Septic tanks, pumping and sewerage in Jaunmīlgrāvis - low-rise houses by Lake Ķīšezers and the port

Jaunmīlgrāvis: the western part of Mīlgrāvis

Jaunmīlgrāvis is a historically established part of Mīlgrāvis; in the official division into neighbourhoods it falls within the western side of the Mīlgrāvis neighbourhood. There are apartment buildings, historic low-rise housing, port and industrial sites here, and access is shaped by Mīlgrāvja iela, the railway and the port access roads.

Being close to Lake Ķīšezers, the Mīlgrāvis canal and the port brings wind, damp and an industrial setting. For wastewater systems this means two things: in the lowest spots groundwater can be close to the surface, and in winter lids and shallow-laid pipes freeze faster in exposed places. On the low-rise streets between the historic houses there is little space, so the location of the lid and the access need to be made clear in your request.

For low-rise houses: holding tank, septic tank or BIO plant

If a house has no connection to the city network, the choice is between a septic tank with infiltration, a biological wastewater treatment plant (BIO plant) and a sealed holding tank. If groundwater is high or the plot is small, there is often no room for a drain field, which leaves a holding tank or a BIO plant with an outlet. A holding tank is simpler to install but more expensive to run, because all the water used in the house has to be taken away.

Cabinet regulations require a holding tank to be sealed. You can check this by how fast it fills: if the tank fills faster than your water consumption suggests, groundwater or rainwater is getting in; if more slowly, wastewater is leaking into the ground. Installation: holding tank installation in Jaunmīlgrāvis, 2 m³ tank from €800; pumping: holding tank pumping.

How often a holding tank in Jaunmīlgrāvis needs pumping

In Riga, the minimum emptying frequency for a holding tank is set by a formula: annual water consumption divided by the tank volume. If there is no water meter, 9.125 m³ a year is counted for each person declared at the house. The table shows the approximate result for a 6 m³ tank.

In practice the tank is pumped out when it is full, not by the calendar, but the annual total has to meet the calculated minimum. By 1 May you submit a declaration to the department of the volume removed in the previous year, and it shows whether the frequency matches consumption.

When it is worth replacing a holding tank

Old concrete holding tanks lose their watertightness over time: the walls crack, the joints between the concrete rings shift, and the tank starts either filling with groundwater or letting wastewater out into the ground. If during pumping we see water running in through the wall, a repair is usually only temporary.

When the tank is replaced with a new plastic or fibreglass holding tank, it must be anchored in high groundwater and the inlet pipe buried below the frost line. More: old septic tank replacement.

Wind and frost: lids, covers and pipes

In exposed places by the lake and the canal, the winter wind quickly chills everything above ground. An uninsulated lid, the vent pipe and a shallow-laid inlet pipe are the first places where ice forms. If the inlet pipe is frozen, pumping will not help: the pipe has to be thawed first. If only the top layer has frozen, we break through it and pump the tank out.

In autumn it is worth checking the lid seal, putting insulation under the lid and not leaving the tank overfull. What to do if it freezes anyway: frozen septic tank.

Port and industrial businesses

Businesses along the port access roads may need pumping of holding tanks for staff facilities, cleaning of grease separators in staff canteens and upkeep of pump stations. We confirm each pumping with a document, which the business keeps for two years. More: septic tank pumping for businesses and grease trap cleaning, from €90.

Production sites sometimes also produce wastewater that is not domestic, such as oily water from workshops or washing areas. It must not be mixed into a domestic holding tank, and its handling has its own requirements, so tell us in your request exactly what goes into the tank.

If the tank is behind a gate on the port side, tell us in your request who will let us in and which road to take.

Apartment buildings

For apartment buildings in Jaunmīlgrāvis our work is in basements and yards: we pump out a basement if wastewater has got into it, pump out and clean yard manholes and service the pumps that lift water from the lowest rooms. More: basement pumping.

Register, pumping contractors and connection

Every decentralised system in Jaunmīlgrāvis is registered with Riga municipality, and it may be pumped out only by a company on the department's list of pumping contractors. If there is a mains sewer in the street, you can connect; for a residential house the municipal support is €1,000, €1,500 or €2,000, depending on the length of the connection pipe.

The neighbours are Vecmīlgrāvis with its estates and private houses, Mangaļi and Sarkandaugava, while Mežaparks is dominated by detached houses. All places: where we work.