We pump out septic tanks and holding tanks, install septic tanks and biological treatment plants, and maintain them. Pumping up to 4 m³ costs from €75; in your request, give the address or plot number and, if you know it, the tank volume.
Aplokciems: what conditions a sewage system faces here
Aplokciems is a quiet residential area of north Riga towards Lake Ķīšezers and Jaunciems. Officially it is the eastern part of the Mīlgrāvis neighbourhood, so in the municipal register and in pumping documents it is the address that matters, not the name of the area.
The housing here is a mix: detached houses, allotment plots with garden houses, pockets of low-rise buildings and individual newer houses. So you can't tell from the street what is buried in the neighbour's yard: on one side there may be a new BIO plant, on the other an old plastic holding tank. Before making an offer, we find this out for each plot separately.
Being close to the lake, the forest and lower-lying ground means that groundwater can rise higher in spring than in summer. That doesn't mean a problem on every plot, but it affects two things: which system you can choose and when it is safer to pump out a plastic tank.
A garden house lived in all year: holding tank pumping in Aplokciems
Allotment houses were often originally built for summer use, with a small holding tank or a dry toilet. Once people start living in the house permanently, a shower, a washing machine and dishwashing appear, but the tank stays the same and fills many times faster.
The building code allows sealed holding tanks that are emptied by tanker for seasonal and individual residential houses in areas where a city sewer is planned but not yet built. In Riga the minimum emptying frequency for a holding tank is calculated from water consumption and the tank volume. If there is no water meter, 9.125 m³ a year is assumed for each declared resident: for two people that is 18.25 m³, so a 4 m³ tank must be emptied at least five times a year.
If your tank fills noticeably more slowly than this calculation suggests, it is most likely not watertight. Near the lake, that means wastewater is getting into the ground. More detail: holding tank pumping and pumping in a garden community.
For a detached house: a septic tank with infiltration or a biological plant
Clarified water from a septic tank may only reach the environment through an infiltration system (a field, drains or a sand-and-gravel filter). Infiltration only works if there is a thick enough layer of dry soil under the drains. So in Aplokciems, before choosing, we recommend digging a pit in spring and looking at how high the water stands.
- Sand and low groundwater: a septic tank with a drain field is suitable; it works without electricity.
- Groundwater close to the surface in spring: a biological treatment plant discharging into a ditch or an anchored tank is more suitable; see septic tank for high groundwater.
- A small plot with no room for a field and no ditch: that leaves a sealed holding tank or a connection to the network, if there is one in the street.
Access from Jaunciema gatve
The streets of Aplokciems are mostly local, leading out onto Jaunciema gatve. In the allotment area they tend to be narrow with a gravel surface, so we choose the vehicle to suit the street width. On a narrow lane a smaller tanker of up to 4 m³ works, while a large holding tank calls for a bigger one, if it can get there.
- If the plot has no address, give the name of the community, the plot number and the cadastral number.
- Write whether access is through a gate with a code or a barrier.
- Estimate the distance from the street to the lid, because the hose length depends on it.
- During the spring thaw, tell us whether it is possible to drive across the lawn: on soft ground a heavy tanker stays on the street.
Riga rules that apply to Aplokciems
The same Riga City Council Binding Regulations No. 66 apply in Aplokciems as in the rest of the city. A septic tank, holding tank or BIO plant is registered with the Riga Housing and Environment Department; for a new system, the application is submitted within a month of construction. Septic tank sludge must be removed at least once a year.
Pumping may only be done by a pumping contractor listed in the Department's register of pumping contractors. After each pumping you receive a document with the address, date and volume; keep it for at least two years. By 1 May, a declaration of the volume removed in the previous year is submitted to the Department.
Sources: Riga City Council Binding Regulations No. 66 of 19.12.2018 (points 4.2, 5.6, 23 and 26), likumi.lv/ta/id/304471; Cabinet Regulation No. 384 of 27.06.2017 (points 4.4, 7 and 9.1), likumi.lv/ta/id/291947; Latvian Construction Standard LBN 223-15 (point 152), likumi.lv/ta/id/274990; mvd.riga.lv. Checked 30 October 2026.
What we do in Aplokciems
- Septic tank pumping in Aplokciems: septic tanks, holding tanks, dry toilets.
- Septic tank installation for a detached house and a septic tank for a summer house or garden house.
- Biological treatment plants and their maintenance.
- Connecting to the mains sewer, if there is a network in the street; Riga grants €1,000–2,000 for a connection depending on the length of the connection pipe.
All the places where we work: Riga neighbourhoods and the Riga region. Nearby: Jaunciems, Suži, Trīsciems, Bukulti and Jaunmīlgrāvis.