Jelgava keeps its records of decentralised systems digitally on the dks.jelgava.lv portal, and the municipality co-finances connections to the network. Jelgava is about 40 km from Riga city centre as the crow flies, so travel is a significant part of the price here, and we tell you that from the start.
Rivers, bridges and floodplains: what this means for tanks
Jelgava is divided by the Lielupe and the Driksa, and traffic between the parts of the city goes over bridges. In the centre and the apartment districts, wastewater is collected by the city network. In the detached-house areas on the edges of the city and near the rivers there are also septic tanks, holding tanks and BIO plants.
Near the floodplains, groundwater rises high during the spring floods, and that affects any buried tank. Groundwater gets into a holding tank that is not watertight, and it fills up within a few weeks. An empty plastic tank without anchoring can float up and tear the pipes away. So in the lowest-lying places we plan pumping before or after the floods, not at peak water, and we install a new tank with anchoring: septic tank for high groundwater.
If floods or heavy rain have flooded a basement, the water can be pumped out with vacuum tanker equipment: basement pumping. If a tank suffers the same damage every spring, the solution is septic tank repair or replacement.
Jelgava's rules: dks.jelgava.lv and stricter control
In the state city of Jelgava, Binding Regulations No. 19-17 are in force, in the current version from 16.01.2026. The register is kept by the municipality in the electronic system dks.jelgava.lv, where you can register a system yourself free of charge. You can also use the form “Application for registration of a decentralised sewage system”, which is submitted at the customer service centre at Lielā iela 11 or e-mailed to the municipality. SIA “Jelgavas ūdens” does not keep the register.
| System | Requirement in Jelgava |
|---|---|
| New system | Must be registered within a month of starting to use it |
| Septic tank | Pumped out at least once a year |
| Holding tank | The annual water consumption stated in the registration is divided by the tank volume: that many times a year, but no fewer than once |
| BIO plant of up to 5 m³ per day | Maintenance according to the manufacturer's or builder's documentation; the previous year's maintenance report is submitted by 1 April |
| Receipts | Kept for 2 years; they can be uploaded to dks.jelgava.lv |
Requirements for pumping contractors in Jelgava are stricter than in much of the Riga region. They must be registered with the municipality, each pumping must be entered in the electronic log on dks.jelgava.lv, and the municipality must be given access to the vehicles' GPS data. On 30 October 2026 the register listed 9 companies.
Under the amendments of December 2025, in force since January 2026, the municipality can order a non-compliant system to be put in order within 6–12 months and recover the cost of a repeat inspection. The fine for a private individual is up to 100 penalty units, which the municipality explains as up to €500.
These rules apply only to the city of Jelgava. The parishes of Jelgava Municipality have different rules and a different register.
Sources: Jelgava Binding Regulations No. 19-17, version of 16.01.2026 (points 3.1, 3.4, 4–6, 9.2–9.4, 10.5, 10.6, 12–16, 19), likumi.lv; amending Binding Regulations No. 25-18, likumi.lv; register of pumping contractors, jelgava.lv. Checked 30 October 2026.
Co-financing for a connection: apply before construction
Jelgava's Binding Regulations No. 19-2 (as amended in 2024) support connecting residential houses to the mains sewer:
- for a detached house, if the connection pipe is built by a contractor: up to 50% of the cost, at most €2,000;
- if the owner builds the branch themselves: €35 per metre, at most €1,000;
- for an apartment building: up to 75%, at most €5,000.
The key condition is the order of things: construction must not have started before the application. Applications are accepted by SIA “Jelgavas ūdens” in an annual round. The 2026 round, with a budget of €30,000, closed on 18 May, so the next chance will come only when a new round is announced; notices appear on ju.lv, jelgava.lv and in “Jelgavas Vēstnesis”.
If you are planning to connect next year, you can use the winter for the paperwork and the application, and build the connection pipe (from €25/m) and, if needed, a pump station after the decision. How the work goes: connecting to the mains sewer.
Septic tank pumping in Jelgava: distance and an honest calculation
We drive from Riga to Jelgava along the A8. By road the distance is longer than in a straight line, so travel (~€1/km for the road beyond the Riga city boundary) makes up a significant part of the bill here. Within the city, the route is shaped by the bridges over the Lielupe and the Driksa and by the railway crossings.
So we will be frank: if your holding tank needs pumping several times a year, compare the total price including travel with offers from local registered pumping contractors. For less frequent pumping, or when it can be combined with other work (BIO plant maintenance from €160, septic tank replacement or building a connection pipe), the trip pays off better.
Septic tank pumping in Jelgava costs from €75 for up to 4 m³ and from €110 for up to 10 m³, plus travel. After pumping you receive a document with the address, date and volume, which you can upload to dks.jelgava.lv.
Businesses, institutions and apartment buildings
Jelgava has a university, manufacturing businesses and apartment districts. They usually do not need septic tank pumping, but they do need grease trap cleaning for canteens and food production, servicing and repair of sewage pump stations and sludge pumping from drainage and rainwater wells: drainage well cleaning.
For property managers and institutions, what matters is a document for each job that can be shown during an inspection. We issue one after every pumping or cleaning. More: septic tank pumping for businesses.
On the way to Riga
To the north-east, on the way to Riga, is Olaine, to the east Iecava, and further north-east Baloži and Riga. All places: where we work.