Well cleaning in Riga and the Riga region

When a well needs cleaning

Well cleaning is needed when the well has collected what should not be there: silt, sand, fallen leaves and soil, a coating of algae and iron on the walls. The most common signs:

• the water has become cloudy, with sediment or a bad taste;
• the water smells of silt, bog or rot;
• the water flows in more slowly than before, and the pump starts drawing air or sand;
• a laboratory test found coliforms or E. coli;
• the well was flooded by spring floodwater or rainwater, or an animal fell into it;
• the well has not been cleaned for several years or has not been used for a long time, for example after buying the house.

Cleaning will not help if the water comes out of the well clear but turns yellow-brown in a glass after an hour. That is dissolved iron from the aquifer itself, and it is solved by iron removal, not cleaning. If you do not know which case is yours, start with well water testing.

How dug well cleaning is done

1. Inspection and preparation We disconnect and lift out the pump if it is in the well. We measure the depth of the well and the height of the water column, check the air at the bottom of the well and set up a tripod with a winch.
2. Pumping out We pump out the water with a sludge pump and lead it away from the well, so that it does not seep back through the ground. If the water flows in fast, the pump runs for the whole cleaning time.
3. Cleaning the walls With a pressure washer and brushes we remove the coating, silt and iron deposits from every concrete ring right down to the bottom.
4. Cleaning the bottom We lift out the silt, sand and the old, clogged bottom filter in buckets and take them away from the well.
5. New bottom filter We lay a new layer of washed gravel and pebbles at the bottom. In sandy soil it holds back the sand, so that it does not come up with the water and damage the pump.
6. Checking the joints and rings In an empty well you can see cracks, shifted rings and joints through which surface water seeps in. We seal small leaks straight away, and for larger damage we tell you about it and offer a well repair.
7. Disinfection We treat the walls and the incoming water with a chlorine product, calculating the dose from the volume of water in the well. After the contact time, we pump the water out until the chlorine smell is gone.
8. Refilling and testing The well refills with fresh groundwater, and we put the pump back. We recommend then sending a water sample for testing, to see the result in numbers.

Drinking water well cleaning: why disinfection and testing

If you drink the well water or cook with it, cleaning without disinfection is half a job. During cleaning, bacteria from the walls and bottom get into the water, and they have to be destroyed before the well is used again. That is why disinfection is included in the price for every well we clean. More on the products and cases where a well is disinfected without cleaning: well disinfection.

Only a laboratory shows whether the water is good after cleaning. We take the sample ourselves, deliver it to an accredited laboratory and explain the result to you. A basic test costs from €35, a full chemical and microbiological test from €95.

For a private house well, the state drinking water rules are not mandatory, but laboratory results are compared with their limit values: E. coli and coliforms 0 CFU/100 ml, nitrates 50 mg/l, ammonium 0.50 mg/l, iron 200 µg/l, manganese 50 µg/l, pH 6.5–9.5.

How to clean a well, and why a crew does it

The question “how do I clean a well myself” is one of the most common, and the honest answer is: this is not a one-person job. A well is a narrow, deep place you cannot get out of quickly, and most accidents happen not because of dirty water, but because of the air.

• Carbon dioxide, which is heavier than air, can build up at the bottom of a well. You can neither see nor smell it, and a person can lose consciousness within minutes. That is why we measure the air and ventilate the well before going down.
• A petrol pump or generator must not be run in the well or at its opening: exhaust fumes with carbon monoxide build up in the shaft.
• Once the water has been pumped out, old rings are pressed from outside by the soil and groundwater. In quicksand the bottom can start to rise and the rings can shift.
• The person working below is always attached to a safety rope, and a second person stays at the top who can lift them out with the winch.
• Buckets of silt have to be lifted dozens of times, and the pumped-out water has to be led far enough away that it does not seep back into the well.

What you can do yourself without risk: keep the cover closed, check in spring that water does not collect around the well, notice whether the water's colour and taste change, and send the water for testing once a year. Leave the cleaning itself to a crew.

Well cleaning in spring or autumn

Spring is the most popular time for well cleaning, because after winter and the spring floods people want clean water for the summer. Cleaning in spring is right if the well was flooded by meltwater, or the water changed colour or smell after the floods: then there is no need to wait.

Technically, a well is easier to clean at the end of summer or in autumn, when the groundwater level is at its lowest. The water flows in more slowly, the well can be pumped out down to the bottom, and the bottom filter can be laid more carefully. In spring, when groundwater is high, water flows into some wells so fast that the bottom can only be partly cleaned. In winter we clean a well if it can be reached and the frost is not severe.

What well cleaning costs

Well cleaning with disinfection costs from €150. We state the final price once we know the size and condition of the well. It depends on:

• the depth of the well and the diameter of the rings: how much wall has to be cleaned and how much water pumped out;
• how fast the water flows in: the faster, the longer the pump runs and the more time the job takes;
• the amount of silt and sand at the bottom and the condition of the old filter;
• access: whether the cover comes off easily and how far from the well a vehicle can park;
• extra work we find in the empty well: sealing joints, ring repair or a new cover are agreed separately before we do them;
• travel outside the Riga region: ~€0.90/km.

All prices in one place: prices.

If the problem is specific

• Cloudy well water: how to tell silt, iron and clay apart by a glass of water and what to do in each case.
• Well water smells: what a smell of silt, hydrogen sulphide or sewage means.
• Well disinfection after flooding, a repair or a bad test.
• Well deepening, if the well runs dry in summer even after cleaning.
• Well pump: which pump to choose and how to install it after cleaning.

We clean wells in Riga's private housing areas and all over the Riga region, including Jūrmala, Ogre, Sigulda and Ķekava. If the well is already in poor condition, also look at well digging and the comparison borehole or dug well.