We pump out and decommission old septic tanks, build connection pipes to the city network and service businesses' manholes, pumps and grease traps. Pumping costs from €75, a connection pipe from €25/m.
Čiekurkalns: where low-rise houses meet warehouses
Čiekurkalns is a historic working-class and residential neighbourhood between the railway, Brīvības gatve and Mežaparks. Its streets mix wooden and masonry low-rise houses, apartment blocks, warehouses, office complexes and small production units. For wastewater, this means that one block can contain a building connected to the city network long ago, a yard with an old tank and a business with its own yard sewer and rainwater manholes.
We don't assume that any building necessarily has a septic tank or a problem. Before making an offer, we find out exactly what is in your yard and whether the street has a network run by Rīgas ūdens (Riga's water utility).
An old septic tank in a wooden house's yard: pump it out or connect
If a low-rise building still has a concrete-ring septic tank or holding tank, the first step is to weigh up whether it is worth maintaining. National rules required a system that does not meet the requirements to be connected to the mains sewer if the sewer is in the adjacent street. Until a connection is built, a septic tank in Riga must be pumped out at least once a year, and the system must be registered with the Housing and Environment Department.
For a connection, Riga pays one-off support based on the length of the connection pipe: €1,000 up to 5 m, €1,500 from 5 to 20 m and €2,000 over 20 m. The application is submitted to Rīgas ūdens within three years of construction. The main conditions:
- the residential house has been put into service, and the ownership is entered in the Land Register;
- at least one person is declared at the property;
- there are no debts to Rīgas ūdens, and a service contract has been signed;
- if there are several residential houses on the plot, all of them must be connected;
- the connection was built after 8 July 2023; if the service is cancelled within 10 years, the money can be reclaimed.
Sources: Riga City Council Binding Regulations No. RD-23-207-sn (points 7 and 11; version from 24.12.2025), likumi.lv/ta/id/343520; Cabinet Regulation No. 384 of 27.06.2017 (point 18), likumi.lv/ta/id/291947; Riga City Council Binding Regulations No. 66 (points 4 and 26), likumi.lv/ta/id/304471. Checked 30 October 2026; the budget and conditions may change.
A connection pipe between wooden houses: what to consider
Old yards between houses often have little space: sheds, trees, paving, fences and basement entrances. We choose the trench route so that the pipe has an even fall to the Rīgas ūdens control manhole and we don't dig too close to the foundations. Where an excavator can't get in, part of the trench is dug by hand. That affects the price, so we show it in the estimate.
If a building has several flat owners, an agreement among all the owners on the connection pipe and how to split the costs is usually needed before the work. After connecting, we pump out, clean and backfill the old septic tank, and the Department is notified of the change in the register within a month. Full steps: connecting to the mains sewer; if you keep the septic tank, see replacing an old septic tank.
For warehouses, offices and workshops
On business premises in Čiekurkalns, the work is usually in the yard network, not in a septic tank. The most common tasks:
- drainage and rainwater well cleaning: sand and silt from yards where trucks drive;
- rainwater drainage installation, so that water from roofs and yards does not end up in the domestic sewer;
- pump station maintenance and repair, if the building is lower than the street network;
- grease trap cleaning for office canteens and cafés, from €90;
- pumping for businesses with a document for each visit, if the site has its own tank.
If a business has a decentralised system, Riga's rules apply to it in the same way as to a private house, but legal entities can be fined up to 280 penalty units for breaches.
In your request, state exactly what is in the tank or manhole: domestic wastewater, rainwater with sand, or grease. That decides which vehicle we send and where the contents may be delivered.
Access in Čiekurkalns
Brīvības gatve, Gustava Zemgala gatve and the railway lines link the neighbourhood well with the rest of the city, but level crossings and narrow old streets can lengthen the route. Between wooden houses a smaller tanker usually works, on business yards a bigger one. In your request, write which gate to drive in through and how far the lid is from it. Nearest neighbourhoods: Teika, Brasa, Mežaparks, Sarkandaugava. All places: where we work.