This long neighbourhood on the right bank of the Daugava is dominated by Soviet-era blocks of flats, but there are also pockets of pre-war housing where a house may have its own well. The answer differs in each case, but in both we start with what Rīgas ūdens (Riga's water utility) knows about the water.
Right-bank water: from the Baltezers boreholes
Rīgas ūdens writes that consumers on the right bank of the Daugava receive groundwater from the Baltezers and Zaķumuiža well fields in Ādaži and Ropaži municipalities. There are 285 boreholes there at a depth of 30–40 m in Quaternary deposits and 15 boreholes at 65–75 m in Devonian rocks. In the untreated well field water, iron and manganese exceed the norm only occasionally and slightly, and they are reduced before the water enters the network. In stage 4 of the Cohesion Fund project, a biological iron and manganese removal station with a capacity of 28,000 m³ per day was built at Baltezers.
The company does not publish separate figures for Ķengarags. City averages in 2025: iron 0.11 mg/l (limit value 0.20 mg/l), manganese 0.02 mg/l (limit value 0.05 mg/l), hardness 1.82 mmol/l.
A flat in a housing estate: what you see and what to do
| What you notice | Most common cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Yellowish water in the morning, clear after a minute | Water has stood in the building's risers | Run the water; if it keeps happening, tell the property manager |
| Sand or particles in the tap aerator | Sediment in the pipes after works on the network or in the building | Clean the aerator; if it is regular, a mechanical filter at the flat's inlet |
| Limescale in the kettle | Calcium and magnesium salts, hardness | Descale the kettle; for drinking water, a reverse osmosis filter |
| You dislike the taste or smell | Personal taste or the building's pipes | A reverse osmosis or carbon filter in the kitchen; if the smell is new, a water test |
With the figures Rīgas ūdens publishes, a whole-flat iron removal unit is usually not needed in Ķengarags, and we will tell you so. A reverse osmosis filter under the sink with installation costs from €250, and connecting a mechanical filter is charged by time, from €40/h. If you want to know exactly what is in your tap water, a basic water test costs from €35: water testing.
Pre-war pockets: a house with its own well
In the 2025 report of Rīgas ūdens, Ķengarags is on the list of neighbourhoods where water services are unavailable or only partly available in some areas or streets. The report does not name the streets and does not say whether it is the water main or the sewerage that is missing. If your private house gets its water from its own well or spike well (“spice” in Latvian), the right-bank network figures do not apply to it: it is groundwater from your plot, and only a laboratory can show its quality.
- Check whether there is a network at the plot with the Rīgas ūdens “Service availability” form. The company prepares technical conditions free of charge within 11 working days.
- There is no co-financing (subsidy) for water main connections, so compare a connection with the upkeep of your own source: connecting to mains water.
- The Riga rules do not require an existing house with its own source to connect, but if you do connect, the old well or spike well must not be connected to the house's plumbing.
- If you stay with the well, clean it every few years and test the water regularly: well cleaning, from €150 with disinfection.
Sources: Rīgas ūdens page “Water abstraction”; Rīgas ūdens page on EU fund projects (stage 4, Baltezers station); Rīgas ūdens quality summary 2025; Rīgas ūdens 2025 contract performance report; Rīgas ūdens pages “Property without a connection” and “Municipal co-financing”; Riga City Council binding regulations No. 17, points 5 and 63.6. Checked 03.11.2026.
Maskavas iela, the railway and the promenade
Ķengarags is crossed by Maskavas iela, the tram and the railway, and along the river runs the Daugava promenade, so local routes tend to be longer than they look on the map. A filter or a sample needs no heavy machinery; a car and tools are enough. Cleaning a private house well needs space by the well and a vehicle with pumps in the yard or at the gate; we confirm this when you send the request.
Prices and nearby neighbourhoods
Reverse osmosis filter with installation from €250, filter installation from €40/h, basic water test from €35, full test with microbiology from €95, well cleaning from €150. Full price list: prices. Filter types and sequence: water treatment.
Along the right bank of the Daugava and nearby: Krasta rajons, Rumbula, Dārziņi and Šķirotava. All Riga neighbourhoods: Riga; also towns in the Riga region: where we work.