This neighbourhood on Riga's eastern outskirts by Lake Jugla still has thinly built-up areas where detached houses and small residential projects are going up. We help you choose and install a septic tank or biological treatment plant, and we pump out and service existing systems. A BIO plant for 4–6 people costs from €1,750, the installation work from €800.
Brekši: gardens, new builds and empty plots
Brekši is a low-rise neighbourhood with detached houses, gardens, small residential projects and thinly built-up areas. Some of the older houses already have their own tank, but on the empty plots the sewage system still has to be designed. So two different kinds of job come up here: pumping out and servicing existing systems, and choosing and building a new system.
Before design: groundwater near the lake and the forest
Being close to Lake Jugla, the forests and lower-lying areas means seasonal damp: in spring the groundwater can rise considerably higher than in August. This shouldn't be assumed for every plot, but it is exactly this level that decides whether a drain field can be built for a septic tank. The bottom of the field must stay above the highest groundwater level, otherwise the settled water does not soak away and the septic tank starts to overflow.
Before making an offer, we check:
- the groundwater level in a pit or borehole, ideally in spring;
- the soil composition, because sand filters well but clay hardly at all;
- the distance to the drinking water well, the neighbour's boundary and the ditch;
- the spot where the vacuum tanker will park in the future.
If it turns out to be clay: septic tank in clay soil. If the groundwater is high: septic tank for high groundwater.
Septic tank, BIO plant or holding tank for a new house
| System | When it suits | What to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Septic tank with infiltration | Sandy soil, deep groundwater | No electricity needed; in Riga pumped at least once a year |
| BIO plant | Clay or high groundwater, living there all year | Needs electricity, maintenance and water tests every two years |
| Holding tank | Low consumption or a temporary solution | Must be watertight; pumped often |
A broader comparison: septic tank or BIO plant. How to plan the sewage system into the building design: sewerage for a new build.
Small projects: one plant for several houses
If several houses are being built on one plot or next to each other, you can choose one larger treatment plant for the whole group. That means one service and one round of tests rather than several, but you need to agree who owns the plant, who pays for maintenance and how the system is registered. When it pays off: treatment plants for a village or a group of houses.
Older houses: when a septic tank is worth replacing
Older houses in Brekši may have concrete-ring septic tanks or holding tanks built for a smaller family or for seasonal living. If the house has been rebuilt, more people live in it or a sauna and a washing machine have been added, the old tank fills faster and sediment is carried over into the infiltration.
Signs that a tank can no longer handle the load: it needs pumping several times a year, there is a smell in the yard, or the ground over the drain field is permanently wet. Then we compare two routes: replacing the old septic tank with a new tank, or converting the septic tank into a BIO plant.
What Riga's rules require of a new system
- Registration with the Housing and Environment Department within one month of construction or commissioning.
- For a BIO plant, maintenance at the intervals set by the manufacturer or installer, and analysis of the treated wastewater at an accredited laboratory once every two years; the results are submitted to the department.
- For a septic tank, sludge removal at least once a year.
- Every year by 1 May, a declaration of the volume removed in the previous year.
For existing houses we do septic tank pumping in Brekši and BIO plant maintenance, after which we issue a document with the date and the work done.
Sources: Riga City Council Binding Regulations No. 66, points 4.2, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 26 and 27 (likumi.lv/ta/id/304471); Cabinet Regulation No. 384 of 27.06.2017, points 4.3 and 4.4 (likumi.lv/ta/id/291947). Checked 30 October 2026.
Access via Biķernieku iela and local roads
Brekši is reached via Biķernieku iela and local roads. If the access road to a new plot has not been built yet, we choose the location of the septic tank or BIO plant so that a truck can get to it later: both for installation and for the annual pumping. A plant deep in the garden behind the house means a longer hose every time.
Brekši is within Riga, so we don't add travel kilometres. The installation price depends on the soil, the distance from the house to the plant, how the treated water is discharged and whether a pump is needed.
Nearest neighbourhoods
On Riga's east side we also work in Jugla, Berģi, Mežciems and Dreiliņi. All places: where we work.