The neighbourhood between Purvciems, Pļavnieki and Šķirotava is mixed: next to detached houses there are blocks of flats, warehouses and car repair shops, and the water question is different for each. This page takes them in turn: houses, businesses, flats.
The Dārzciems network: extended, but not everywhere
In stage 3 of the Cohesion Fund project (2006–2009), Rīgas ūdens (Riga's water utility) extended the water supply and sewerage systems specifically in Dārzciems. Yet in the company's 2025 report Dārzciems is still on the list of neighbourhoods where services are unavailable or only partly available in certain areas or streets. The streets are not named, and it is not said whether the water main or the sewer is missing, so check your specific address with the Rīgas ūdens “Service availability” form.
Dārzciems is on the right bank of the Daugava. 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 company does not publish separate quality figures for Dārzciems, only city averages.
Detached-house blocks: your own source or the network
If the house is already on the network, a spike well is usually installed only for the garden, because the Rīgas ūdens tariff in September 2026 was €1.41/m³ excluding VAT, and watering a large lawn in summer adds noticeably to the bill. Such a spike well must be a completely separate system: Riga City Council binding regulations No. 17 forbid joining a local-source network to the city water main, including through the house's internal network. How to choose the pump and the flow: spike well for garden watering.
If the house still has its own well or spike well as its only source, start with a laboratory test. In its announcement of 21.09.2026, Rīgas ūdens reminds owners that they are responsible for their own source's water and that clear, good-tasting water can contain micro-organisms. Based on the result we decide: clean the well, install a borehole, fit a filter or compare it with a connection.
Business sites: when a borehole needs permits
Dārzciems has warehouse, logistics and car repair sites, and some of them use water for washing vehicles or for watering. For a business borehole, what matters most is the amount of water per day, not only the depth.
| Amount of water or use | What is needed | State charge |
|---|---|---|
| Borehole up to 20 m and up to 10 m³ per day | No VVD licence needed | None |
| Borehole deeper than 20 m | A licence, applied for by the drilling company | €35.57 state fee |
| More than 10 m³ per day at any depth | A licence and a water use permit; application to VVD at least 60 days in advance | €78.26 for the permit |
| Extraction above 10 m³ per day | Natural resources tax per m³ above the limit | €0.02 / €0.041 / €0.05/m³ depending on the water's value |
| More than 100 m³ per day | Also a groundwater deposit passport | €398.40 up to 1,000 m³ per day |
For a licensed borehole, the drilling company prepares a borehole passport after the work, and the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC) approves it for €115.34. We explain how the project goes, the documents and how to choose the borehole depth for production needs on the page borehole for a business. If the site is already connected to the city network, the business borehole's pipes must not be joined to it, just as in homes.
Sources: the law “On Subterranean Depths”, point 2 of the first paragraph of Section 11; Cabinet Regulation No. 1055, sub-point 2.13; Cabinet Regulation No. 736 on water use permits, sub-point 2.1; Cabinet Regulation No. 469 (permit fee €78.26); the Natural Resources Tax Law, Section 19 and Annex 2; Cabinet Regulation No. 696 of 06.09.2011, point 11; Cabinet Regulation No. 752, point 2.1 of the Annex; Riga City Council binding regulations No. 17, point 63.6. Checked 03.11.2026.
Blocks of flats: filters without drilling
In a flat in Dārzciems the water comes from the Rīgas ūdens network, and there is no point installing a new source there. The city's average hardness in 2025 was 1.82 mmol/l and iron 0.11 mg/l against a limit of 0.20 mg/l, so iron removal for the whole flat is usually not needed. If you dislike the taste or limescale builds up in the kettle, a reverse osmosis filter under the kitchen sink works, from €250 with installation: water treatment.
Access and the working day
Dārzciema iela, Lubānas iela and the Southern Bridge (Dienvidu tilts) corridor mean heavy traffic but good access. In the detached-house blocks we install a spike well with small equipment, but a borehole needs room for the drilling rig and a vehicle with water for flushing. On a business site we agree the spot with the site manager, so that the rig does not get in the way of freight traffic.
Prices and nearby places
Spike well from €350, borehole drilling from €65/m, fitting out a borehole from €500, basic water test from €35. In the quote we show state charges on a separate line. The full price list: prices.
Neighbouring areas, each with its own page: Purvciems, Pļavnieki, Šķirotava and Krasta rajons. All Riga neighbourhoods: Riga; towns around Riga: where we work.