Wells, spike wells and boreholes in Mežaparks - villa gardens between the forest and Ķīšezers

City water in Mežaparks: mostly there, but not on every street

The first two stages of the Rīgas ūdens project, completed in 2006, covered Mežaparks together with Vecāķi, Vecdaugava and Bieriņi. Yet in the company's 2025 contract performance report, Mežaparks is still on the list where water supply or sewerage is not available, or only partly available, in some areas or streets. The report does not say which streets these are or whether the water main or the sewerage is missing.

Mežaparks is on the right bank of the Daugava. Rīgas ūdens states that right-bank consumers receive groundwater from the Baltezers and Zaķumuiža abstraction sites, where iron and manganese are reduced before supply. That describes the city network, not the old well or spike well in a villa garden: only a test shows what its water is like.

A spike well for a villa garden

A large garden with lawn, flower beds and old trees uses a lot of water in a dry summer. The Rīgas ūdens tariff is €1.41 per m³ excluding VAT (September 2026), so watering from the tap adds up to a noticeable sum over a year. A spike well with its own pump gives you water for watering that you are not billed for; a lawn does not need drinking water quality.

A watering spike well has one strict rule: it must be a separate system with its own tap or automatic irrigation control. Riga City Council binding regulations No. 17 forbid connecting the pipes of a local source to the city water main, including through the house's internal network. More: spike well for garden watering.

Mežaparks gardens have old trees, and the neighbourhood has a protected cultural and historic character. A spike well needs far less machinery than a borehole, so it can usually be installed without driving a heavy rig across the lawn. We choose a spot away from the roots of large trees and from underground utilities, and tidy it up after the work.

An old dug well in a villa garden

If the garden has an old dug well (concrete-ring well), first decide what you will use it for: drinking, watering or just as a garden feature. The work depends on that. For watering, cleaning and a pump are enough. For drinking you also need disinfection, watertight ring joints, a tightly closing cover and a full test.

• Well cleaning in Mežaparks: from €150; we pump it out, clean the walls and bottom and disinfect the well.
• Well repair: sealing joints, replacing damaged rings; deepening or repair from €150.
• Well top and cover: a cover or well house that suits a villa garden and keeps leaves from falling in.
• Well water testing: basic from €35, full with microbiology from €95.

If you are buying a villa with an old well, test the water before the purchase, not after. The result shows whether cleaning the well is enough or whether it needs a filter or repair.

If there is no network in the street: a borehole

For houses on streets where a connection is not possible, a borehole is often more suitable than a shallow spike well, because Rīgas ūdens states that boreholes from about 30 m are safer than spike wells. Drilling costs from €65/m, a borehole about 30 m deep from €2,000 without pump and pipe run. Before that, check your address in the Rīgas ūdens “Service availability” (Pakalpojuma pieejamība) form.

Mežaparks also has a large events ground, and on event days traffic on Meža prospekts and Kokneses prospekts changes considerably. So we plan bringing in the drilling rig and heavy machinery for days when there are no large events in the neighbourhood.

Rules for your own source

The Protection Zone Law does not set protection zones around wells, boreholes and springs that a private individual uses for their own needs, if the surroundings are properly kept and wastewater does not get into the ground. Without a licence from the State Environmental Service (VVD), you can install a well or borehole up to 20 m deep if abstraction does not exceed 10 m³ per day. For a deeper borehole, the drilling company applies for the licence, and after the work the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC) approves the borehole passport.

For a new well or borehole, Cabinet Regulation No. 253 (engineering structures) requires an explanatory memorandum (paskaidrojuma raksts) at the municipal building authority (būvvalde). For properties in a cultural and historic setting, also ask the building authority about any extra conditions before the work. More: protection zone around a well and borehole registration.

Nearby neighbourhoods

To the north, similar streets of private houses are found in Čiekurkalns, Jaunmīlgrāvis and Vecmīlgrāvis, while Sarkandaugava is more densely built up. All neighbourhoods: Riga.