We make boreholes for private houses in Riga and the Riga region: we drill, fit the pipes and filter, flush the borehole, equip it with a pump and prepare the borehole passport. Drilling costs from €65/m, a 30 m deep borehole from €2,000 without the pump and pipe run. Send a request with the address, and we will tell you what depth the data from the nearest boreholes shows.
A borehole for a private house: when to choose it
A borehole for a private house is usually chosen when the house is lived in all year, water is needed for the shower, the washing machine and watering, and there is no water main in the street. A spike well takes groundwater from shallower sand layers, and its yield is limited. The water level and quality of a dug well change in spring and after heavy rain. A borehole reaches an aquifer separated from the surface by layers of clay or other dense deposits.
If there is already a water main in the street, compare the costs with connecting to mains water. If you are unsure between the options, read spike well or borehole and borehole or dug well.
Why geology, not the client, sets the depth
The borehole has to reach an aquifer that gives enough water, and the filter has to sit right in it. In Riga and the Riga region, beneath layers of sand, clay and moraine there are Devonian sandstones and dolomites, but their depth and the amount of water change even between neighbouring plots. So depth cannot be ordered like a size: it is set by the layers the driller sees during drilling.
Before the job we look at the available data on the nearest boreholes, then state the expected depth and price. No driller can guarantee the amount and quality of water in advance: test pumping and water tests show them. How to use the available maps: borehole map.
How a borehole is made
- The spot We choose the borehole spot: access for the drilling rig, distance to the house, underground utilities, the septic tank and the infiltration field. A borehole is not made in a hollow where rainwater collects.
- Documents before drilling If the borehole will be deeper than 20 m or more than 10 m³ of water per day will be needed, the licence is requested from the State Environmental Service (VVD) by the drilling company. The municipal building authority (būvvalde) documents are arranged before the job (more below).
- Drilling The drilling rig drills through the ground by the rotary method, flushing the borehole with water or clay slurry, which carries out the drilled soil and holds the walls. The driller records the layers and determines where the aquifer begins.
- Pipes and filter Casing pipes are fitted into the borehole, with a filter at the level of the aquifer. The slot width is chosen by the size of the sand grains, so that water flows in but sand stays outside. The borehole construction has to be watertight, so that water comes in only through the filter.
- Flushing and pumping out A new borehole is flushed and pumped until the water runs clear. During test pumping, the static and dynamic water levels and the yield are measured, and the pump is chosen from this data.
- Equipment A submersible pump is lowered into the borehole, a caisson is built or an adapter is fitted, and the water pipe to the house is connected.
- Borehole passport The company prepares the passport with the layer log, the construction, the pumping results and the water tests, and submits it to the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC) for approval.
Latvian building code LBN 222-15 “Water Supply Structures” (Cabinet Regulation No. 326 of 30.06.2015), point 78: the borehole construction is fully watertight, water flows in only through the filter; point 82: after construction the borehole and filter are flushed; point 83: test pumping. Source: likumi.lv, checked 03.11.2026.
Casing pipes: PVC or steel
Private house boreholes are most often fitted with PVC casing pipes: they do not rust, are light and cheaper. Steel pipes are chosen for a very deep borehole, stony moraine or hard rock, or when the design calls for them. Black steel rusts, so stainless steel is more often used in drinking water boreholes.
| Pipe material | Price per metre | When it is chosen |
|---|---|---|
| PVC | €65–80/m | Most private house boreholes |
| Stainless steel | up to ~€95–105/m | Great depth, stony ground, design requirements |
The borehole diameter affects the price too. It has to allow a 3 or 4 inch submersible pump to be lowered with room to spare, otherwise the pump cannot later be replaced with a more powerful one.
Pump, caisson or adapter and the pipe to the house
A drilled borehole does not yet give water in the house. You need a submersible pump, chosen by the yield, the dynamic level and the house's consumption, and a place where the borehole head is protected from frost. This is provided by a caisson (an underground chamber at the borehole) or a borehole adapter, through which the pipe leaves the borehole below frost depth. In the house, a pressure tank, a pressure switch and, if the tests show it is needed, water treatment equipment are installed.
More: borehole equipment, borehole caisson and water pump installation. The water pipe from the borehole to the house is laid below frost depth; how it is built together with the whole system is explained on the water supply system for a private house page.
Documents: licence, borehole passport and explanatory memorandum
- No licence is needed if the borehole is no deeper than 20 m and no more than 10 m³ of water is to be taken per day. Both conditions must be met. In other cases, the licence is requested from the State Environmental Service by the drilling company, not the homeowner. The state fee is €35.57, and the licence is valid for up to one year.
- The borehole passport is prepared by the company after drilling, and LVĢMC approves it within 10 working days. The approval fee is €115.34 (LVĢMC price list, no VAT applied), and it is not our price for the work. The law says groundwater is used once the borehole passport is approved, and VVD requires a passport for boreholes up to 20 m too.
- Explanatory memorandum: a water abstraction borehole is a first-group engineering structure, and for a new structure of this kind the regulations require an explanatory memorandum (paskaidrojuma raksts), submitted to the building authority through the Construction Information System. VVD's explanatory materials mention other document forms, so check the requirements with your building authority before drilling.
The passport data will be useful later: when replacing the pump or selling the property. What the passport must contain: borehole passport; how it all works step by step: borehole registration. Using the subsoil without the required licence is an offence, for which a private person can be fined €70–1,050.
The law “On Subterranean Depths”, Section 10(9), Section 11(1), point 2, Section 9(1), point 4 and Section 25(2); Cabinet Regulation No. 696 on subsoil licences of 06.09.2011 "Procedures for Issuing Subsoil Use Licences and Permits for the Extraction of Commonly Occurring Mineral Resources, and Procedures for Leasing Land of a Public Person for Subsoil Use", points 13 and 16; Cabinet Regulation No. 1055, sub-point 2.13; Cabinet Regulation No. 752, annex point 2.1; Cabinet Regulation No. 500 (General Construction Regulations), Annex 1, sub-point 3.1.32; Cabinet Regulation No. 253 (engineering structures), point 6.², sub-point 1; VVD frequently asked questions. Sources: likumi.lv, vvd.gov.lv, lvgmc.lv, checked 03.11.2026.
What a borehole costs
Drilling costs from €65/m, so a 30 m deep borehole costs from €2,000. A shallower or deeper borehole is charged by the metre, €65–80/m with PVC pipes: for example, a 50 m borehole costs €3,250–4,000. The price covers drilling, casing pipes with a filter and flushing the borehole. The pump, equipment, caisson and the trench with the water pipe to the house are not included.
| Work | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Borehole drilling | from €65/m | PVC pipes; stainless steel costs more |
| 30 m deep borehole | from €2,000 | without the pump and pipe run |
| Borehole equipment | from €500 | without the pump |
| Submersible pump installation | from €200 | without the pump |
| Borehole passport approval at LVĢMC | €115.34 | a state company's fee, not our price |
- Depth to the aquifer: every metre costs.
- Soil: stony moraine and hard rock drill more slowly than sand.
- Pipe material and diameter, access for the drilling rig.
- A licence if the borehole is deeper than 20 m, and a water test at an accredited laboratory for the passport.
All prices: prices. We give an exact price once we have the address, because then we can compare with the nearest boreholes.
Borehole services
- Borehole cleaning: when the water becomes cloudy or there is less of it.
- Borehole repair: pipe, filter, stuck pump.
- Borehole equipment: pump, adapter, pressure tank, controls.
- Borehole caisson: an underground chamber for the borehole head.
- Artesian borehole: a pressurised aquifer.
- Borehole not giving water: causes and diagnosis.
- Borehole decommissioning: plugging an unused borehole.
- Borehole drilling in winter: work in frost and snow.
- Borehole for a business: design, permit and tax.
Where we work
We make boreholes in private housing areas in Riga and the Riga region, for example in Mārupe, Ķekava, Ādaži and Salaspils. All places: where we work.