Water filters in Grīziņkalns - old tenement houses and commercial premises in courtyards

In Grīziņkalns, water comes from the city network

Grīziņkalns is a historic, densely built neighbourhood on the eastern side of the centre: pre-war tenement houses, courtyard buildings, renovated blocks and local commercial premises. Grīziņkalns is not mentioned on the list in the 2025 contract performance report of Rīgas ūdens (Riga's water utility) of neighbourhoods where services are unavailable or only partly available, and we found no other news from Rīgas ūdens about streets without a water main here.

So spike wells (“spice” in Latvian), boreholes and wells are not what we offer in Grīziņkalns. If someone suggests your own borehole in the courtyard, ask why: Riga City Council binding regulations No. 17 forbid connecting a local source's network to the city water main, and in dense housing the borehole location and water quality are a serious question.

How hard Riga's water is

Rīgas ūdens publishes the city's average hardness: 1.68 mmol/l in 2023, 1.74 mmol/l in 2024 and 1.82 mmol/l in 2025. In its frequently asked questions, the company answers the question about hardness: “Up to 2 mmol/l”. The company does not publish hardness by neighbourhood.

The drinking water regulations set no limit value for hardness, so the decision is a practical one. 1.82 mmol/l corresponds to about 10 German degrees (°dH). You can enter this figure in the dishwasher settings, and the coffee machine manufacturer's manual usually says at what hardness a filter is needed.

• In a flat: a water softener for the whole flat rarely pays for itself; a correctly set dishwasher and, if needed, a reverse osmosis filter for drinking water are enough.
• For a café or catering: a cartridge softener or filter at the specific appliance, following the manufacturer's requirements.
• For the whole building: a softener at the main inlet is possible, but it needs space in the basement, power, a drain and the property manager's consent.

Reverse osmosis or a carbon filter for drinking water

These two filters are often confused, but they do different things. A carbon filter improves taste and smell but hardly holds back the hardness salts, so limescale will stay in the kettle. A reverse osmosis membrane holds back most dissolved salts, including calcium and magnesium, so water from the reverse osmosis tap leaves no limescale.

The price of reverse osmosis is space in the cupboard, a connection to the sink trap and the fact that some of the water goes down the drain. Some models have a remineralisation cartridge that gives back part of the calcium and magnesium to the water. If limescale in the kettle is all that bothers you, a reverse osmosis tap for drinking and tea water is often a cheaper solution than a softener for the whole flat.

For commercial premises: a café, workshop or shop

Grīziņkalns has creative businesses, retail and catering. There, a filter is not cosmetic: equipment manufacturers often require a certain water hardness, and servicing of the equipment may depend on it too. We choose the filter by the equipment manual and a tap sample, not by general advice.

1. Requirements We list the equipment that needs treated water, and the hardness and consumption the manufacturer specifies.
2. Sample We take a sample from the tap the equipment is connected to and deliver it to an accredited laboratory. Basic water test from €35.
3. Installation A mechanical filter, a softening cartridge or column and, if needed, a carbon filter, with a bypass so that you do not lose water during servicing.
4. Maintenance We draw up a schedule for changing cartridges and salt based on consumption: water filter maintenance.

Working in a narrow courtyard and a historic building

In Grīziņkalns, the work is affected in practice by dense courtyards, limited parking and access to historic buildings; the main streets are Aleksandra Čaka iela and Pērnavas iela. We can usually carry filters and tools in without heavy machinery, but in your request it helps to tell us about the gate, code or key, and where the installation point is: in a flat, a basement or commercial premises.

In an old building, we look at the pipe material and the condition of the shut-off valves before installation. If a valve does not close, the filter cannot be connected without shutting off the riser, and then we agree the time with the property manager.

Jobs and prices in Grīziņkalns

• Water treatment in Grīziņkalns: reverse osmosis filter with installation from €250.
• Water softener installation: from €600, if there is space and a drain for it.
• Connecting a filter for equipment you have bought: from €40/h.
• Water testing: from €35.

There is no call-out fee in Riga. All prices: prices.