Well water and boreholes in Iecava - your own source or the network on the Zemgale plain

What we know about the water supply in Iecava

The former Iecava water operator, Dzīvokļu komunālā saimniecība, was merged into Bauskas novada komunālserviss, which now has exclusive rights across Bauska municipality. The water tariff from 01.09.2025 to 31.08.2027 is €1.54/m³ excluding VAT. The only public document naming the Iecava systems is a 2011 regulator decision: it mentions the “Centrs” and “Austrumi” systems in Iecava village and “Zālīte” in Zālīte village.

The same 2011 decision records that these systems had lowered drinking water quality requirements until 22.12.2012, and that in June 2011 residents made a collective complaint about the water quality. This is history, not the current situation, and we found no newer public data on the network water. There is also no list of streets and villages where houses use their own source.

Wells in Zemgale: what a study shows

A University of Latvia study (conference on 03.02.2022) analysed the wells of 356 households across Latvia. As a significant regional difference, the authors mention raised sulphate levels in Zemgale wells. Across the country, E. coli was found in 9.6% of wells, and iron above 0.2 mg/l in 9% of wells. This says nothing about a particular well in Iecava, but it shows what is worth checking.

So in Iecava we recommend water testing with microbiology (full test from €95), and, if the water tastes bitter or leaves white deposits, also ordering sulphates and hardness from the laboratory. The result is compared with the limit values in Cabinet Regulation No. 547 on drinking water: sulphates 250 mg/l, iron 200 µg/l, nitrates 50 mg/l, E. coli 0. These regulations are not compulsory for a private well, but they are a good reference point.

Iron and manganese are removed by an iron removal filter (with installation from €600), hardness by a water softener. Neither of them removes sulphates; for drinking water they are reduced by reverse osmosis (with installation from €250). If the test shows E. coli, we first look for how it gets into the source: joints, the lid, surface water, a septic tank nearby.

The plain, the river and farmland

Iecava lies on the Zemgale plain by the river Iecava, where the town borders farmland. The ground and the water depth have to be checked at every location, but these conditions change the choice of source. By the river and in low spots, we make sure the source does not flood and surface water does not run into the well. Next to arable land, it matters that the well or spike well (“spice” in Latvian) is not downhill from fertiliser or a livestock farm; there, nitrates are one of the parameters we always check.

A shallow dug well (concrete-ring well) or spike well needs a clean location and a well-sealed top. If there is intensive farming around or the water in the well changes after every rain, consider a borehole in Iecava: it takes water from an aquifer covered from above by denser layers. Drilling costs from €65/m, a borehole about 30 m deep from €2,000.

• For an existing well: well cleaning with disinfection, from €150.
• After a poor microbiology result: well disinfection and a repeat test.
• A low-cost source for a garden or outbuilding: spike well installation, from €350.
• A pump and pressure tank for an existing source: water pump installation.

Bauska municipality rules: connection may be compulsory

Bauska municipality binding regulations No. 5 (in force since 21.08.2024) set a duty to connect where there is a water main or sewer in the adjacent street and the spatial plan provides for it; for existing buildings the deadline was 31.12.2025. If your street has a network and the house is not connected, find out from the operator whether this duty applies to you before you invest in a new borehole.

If a property has two independent water sources, for example a well or borehole and the network, the connection point needs an air gap of at least 50 mm or a non-return valve (point 10). Technical conditions are valid for two years, and the owner builds and pays for the connection up to the boundary of responsibility. We found municipal co-financing (subsidy) only for sewer connections, not for the water main.

The national requirements for your own source in Iecava are the same as everywhere: up to 20 m and 10 m³ per day, no licence is needed; for a deeper borehole, the drilling company applies for it. More: borehole passport.

Nearby places

Ķekava, Baldone and Jelgava. All places: where we work; all prices: prices.