Before we talk about the source, one thing has to be clear: which Katlakalns your address is in. This name belongs to a Riga neighbourhood, Rīgas ūdens (Riga's water utility) uses it for one of its Cohesion Fund project areas, and a village in Ķekava municipality has the same name. In each case a different company supplies the water or different support rules apply, and this decides whether your own source or a connection is the better deal.
Three places called Katlakalns: whose rules apply to you
| Name | What it is | Water |
|---|---|---|
| Katlakalns, Riga neighbourhood | Detached houses, low-rise housing and gardens by the Daugava | Rīgas ūdens; the neighbourhood is not on the 2025 report's list of neighbourhoods with missing services. There is no co-financing for water connections in Riga |
| “Katlakalns”, the Rīgas ūdens stage 4 project | Part of Ziepniekkalns and Bišumuiža, where networks with service pipes up to the plot boundary were built in 2011–2015 | The earlier water and sewerage support (binding regulations No. 67) ceased to apply on 01.04.2026. |
| Katlakalns, village in Ķekava municipality | A village in Ķekava parish beyond the Riga boundary | Ķekavas nami; tariff from 01.01.2026 €1.09/m³ excluding VAT; municipal co-financing (subsidy) exists for priority groups |
Which municipality your land is in can be seen in the cadastre data and the real estate tax notice. On the Riga side, check whether a connection is possible with the Rīgas ūdens “Service availability” form; on the Ķekava side, contact Ķekavas nami.
Sources: Rīgas ūdens, “EU fund co-financed projects” (stage 4 “Katlakalns”) and contract performance report for 2025 (rigasudens.lv); lvportals.lv on the changed co-financing conditions in Katlakalns and Bišumuiža; Ķekavas nami tariff notice (Latvijas Vēstnesis 27.11.2025, OP 2025/229.DA44). Checked 03.11.2026.
If the house is on the Ķekava municipality side
Ķekava municipality binding regulations No. 14/2023 also co-finance a water connection: up to 100% of the cost of the connection section, at most €2,500 per family house. Only certain groups can receive support (for example, needy and low-income persons, families with three or more children, pensioners or households with a child). The network must already be in the adjacent street, and the owner must have been declared as resident in the municipality on 1 January of the year. Funds are limited by the annual budget.
After connection, the Ķekava rules require written confirmation that the local water source, a borehole or spike well, is not connected to the public network. If you keep the old source for the garden, we build it as a completely separate system.
Sources: Ķekava municipality binding regulations No. 14/2023 with amendments No. 3/2026 (likumi.lv/ta/id/344492, likumi.lv/ta/id/366860); Ķekava municipality binding regulations No. 21/2022 (likumi.lv/ta/id/338066). Checked 03.11.2026.
On the Riga side: your own source or the city network
An existing house in the Riga neighbourhood has no duty to connect, and the municipality does not co-finance water connections. You can stay with your own well or spike well for as long as it gives enough water of good enough quality. If the service pipe is already at the boundary, compare the connection costs with what a new pump, filter and source maintenance would cost over the coming years. How connection works: connecting to mains water.
Source: Rīgas ūdens, “Municipal co-financing for Cohesion Fund projects” (“No co-financing is provided for water supply system connections”) (rigasudens.lv). Checked 03.11.2026.
A dug well that runs dry at the end of summer
One of the most common problems with dug wells (concrete-ring wells) is that in the August drought there is too little water. The groundwater level is usually at its lowest at the end of summer, and a well dug in spring may have been left too shallow. Well deepening helps here: from inside the well we dig deeper into the aquifer and add a ring, so that a reserve remains in dry weather. The work costs from €150.
Deepening will not help if there is clay under the well, into which water flows very slowly, or if the aquifer is deep. Then it is worth considering a spike well or a borehole next to it. More: well deepening and well cleaning.
A spike well for the garden and greenhouse
Gardens and greenhouses by detached houses need water exactly when the water level in the well is at its lowest. A spike well for watering (from €350) draws water with a surface pump and works if the water level during pumping is no deeper than 7–8 m from the pump. Water quality matters less for watering than for drinking, but iron can leave rust stains on paving and greenhouse glass. More: spike well for garden watering.
Near the Daugava, and where to put the source
Katlakalns has lower spots by the Daugava where spring water can collect. This does not mean every plot floods, but for a new source we choose the highest spot, where rain and meltwater do not run in, and further from the septic tank. If the well has ever been flooded, have the water tested in a laboratory before drinking it: a full test with microbiology costs from €95.
Katlakalns' roads to the city are Bauskas iela, Ziepniekkalna iela and the Southern Bridge (Dienvidu tilts), and there is no call-out fee on the Riga side. The Ķekava municipality village is in the Riga region, and the prices there are the same too. All prices: prices.