Septic tanks, pumping and sewerage in Ķegums - homes by the hydroelectric reservoir and on the forest edge

Ķegums: the hydroelectric plant, the Daugava and wooded outskirts

Ķegums is shaped by the hydroelectric power plant, the railway and the A6 corridor. The town has detached houses and apartment buildings, energy and technical sites, while the outskirts are wooded areas with houses a good deal further from the centre.

For houses on the reservoir shore and in lower-lying spots, groundwater can be close to the surface, so before choosing a septic tank you need to find out how high it rises in spring. On the forest outskirts, the road matters more: a heavy vacuum tanker needs a firm enough driveway and room to turn round.

The hydroelectric plant, the Daugava and the technical areas limit the routes, and the railway can be crossed only at certain points. So in your request, give not only the address but also the side from which it is easiest to drive in.

Rules in Ķegums: what Cabinet Regulation No. 384 requires when local rules are silent

Since 2021, Ķegums has been part of Ogre Municipality. The municipality does not yet have common binding regulations on decentralised sewage systems, and we found no specific pumping frequency requirements for the Ķegums area. The basis is therefore Cabinet Regulation No. 384, which applies to all towns and villages:

• Registration. The system must be on the municipal register. SIA “Ķeguma Stars” states on its website that it keeps the register; the first registration declaration (Annex 4 on kegumastars.lv) can be submitted at Kuģu iela 5, at the state and municipal one-stop customer service centre, or electronically.
• Frequency. A septic tank and a holding tank are pumped out as regularly as water consumption and tank volume require. A holding tank must be sealed, and it is emptied before any leak or smell occurs.
• Infiltration. Liquid from a septic tank may enter the environment only through an infiltration system: a field, drains, a sand and gravel filter, a filtration ditch or well, or a reed bed.
• BIO plant. Maintenance at least once a year by a qualified company, and additional maintenance after a fault. A copy of the maintenance document is sent to the register keeper within a month.
• Documents. The certificate for each pumping, showing the address, volume, date and the pumping contractor's details, is kept for at least two years.
• Pumping contractor. Only one registered with the municipality and with a contract with a reception point. The Ogre Municipality list, updated on 10.02.2026, has 11 companies.

The municipal procedure may change, because the explanatory note to Ogre Municipality's water management regulations promises separate rules on decentralised sewage systems. Before submitting documents, check with Ķeguma Stars or Ogre Municipality where and in what form they are accepted.

Septic tank pumping in Ķegums

Without a local minimum, the practice is simple. If the house is lived in all year round, septic tank sludge is removed at least once a year; almost all the neighbouring municipalities set that minimum. If sludge builds up for longer, it flows on to the drain field and clogs it, and then the field has to be rebuilt.

We drive to Ķegums along the A6 through Salaspils and Ogre, and travel (~€1/km beyond the Riga city boundary) is higher here than for the nearer towns of the Riga region. To make the trip pay off, we empty the tank fully in one go, and if the property has several tanks, we charge only for the combined volume pumped out.

Septic tank pumping in Ķegums costs from €75 for up to 4 m³ and from €90 for up to 6 m³. If the tank is already overflowing: emergency septic tank pumping. For large tanks: holding tank pumping.

Pump stations and connection pipes for houses by the river

If a house is lower than the street where the network runs, a gravity connection is not possible, and the wastewater is pumped up by a sewage pump station (from €1,650). The station needs servicing and the pump cleaning from time to time. If the pump has stopped: sewage pump repair.

There is no longer any connection co-financing in Ķegums. The former Ķegums Municipality's Regulations No. 25/2016 on support for connections were repealed by Ogre Municipality's Regulations No. 9/2022, and we found no new programme. Building the connection pipe costs from €25/m. How the work goes: connecting to the mains sewer.

Apartment buildings and technical sites connected to the network usually do not need septic tank pumping. For them, drainage well cleaning or pumping water out of a basement after heavy rain is more often useful.

Buying a house in Ķegums? What to check in the sewage system

Where there are no local rules, a lot depends on the owner. Cabinet Regulation No. 384 provides that a new owner submits a registration application within six months of the ownership being entered in the Land Register. So before the purchase it is worth finding out:

• what system is in the ground: a septic tank, a holding tank or a BIO plant, and what its volume is;
• whether it is registered, and with which register keeper;
• whether the seller has pumping documents for the last two years, and for a BIO plant also maintenance records;
• where the septic tank discharges its liquid: whether there is a drain field or only a bottomless pit.

If there are no documents, the volume and condition can be established during pumping: you can see how many cubic metres are removed, whether groundwater is getting into the tank and whether the outlet is blocked. If the system does not meet the requirements: old septic tank replacement or converting a septic tank into a BIO plant.

Nearby places along the Daugava

To the north-west along the A6 are Ogre and Ikšķile, and further on Salaspils. To the west, beyond the Daugava and the forests, lies Baldone. All places: where we work.