In the 2025 report of Rīgas ūdens (Riga's water utility), Čiekurkalns is among the neighbourhoods where services are unavailable or only partly available on some streets, and the company is designing and building new water and sewer networks here in two stages. If your house is on one of the lines (līnijas) or cross lines (šķērslīnijas) included in the project, an expensive new borehole may not pay off. If your street is not in the plan, your own source remains the long-term solution. We help you decide and do only the job that makes sense in your situation.
The Rīgas ūdens plan in Čiekurkalns
| Stage | Streets | Construction | Properties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 (design since late 2024) | Čiekurkalna 1. līnija from the 1st to the 5th šķērslīnija; the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th šķērslīnija; part of the 7th šķērslīnija | 2026–2027; about 2,260 m of gravity sewer and about 2,255 m of water main to be renewed | about 130 |
| Stage 2 (design contract in November 2025) | 1. līnija from the 6th šķērslīnija to Viskaļu iela; 2. līnija from the 7th šķērslīnija to Viskaļu iela; sewerage for properties on the 4th, 7th, 8th and 9th šķērslīnija | start at the end of 2027 | more than 50 |
Earlier, in September 2023, about 700 m of new water main was built on Saulkrastu iela and on Stienes iela between Saulkrastu iela and Viskaļu iela. The dates are given in the Rīgas ūdens announcement of 06.11.2025 and may change during construction. Before deciding, check your address with the Rīgas ūdens “Service availability” form.
Sources: Rīgas ūdens, “New water and sewer networks planned in Čiekurkalns” (rigasudens.lv/lv/ciekurkalna-planota-jaunu-udensvada-un-kanalizacijas-tiklu-izbuve); the Rīgas ūdens contract performance report for 2025. Checked 03.11.2026.
If your street is in the project: how to manage until you connect
If the network will reach your boundary in a year or two, investing in a new borehole (a 30 m borehole from €2,000, plus fitting out and a pump) will pay off slowly. In the meantime it is usually enough to put the existing source in order.
- A dug well (concrete-ring well) with silt or a bad taste: well cleaning with disinfection from €150, then a test.
- A spike well giving less and less: flushing or a filter replacement is often enough; we price it after hearing the situation: spike well repair.
- The pump switches on too often or does not draw: we check the pressure tank, the pressure switch and the non-return valve: water pumps.
- If there is no source any more or it has dried up: a new spike well from €350 is a cheaper stopgap than a borehole, if the ground allows it. After connecting you can keep it for the garden.
After connecting, the old source may be used only as a separate garden system. Riga's binding regulations No. 17 forbid joining the network of a borehole or other local source to the water main, including through the house's internal plumbing.
Source: Riga City Council binding regulations No. 17 of 15.12.2017, sub-point 63.6 (likumi.lv/ta/id/296134). Checked 03.11.2026.
If your street is not in the plan: spike well or borehole
If the project does not cover your street, you will need your own source for a long time yet, and then it is worth choosing one that will serve for years. A spike well is the cheapest, but it works only in sand and only if the water level while pumping is no deeper than 7–8 m from the pump. A borehole reaches a deeper aquifer covered from above by denser sediments, and usually gives more water all year round.
We cannot promise in advance at what depth the water lies on your plot: the neighbours' sources, data from the nearest boreholes and the drilling itself show it. A borehole up to 20 m deep from which up to 10 m³ is taken per day needs no licence from the State Environmental Service (VVD); for a deeper one, the drilling company applies for it. A comparison: spike well or borehole.
Source: the law “On Subterranean Depths”, point 2 of the first paragraph of Section 11 (likumi.lv/ta/id/40249); VVD frequently asked questions, question 9 (vvd.gov.lv). Checked 03.11.2026.
Wooden houses, yards and access
Čiekurkalns has historic wooden and masonry low-rise houses, blocks of flats, warehouses and office complexes, bounded by the railway, Brīvības gatve and Gustava Zemgala gatve. In private-house yards the room for a source is often limited, so before the work we look at where the house's inlet, the sewer and the cables are and where machinery can stand. A spike well needs smaller equipment; a borehole needs a driveway for the drilling rig.
Water quality: city water and your own source
Rīgas ūdens states that right-bank consumers receive groundwater from the Baltezers and Zaķumuiža well fields, where iron and manganese are reduced before supply. The city's average hardness in 2025 was 1.82 mmol/l. Houses that connect usually do not need whole-house iron removal.
With your own well or spike well you are responsible for the quality yourself, and clear water does not yet mean it has no bacteria. A full test with microbiology costs from €95: we take the sample, deliver it to an accredited laboratory and explain the result. More: well water testing.
Sources: Rīgas ūdens, “Water abstraction” (rigasudens.lv/lv/udens-ieguve); the 2025 drinking water quality summary (rigasudens.lv). Checked 03.11.2026.
Prices in Čiekurkalns
Čiekurkalns is Riga territory, so there is no call-out fee. We give the final amount after a site visit. All prices: prices.