Housing here is limited, and in the 2025 report of Rīgas ūdens (Riga's water utility), Voleri is among the small neighbourhoods with fewer than 1,000 residents where water services are unavailable or only partly available. For a house without a service pipe, your own source is the only water source, and in a place with industry and low-lying areas by the river it is worth choosing with a margin: safer and deeper rather than cheaper.
Is there a city water main by your house
The report does not name streets or distinguish water mains from sewers, so check your specific address with the Rīgas ūdens “Service availability” form. If a service pipe reaches the boundary, an existing house is not obliged to connect, but there is no municipal co-financing in Riga for a water connection either. If there is no service pipe, we plan your own source for the long term.
Sources: Rīgas ūdens contract performance report for 2025 (approved 23.03.2026); Rīgas ūdens, “Municipal co-financing for Cohesion Fund projects” (rigasudens.lv). Checked 03.11.2026.
Why we more often recommend a borehole here rather than a shallow source
A dug well (concrete-ring well) and a spike well (“spice” in Latvian) draw the upper groundwater, which is affected by everything that happens on the surface: rain, spring water from lower-lying spots, roads and yards with heavy traffic. That does not mean the groundwater in Voleri is polluted; only a water test can show that. But if the house stands between port and warehouse areas, it is more sensible to take water from a layer covered from above by denser sediments.
For a borehole, the building code requires a fully watertight structure, so that water enters the borehole only through the filter and not down along the pipe from above. Drilling costs from €65/m, a ~30 m borehole from €2,000 excluding the pump and the pipe run. If you still choose a well or a spike well, we look for a higher spot as far as possible from yards where machinery stands or fuel is stored.
If the house already has a dug well and a test shows its water is good, there is no need to replace it. Cleaning with disinfection (from €150), sealed upper joints and a tight-fitting lid are enough, but repeat the test once a year and after high water in the Daugava, because that is when surface water gets into a well most easily.
Source: building code LBN 222-15 “Water Supply Structures”, point 78 (likumi.lv/ta/id/274989). Checked 03.11.2026.
Drilling with a licence: what the law says
- Licence: a borehole deeper than 20 m, or from which you plan to take more than 10 m³ per day, needs a State Environmental Service (VVD) licence before drilling. The company that will drill applies for it; the state fee is €35.57 and the licence is valid for up to one year.
- Fine: using the subsoil without the required licence can cost a private individual €70–1,050 and a legal entity €140–2,100.
- Data: geological information obtained while drilling is handed over to the state free of charge via the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC), and after the work LVĢMC approves the borehole passport (€115.34).
- For businesses: if abstraction is 10 m³ per day or more, or there are more than 50 users, you also need a water use permit: borehole for a business.
Before signing a contract, ask the driller who will apply for the licence and who will prepare the passport. We include both steps in the work plan and show state fees separately in the quote. More: borehole registration.
Sources: the law “On Subterranean Depths”, point 4 of the first part of Section 9, point 2 of the first part of Section 11, the second part of Section 23 and the second part of Section 25 (likumi.lv/ta/id/40249); Cabinet Regulation No. 1055, sub-point 2.13 (likumi.lv/ta/id/150411); Cabinet Regulation No. 752, point 2.1 of the annex (likumi.lv/ta/id/259619); Cabinet Regulation No. 736 on water use permits, sub-point 2.1 (likumi.lv/ta/id/82574). Checked 03.11.2026.
On port and warehouse sites: access for machinery
The roads from Voleri to the city are Daugavgrīvas šoseja and the port access roads, but in some zones access is restricted. If the road to the house goes through a closed area, entry must be agreed with its manager before the working day. The drilling rig needs firm ground and space to lay out pipes and water for flushing. In your request, describe how a lorry gets to the house.
The pump and water to the house
A submersible pump is placed in the borehole, chosen after test pumping: by the static and dynamic level and the yield. Installation costs from €200, pump extra. We build the borehole head with a pitless adapter or caisson, the water pipe below the frost depth and the pressure tank in the house as one system: borehole equipment from €500. In a low spot by the river we only fit a caisson if the spot cannot flood.
Before drinking: a water test
We first flush a new borehole until the water is clear, and then deliver a sample to an accredited laboratory; the result is entered in the borehole passport. The full test with microbiology costs from €95. If there is industrial activity nearby, we extend the list of parameters and price them by the list: borehole water testing. Prices in Voleri are the same as across Riga: prices.