of Insurers. What plays a role in this is that it is not always clear where the rising groundwater comes from. “It’s simple when it rains.” But if the reason is not clear, the risk cannot be insured.

Submersible pump hum

Therefore, the only remedy for basement owners is: waterproofing or emptying the space in a timely manner. It might make sense, but Simon Lange doesn’t get anything out of it anymore. The submersible pump beneath her shop in Arnhem, which sometimes hums to empty the well, arrived too late. Baby clothes, jewelry and headbands that haven’t sunk are stacked in large plastic bins. But most of its inventory is already in a landfill.

In order to survive financially, she started a crowdfunding campaign. “Either this or take my loss and pull the plug.” One bright spot is that she’s been inundated with donations and orders in her online store, even from strangers. But that also meant she had to start sewing like crazy. She doesn’t know yet if she’ll be able to use the basement as a studio space again. So her grandmother’s old sewing machine was back where it started four years ago: high and dry in her attic.