In the 2025 report of Rīgas ūdens (Riga's water utility), Kleisti is among the neighbourhoods where city services are not available in part of the area. We drill boreholes from €65/m, install spike wells (“spice” in Latvian) from €350 and first work out how much water your property really needs.
Where Kleisti has city water and where it does not
In its report Rīgas ūdens places Kleisti in the group of small neighbourhoods (fewer than a thousand residents) where water supply or sewerage is not available, or only partly available, in some places. The report does not name streets and does not say whether the water main, sewerage or both are missing. We found no network extension project for Kleisti.
So the answer has to be checked for each address separately: with the Rīgas ūdens “Service availability” form or the address tool at vaitevtovajag.lv. If the network reaches your boundary, compare a connection with your own source. If the nearest water main is hundreds of metres away along a forest road, your own borehole is usually the only realistic solution.
A large plot means higher water use
A family home needs water for the kitchen, the shower and a small garden. In Kleisti there is often more: stables where horses are watered and equipment is washed, riding arenas and sports grounds that are watered, greenhouses and farm buildings. That is why we ask you to describe in your request what the water is for, how many animals there are and what area you water. This sets the pump output, the pressure tank volume and whether a spike well is enough.
Water use also has a legal limit. Without a licence from the State Environmental Service (VVD), you may install a well or borehole only if it is no deeper than 20 m and abstraction does not exceed 10 m³ per day; both conditions must be met at the same time. If you need more water, a licence is needed even for a shallow borehole, and the drilling company applies for it.
| Abstraction per day | What else is needed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 10 m³, borehole up to 20 m | No VVD licence needed | The law “On Subterranean Depths”, point 2 of the first paragraph of Section 11 |
| 10 m³ or more, or for more than 50 people | A water use permit from the VVD; application at least 60 days before operation, state fee €78.26 | Cabinet Regulation No. 736 on water use permits; Cabinet Regulation No. 469 |
| More than 10 m³ | Natural resources tax of €0.02–0.05 per m³ depending on the value of the water | The Natural Resources Tax Law, Section 19 and Annex 2 |
A family home practically never reaches this limit. For a large farm it is worth recalculating before drilling: borehole for a business and natural resources tax for a borehole.
Wet lowlands, forest roads and long pipe runs
Kleisti has forests and wet lowlands, and the distances between buildings are large. In practice this matters in three ways. The first is access: the drilling rig is heavy, so before the job we find out which road it can take to the borehole site without damaging a meadow or a forest road in wet weather.
The second is the borehole head. In wet ground the caisson or borehole adapter must be watertight, so that neither groundwater nor surface water gets in: borehole caisson. The third is the pipe run: if water has to reach both the house and a stable or greenhouse, we lay the pipes below frost depth and choose a pump with enough output for the long pipeline.
What we do in Kleisti
- Boreholes in Kleisti: drilling from €65/m, a borehole about 30 m deep from €2,000, fitting out from €500.
- Spike well in Kleisti: from €350, if the groundwater is within reach of a surface pump; also works for a separate watering point.
- Submersible pump installation: from €200, pump separate; we choose the pump by water use and the length of the pipe run.
- Well cleaning and well deepening: from €150, if the plot already has a dug well.
- Water supply system for several buildings: pipe runs, inlets and distribution from one source.
- Water testing: from €35; the full test with microbiology from €95, if people drink the water.
After drilling: the passport and the building authority
For a borehole deeper than 20 m, the drilling company first gets a VVD licence (state fee €35.57, valid for up to one year) and after the work prepares the borehole passport. The Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC) approves it within 10 working days, fee €115.34. The law allows groundwater to be used only once the passport has been approved.
A well and a borehole are first-group engineering structures, and Cabinet Regulation No. 253 (engineering structures) requires an explanatory memorandum (paskaidrojuma raksts) at the municipal building authority (būvvalde) for a new structure. Because the VVD infographics describe this step differently, check it with the Riga building authority before the work. More: borehole passport.
Sources: Rīgas ūdens, contract performance report for 2025 (Kleisti); the law “On Subterranean Depths”, point 4 of the first paragraph of Section 9, the ninth paragraph of Section 10 and point 2 of the first paragraph of Section 11; Cabinet Regulation No. 736 (points 2.1 and 3) and No. 469 (point 2); the Natural Resources Tax Law, Section 19 and Annex 2; Cabinet Regulation No. 1055 (2.13), No. 696 (points 13 and 16), No. 752 (2.1), No. 500 (Annex 1), No. 253 (6.² 1). Checked 03.11.2026.
Neighbours in north-west Pārdaugava
The nearest neighbourhoods, each with its own water situation: Imanta, Spilve, Bolderāja and Beberbeķi. All Riga neighbourhoods: Riga.