Pumping and sewer services in Avoti - cafés, courtyards and pre-war tenement houses

What kind of sewers the Avoti blocks have

Avoti is a dense neighbourhood close to the centre with a historic street grid: pre-war tenement houses on the street front, courtyard wings behind them and renovated masonry buildings with shops, hairdressers and eateries on the ground floor. In buildings like these, wastewater runs from the building through the courtyard pipe to the street sewer main, which is operated by Rīgas ūdens (Riga's water utility).

So in Avoti there is rarely a need for what people associate pumping with in private-house areas. A septic tank or holding tank would be an exception here. Much more often we are called out in three cases: a kitchen grease separator is full, a courtyard manhole or pipe is blocked, or there is water standing in the basement.

A grease trap in a ground-floor café

For a small café or bakery, the grease trap is usually a compact separator under the sink or in the floor. A small volume means the grease layer in it builds up quickly, especially if the menu includes fried food. When the separator is full, the grease flows on, hardens in the building's soil stack and in the courtyard pipe, and then the blockage affects the neighbours on the upper floors too.

When cleaning, we pump out the entire contents of the separator, clean the baffles and overflows, check the inlet and outlet and refill the tank with clean water. We run the hose in through the front door or from the yard side, and we cover the floor next to the separator. We agree the time so that the kitchen is not working and there is neither a smell nor a hose in the customer area. Price from €90; more detail: grease trap cleaning in Avoti.

Tenant or building owner: who is responsible for the separator

Cafés and eateries in Avoti often operate in rented ground-floor premises. Who orders and pays for cleaning the grease separator is decided by the lease, not by municipal rules. If the lease doesn't say, it is worth agreeing it in writing, because the consequences of a blocked courtyard pipe affect the whole building, not just the kitchen.

If premises are being re-planned as a new eatery, a place for the separator is provided for at the design stage: it must be possible to open and clean it, and to run a hose to it. If the separator is going to be in the basement or behind several doors, it is better to know that before the renovation, not after the first cleaning.

A courtyard behind an archway: how a vacuum tanker works there

Courtyard wings can often be reached only through an archway, and it isn't always high or wide enough for a truck. Space to stop at the kerb is limited too. So the tanker usually stays on the street, and we run a longer hose to the manhole or separator.

So that the job can be planned in one trip, state in your request:

• the approximate distance from the street to the lid or separator, in metres;
• whether the archway or courtyard gate is locked and who has the key or code;
• whether the lid is in the courtyard, in the basement or indoors;
• whether a truck may stop briefly in the street by the building.

If the hose is not long enough or the lid is hard to reach, we tell you before the job, not after we turn up.

A basement below the street sewer

In old buildings, basements often have toilets, showers or washing machines used by commercial premises or flats. If a sink or toilet sits lower than the street sewer main, the water won't flow upwards on its own, and you need a lifting unit. For one or two fixtures, a compact unit in the room will do; a whole basement needs a sewage pump station with a non-return valve and an alarm.

A compact unit by a toilet has a macerator that can't cope with wet wipes and hygiene products. If café or office visitors use it, a sign by the toilet saying what must not be flushed is useful; it will save you more than one repair.

If the basement has already been flooded with water or sewage, we pump it out first and only then look for the cause: a blocked outlet, a faulty pump or a leaking joint. On this kind of work: basement pumping and sewage pump repair.

Rules for Avoti businesses and building owners

Riga's rules on using the mains sewer prohibit discharging wastewater containing fats, food waste and production waste into the city network. For a café, this in practice means that it must have a grease trap and must clean it often enough that the grease does not flow on. The pumped-out contents are delivered to a facility that accepts this kind of waste. They must not be poured back into the sewer.

If an Avoti building does have a septic tank or holding tank, it is a decentralised system. It is registered with the municipal Riga Housing and Environment Department, septic tank sludge is removed at least once a year, and the work may only be done by a pumping contractor that the department has included in its register.

Prices and nearby neighbourhoods

Avoti is in Riga, so you pay the price-list rate with no travel surcharge. Grease trap cleaning costs from €90, pumping out a manhole or basement (up to 4 m³) from €75, a new pump station from €1,650. The final amount depends on the volume, how hardened the grease layer is and how long a hose has to be run to the lid.

Similar buildings and similar jobs are also found in Grīziņkalns, Maskavas forštate and Riga's centre, while next door in Dārzciems the housing is already more mixed. All neighbourhoods and towns: where we work.