A shallow well next to the house suits a pump station inside the house; a deeper or more distant well is better served by a submersible pump. In Riga and the Riga region we install pumps in wells together with a pressure tank, dry-run protection and the pipe to the house. In your request, give the well's depth, the water level and the distance to the house.
How a well differs from a spike well and a borehole
In a dug well (concrete-ring well) the water is close to the surface, but there is only a limited amount of it. The well stores groundwater, and in dry weather the level can drop by a metre or more. A well also has more sediment and deposits on the bottom than a spike well (“spice” in Latvian) or a borehole. So for a well pump, the right depth and protection matter more than power.
Building code LBN 222-15 “Water Supply Structures” (Cabinet Regulation No. 326, point 84) intends concrete ring wells mainly for groundwater no deeper than 10 m below the ground surface. Source: likumi.lv, checked 03.11.2026.
Pump station or a submersible pump in the well
- A pump station in the house works if the water level in the driest season is no deeper than about 7 m below the pump and the well is close by. Only the suction pipe with a non-return valve and a strainer goes into the well, and pump maintenance is simple.
- A submersible pump works at any well depth and also when the well is far from the house, because it pushes the water rather than sucking it. The pressure tank and the pressure switch stay in the house. The downside: the pump has to be lifted out of the well for maintenance.
- If the well is far away and the water is deep, a pump station will not lift the water reliably, so we choose a submersible pump.
Do not put a pump meant for dirty water or temporary drainage in a well. Those pumps are not made for drinking water or for continuous running with a pressure tank. If your well already has one, we replace it with a suitable pump.
How we install a pump in a well
- Inspection We measure the well's depth, the water level and the sediment layer, and look at the rings and the cover. If the well is cloudy or has a thick layer of sediment, we recommend cleaning it first.
- Pump depth We hang the submersible pump on a rope below the lowest water level, but at least half a metre above the bottom so it does not draw in silt.
- Pipe and entry We run the pipe out of the well through the ring wall below the frost depth and into the house. We seal the opening in the ring so that surface water cannot run into the well.
- Protection We fit a float switch or electronic dry-run protection, because a well can run dry faster than a spike well or a borehole.
- Setting up We set the pressure switch and the pressure tank pre-charge and check how long the pump can run before the water level drops to the protection point.
If the well runs short of water
If the pump empties the well in summer and stops, a bigger pump will not help. A lower-output pump, a larger pressure tank or a storage tank in the house can help for a while. The lasting solution is deepening the well or another water source: well deepening. If the water is cloudy or the well has not been cleaned for a long time: well cleaning.
A well pump in winter
A submersible pump below the water level does not freeze in winter. What freezes is the pipe at the top of the well and where it passes through the ring, if it is not deep enough, and a pump station in an unheated shed. So we insulate the well cover and run the pipe out below the frost depth. For a summer house nobody lives in during winter: winterising the water supply system.
How much does well pump installation cost
Installing a submersible pump costs from €200, the pump extra. We price connecting a pump station and the pipe to the house after your request, because it depends on the distance, the entry point and what the house already has. If the well needs cleaning before the pump goes in, well cleaning with disinfection costs from €150. All prices: prices.