Vecāķi was included in stages 1 and 2 of the Riga water management development project, completed in 2006, and in the 2025 report of Rīgas ūdens (Riga's water utility) it is not among the neighbourhoods with missing services. So in many cases your own source here is useful not for drinking, but for the lawn, the flower beds and a summer house used only in the warm season. Sand and dunes are part of the Vecāķi landscape, and for a spike well that is a good start, if there is water beneath them.
Watering on the meter or from a spike well: a simple calculation
One watering of a lawn is often about 10 mm of water, that is, 10 litres per square metre. For a 500 m² garden that is about 5 m³. At the Rīgas ūdens tariff of €1.41/m³ excluding VAT (September 2026), one such watering costs about €7 excluding VAT, and if you water 30 times a season, it comes to about €210 excluding VAT.
A spike well for watering costs from €350 (usually €350–650), pump extra, and after that the water from it costs you only the pump's electricity. How quickly it pays for itself depends on the size of the garden and the summer, but for a large lawn usually within a few seasons. More: spike well for garden watering.
Source: the Rīgas ūdens tariff according to lvportals.lv of 21.09.2026 (“Water from a well or a public water main: three myths…”). Checked 03.11.2026.
A spike well in sand: choose the filter by the grain size
In clean sand a spike well is driven or drilled in quickly, and water flows freely to the filter. Very fine sand is what causes trouble: if the filter screen is too coarse, sand comes up with the water, damages the pump and clogs the drippers of the irrigation system. So during test pumping we look at what sand comes out and choose the screen accordingly. Before drip irrigation lines we recommend a mechanical filter.
We cannot promise in advance whether the water under your plot is close enough for a surface pump to lift it (in practice 7–8 m from the pump to the water level). The neighbours' spike wells are the best guide. If you spray onto paving or the house wall, bear in mind that iron in groundwater can leave rust stains; the basic test (from €35) shows how much iron is in the water.
A summer house: water in the season, an empty system in winter
For a summer house that is not lived in during winter, a spike well with a surface pump is the simplest solution. The most important part happens in autumn: water left in the pump, the pressure tank and the pipes above frost level cracks them when it freezes.
- In autumn We switch off the pump, drain the water from the pump housing, the pressure tank and the pipes, and leave the taps open. If the pump stands in an unheated spot, it is better to bring it somewhere warm.
- In spring We check the non-return valve and the joints, prime the pump and pump the spike well until the water is clear.
- If there is less water during the season Often the cause is a clogged filter or air being sucked in, not a spike well that has run dry: spike well not giving water.
More: spike well installation for a summer house and winterising the water supply system.
A house on city water: a spike well only as a separate system
If a house in Vecāķi is connected to the city water main, the spike well must be a completely separate system with its own pump and garden tap. Riga binding regulations No. 17 prohibit connecting a local source network, such as a borehole, to the public water main, including through the inlet or the house's internal pipework. Mark the garden tap so that guests do not drink from it.
In the regulations a spike well is a borehole. Up to 20 m deep and 10 m³ per day, no licence is needed, and natural resources tax also only starts above 10 m³ per day. Filling a large swimming pool in one day can exceed that limit, so plan it over several days.
Sources: Riga City Council binding regulations No. 17, sub-point 63.6 (likumi.lv/ta/id/296134); LBN 222-15, point 64 (likumi.lv/ta/id/274989); the law “On Subterranean Depths”, point 2 of the first part of Section 11 (likumi.lv/ta/id/40249); the Natural Resources Tax Law, Section 19 (likumi.lv/ta/id/124707). Checked 03.11.2026.
The Vecāķi water main and neighbouring Mangaļsala
In 2022 Rīgas ūdens stated that over the previous 15 years new networks had made it possible to connect to the public sewer in Vecāķi. Neighbouring Mangaļsala still has no mains water, and the branch of its new water main is planned to be joined to the Vecāķi mains. If your house in Vecāķi is not yet connected, check the connection options for your address with the Rīgas ūdens “Service availability” form.
Sources: Rīgas ūdens, “Projects co-financed by European Union funds” (stages 1–2), “96% of Riga residents use the benefits of central sewerage” (2022) and “Connections will be built in Mangaļsala…” (14.04.2026), rigasudens.lv. Checked 03.11.2026.
When to do the work: before or after the beach season
In summer the roads to the sea and the car parks in Vecāķi are busy, and getting machinery to the house can be harder. A garden spike well is worth installing in spring or autumn, when the ground is not frozen. Groundwater is usually at its lowest at the end of summer, so a spike well that gives enough water at the end of August will also give it the rest of the time. Vecāķi is part of Riga, so there is no call-out fee: prices.