The rest live on private-house streets where the network has not yet been built, or in neighbourhoods where there is none at all. Here is an overview of where in Riga your own source is still the main source of water, what the city rules say and what work we do here.
Where Riga has no mains water
The Rīgas ūdens contract performance report for 2025 names three neighbourhoods with more than 1,000 residents that have no mains water or sewerage: Dārziņi (4,265 residents), Trīsciems (1,370; there is a water main only on Jaunciema gatve) and Mangaļsala (1,354). In Mangaļsala, some houses get water from a local system with four boreholes on private land. From 2026 to 2028, Rīgas ūdens is building a new water main there, but it will not reach the whole neighbourhood either.
In another 37 neighbourhoods, services are unavailable or only partly available in individual streets or areas. The report does not separate whether the water main, the sewerage or both are missing. Among them are private-house neighbourhoods such as Jugla, Berģi, Bukulti and Mežaparks, but also apartment block districts where the network may be missing in just one street. On 07.09.2026, Rīgas ūdens stated that more than 8,000 residents have not connected to the mains networks, and on 21.09.2026 the company reminded people that for some houses the main source is still a well, a borehole or a spike well.
For a specific address, network availability can be checked in the Rīgas ūdens “Service availability” form or in the address tool at vaitevtovajag.lv. If there is no network in the street, your own source is the only route, and you have to choose between a spike well, a borehole and a dug well.
City water: groundwater on the right bank, Daugava water on the left
If the house is connected to the network, the water comes from one of two sources. Consumers on the right bank of the Daugava receive groundwater from the Baltezers and Zaķumuiža abstraction sites: there are 285 boreholes 30–40 m deep in Quaternary deposits and 15 boreholes 65–75 m deep in Devonian rocks. Iron and manganese in this water sometimes slightly exceed the standard, so they are reduced before supply. Most consumers on the left bank receive Daugava water from the reservoir of the Riga hydroelectric power plant, treated at the “Daugava” plant and disinfected with ozone.
| Parameter, city average in 2025 | Value | Limit value (Cabinet Regulation No. 547 on drinking water) |
|---|---|---|
| Hardness | 1.82 mmol/l | not set |
| Iron | 0.11 mg/l | 0.20 mg/l |
| Manganese | 0.02 mg/l | 0.05 mg/l |
| Sulphates | 53 mg/l | 250 mg/l |
| pH | 7.1 | 6.5–9.5 |
Rīgas ūdens does not publish hardness for individual neighbourhoods, only the city average (1.74 in 2024, 1.68 mmol/l in 2023) and the answer “up to 2 mmol/l”. That is why we do not choose a filter for network water by the average figure. If the taste or the scale in the kettle bothers you, we start with water testing at your tap and then tell you whether a reverse osmosis filter in the kitchen is enough or whether you need no filter at all.
Your own source in the city: how we work on Riga's private-house streets
For a house with its own well or borehole, the owner is responsible for the water quality. On 21.09.2026, Rīgas ūdens reminded people that spike wells are usually 4–15 m deep and are affected by rain and nearby waste water, while boreholes from about 30 m are safer, though more expensive. Clear, good-tasting water can contain microorganisms, so the company recommends having the water tested in a laboratory, both chemically and microbiologically.
Private-house plots in Riga are often narrow, with a fence, a paved driveway and the neighbours' septic tanks close to the boundary. We look for a place for the new source together with you: where the drilling rig can stand, where the underground utilities run and where the source will be as far as possible from waste water. If the rig does not fit in the yard, a spike well can also be installed in a basement.
- In a neighbourhood without a network and with deeper water: a borehole in Riga with a submersible pump and a caisson.
- In sandy soil with shallow water: spike well installation in Riga or a spike well for garden watering, also where the drinking water comes from the network.
- An old dug well that came with the house: well cleaning with disinfection, followed by well water testing.
- A borehole no longer needed after connecting to the network: borehole decommissioning, so that pollution cannot get through it into the deeper layer.
- Pump and pressure: water pump installation, pressure tank replacement and the pressure switch.
City rules: you may not connect your own borehole to the network
Riga City Council binding regulations No. 17 (2017) prohibit connecting the network of a local water source, such as a borehole, to the mains water supply, including through the inlet or the house's internal system (point 63.6); a fine of up to 28 fine units can be imposed for a breach. If the house has both sources, they must be two separate systems. The rules do not require existing well users to connect, but a connection is mandatory for a new building if the mains system and a branch up to the plot boundary already exist (point 5).
Rīgas ūdens prepares technical conditions for a connection within 11 working days free of charge. The city currently grants no co-financing for water connections: Rīgas ūdens writes that “no co-financing is provided for water supply system connections”, and municipal support is only for sewerage connections. When comparing your own source with a connection, count the full connection price and the tariff (€1.41/m³ excluding VAT, in September 2026). How to compare: connecting to mains water.
National requirements in Riga are the same as elsewhere: a well or borehole up to 20 m deep with abstraction of up to 10 m³ a day does not need a licence from the State Environmental Service (VVD). After drilling, the borehole passport is approved by the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC). More details: borehole registration.
Sources: Rīgas ūdens contract performance report for 2025 (approved 23.03.2026); rigasudens.lv pages “Water abstraction”, “Property without a connection” and on municipal co-financing; Rīgas ūdens average parameters 2023–2025; Riga City Council binding regulations No. 17, points 5, 63.6 and 97 (likumi.lv/ta/id/296134); lvportals.lv 07.09.2026 and 21.09.2026; the law “On Subterranean Depths”, point 2 of the first part of Section 11 (likumi.lv/ta/id/40249). Checked 03.11.2026.
Prices in Riga
In Riga we work at our price list rates. The most common jobs:
- Spike well installation: from €350 (usually €350–650), without the pump and the connection to the house.
- Borehole: from €65/m; a borehole about 30 m deep from €2,000, equipment from €500.
- Well cleaning with disinfection: from €150.
- Water test: basic from €35, full with microbiology from €95.
- Reverse osmosis filter with installation: from €250.
We price decommissioning and spike well repair after hearing the situation, because the price depends on the condition of the borehole or spike well. All items: prices.
Neighbourhoods and nearby towns
Each of Riga's 58 neighbourhoods has its own page with its water situation; the list is at the top of the page. The nearest places in the Riga region: Mārupe, Jūrmala, Ķekava and Salaspils. All places: where we work.