Homes get their water from the Rīgas ūdens (Riga's water utility) network, but a business may need its own borehole for process water or watering. We help with the borehole, its protection zone, water testing and the decommissioning of old boreholes.
The city network in Sarkandaugava
Sarkandaugava is not on the Rīgas ūdens 2025 report list of neighbourhoods where some streets lack water supply or sewerage, and in 2025 Rīgas ūdens renewed water mains here. The neighbourhood is on the right bank of the Daugava, which Rīgas ūdens supplies with groundwater from Baltezers and Zaķumuiža. A flat or a house here does not need its own drinking water source, and we explain filters for that purpose on the water treatment page.
A business borehole has a protection zone, a home well does not
No protection zone is set around the well or borehole of a family home, as long as the surroundings are kept tidy and waste water does not soak into the ground. Protection zones are set for a business's water intake, and the width of the strict regime zone depends on how well the aquifer is covered by low-permeability layers.
| Aquifer protection | Width of the strict regime zone |
|---|---|
| Unprotected | calculated for a filtration time of at least 1 year, no less than 50 m |
| Relatively protected (1–10 m of low-permeability layers) | 30–50 m |
| Protected (10–20 m) | 10–30 m |
| Very well protected (more than 20 m) | 10 m |
In the strict regime zone, any economic activity not related to the water intake is prohibited, including the construction of new residential buildings. The bacteriological zone may not contain waste water treatment plants and storage, fuel depots, manure storage or unused boreholes that have not been plugged. On a port or industrial site this seriously limits where the borehole can go, so we choose the location while the plan can still be changed.
The Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC) offers the protection zone calculation for one borehole as a paid service, €153.33 excluding VAT (service 09-04). If you need 10 m³ or more per day, or more than 50 people receive the water, you also need a water use permit from the State Environmental Service (VVD). We describe the rest of the paperwork on the borehole for a business page.
If employees drink the borehole water, 50 or more people use it and the abstraction exceeds 10 m³ per day on average, Cabinet Regulation No. 547 on drinking water applies, with mandatory drinking water monitoring. The exemption covers sources used by fewer than 50 people or with an average abstraction of no more than 10 m³ per day, provided the water is not supplied to a public building. Process water that nobody drinks is not subject to these requirements.
Sources: the Protection Zone Law, the second part of Section 9, and the prohibitions in protection zones; Cabinet Regulation No. 43, point 7.1 (width of the strict regime zone); LVĢMC service catalogue, service 09-04; Cabinet Regulation No. 736 on water use permits, sub-point 2.1. Checked 03.11.2026.
An unused borehole on an old factory site
If a port or industrial site still has a borehole that nobody uses any more, the regulations require the borehole user who stops using it to have it mothballed or decommissioned. A decommissioning report is drawn up and signed by the client and the contractor, and a copy goes to the State Geological Fund. Decommissioning requires a VVD licence, which the contractor applies for.
We price decommissioning (plugging) after hearing the situation, because an old borehole often has a stuck pump, cable or pipes, and the amount of material depends on the depth and diameter. If you know the borehole depth or have its borehole passport, attach it to your request. How the work is done: borehole decommissioning.
Source: Cabinet Regulation No. 696 on subsoil licences of 06.09.2011, point 21 and Annex 9 “Borehole decommissioning report”; State Environmental Service explanation of subsoil use licences. Checked 03.11.2026.
Extended testing near industry
The basic package shows iron, manganese, hardness, pH, ammonium and nitrates, but not heavy metals or petroleum products. A private house rarely needs those, but if the source is near the port, a fuel depot or a former factory, extended parameters are worth ordering. We take the sample in laboratory containers and agree the list of parameters before sampling: water testing.
Pre-war courtyards with an old well
Some pre-war wooden houses may still have a dug well (concrete-ring well) in the courtyard. We do not recommend drinking its water without the full test including microbiology (from €95), and if the house already receives mains water, the well is best used for watering, separate from the house plumbing. Cleaning with disinfection costs from €150: well cleaning.
Prices and neighbouring areas
Borehole drilling from €65/m, equipment from €500, a basic water test from €35, the full test from €95. State fees, such as the €35.57 licence fee and the €115.34 borehole passport approval, are shown separately in the quote. Tvaika iela, Ganību dambis and the railway determine access, so on port territory we agree entry with the site manager. The full price list: prices.
To the north and nearby: Brasa, Mežaparks, Jaunmīlgrāvis and Kundziņsala. An overview of all neighbourhoods: Riga; and the towns around Riga: where we work.