New sewer networks have been built in the neighbourhood under phase 4 of the Cohesion Fund project, so many detached-house owners have to decide whether to connect or keep using their own system. We help in both cases: we pump out and service existing septic tanks, holding tanks and BIO plants, build the connection pipe up to the connection point and, after the switchover, take the old tank out of use. Septic tank pumping costs from €75.
Bieriņi: detached houses, gardens and lower ground by the Mārupīte
Bieriņi is a green Pārdaugava neighbourhood of detached houses along the Mārupīte stream. Alongside older houses with large gardens there are low-rise buildings and a few new projects, and the sewer situation can differ even between neighbours. One house is already connected to the new network, another has a two-chamber septic tank with infiltration, and a third has an old holding tank whose volume nobody knows exactly.
So before quoting a price, we find out three things: whether a connection is available in your street, what kind of tank is in the yard and how many people live in the house. The answers decide whether you need just pumping, plant maintenance or a connection pipe.
Connect to the network or stay with the septic tank?
For an existing house, connecting is not automatically mandatory. Cabinet Regulation No. 384 required decentralised systems to meet the requirements by the end of 2021; systems that did not comply and had a mains sewer in the adjacent street had to connect by the end of 2023. For new builds in Riga, connecting is mandatory if a connection pipe has been built up to the plot boundary.
- Connecting is usually worthwhile if the septic tank has no infiltration or has collapsed, or if the holding tank has to be emptied several times a year.
- A septic tank with a working drain field can continue to be used if it is registered and pumped out regularly. Those obligations remain.
- For a recently installed BIO plant the choice is harder: you need to compare the annual maintenance and sample-testing costs with the price of the connection pipe and the co-financing.
Lower ground by the Mārupīte: groundwater and the tank
The Mārupīte, the green areas and lower stretches of ground mean that on some plots groundwater can rise close to the surface in spring. This shouldn't be assumed for every property, but it affects two things: groundwater can lift a fully emptied plastic septic tank, and a drain field in wet ground takes in water less well.
If your tank is plastic and your yard is in a low spot, mention it in your request. Then we pump out only the sediment or refill the tank with water straight away. If a septic tank overflows in spring but works normally in summer, the cause is often the infiltration, which cannot take in the water while the groundwater is high. Solutions: septic tank for high groundwater.
Decommissioning the old septic tank after connecting
- Final pumping Once the house has been switched over to the new connection pipe, we pump out the entire contents of the septic tank or holding tank, sediment included.
- Disconnection We seal the old inlet pipe so that no more wastewater gets into the tank, and we disconnect the overflow to the infiltration.
- Backfilling or removal A concrete tank is rinsed and backfilled with sand; a plastic tank can be dug out and taken away.
- Notifying the register Within a month, notify the Riga Housing and Environment Department that the decentralised system is no longer in use.
If you are still only planning the connection pipe, the steps with Riga's water utility Rīgas ūdens (from the technical conditions to the contract) are described on the page connecting to the mains sewer.
Co-financing in Bieriņi after the phase 4 programme
The separate Cohesion Fund phase 4 support programme in Bieriņi has ended. Connections to phase 4 branches completed after 31 December 2025 now fall under Riga's general programme, in which the amount is set by the length of the connection pipe.
| Connection pipe length | One-off support |
|---|---|
| up to 5 m | €1,000 |
| 5–20 m | €1,500 |
| over 20 m | €2,000 |
The application is submitted to Rīgas ūdens within three years of construction. The main conditions: the residential house has been put into service, at least one person is declared at the property, there are no debts to Rīgas ūdens and a service contract has been signed. Keep the invoices and the as-built survey plan.
Sources: Cabinet Regulation No. 384 of 27.06.2017, point 18 (likumi.lv/ta/id/291947); Riga City Council Binding Regulations No. 17, point 5 (likumi.lv/ta/id/296134); Riga City Council Binding Regulations No. RD-23-207-sn, points 7 and 11 (likumi.lv/ta/id/343520); Rīgas ūdens announcement on the conditions for Bieriņi, Pleskodāle, Katlakalns, Bišumuiža and Bolderāja, 06.05.2026 (lvportals.lv); Riga City Council Binding Regulations No. 66, points 6, 26 and 5.6 (likumi.lv/ta/id/304471). Checked 30 October 2026. Conditions and the budget may change.
If you stay with a septic tank or BIO plant
Until the house is connected, septic tank sludge in Riga must be removed at least once a year, and by 1 May each year a declaration of the volume removed in the previous year must be submitted to the Housing and Environment Department. A BIO plant is serviced at the intervals set by the manufacturer.
- Septic tank pumping in Bieriņi with the certificate you need for the declaration.
- BIO plant maintenance: excess sludge pumping, rinsing, compressor and air supply check.
- Drain field inspection or rebuild, if the septic tank fills faster than it used to.
- Sewer connection pipe installation up to the connection point, if you decide to connect.
Bieriņi is within Riga, so we don't add travel kilometres, and you pay the price-list rate. The cost of a connection pipe depends on its length, its depth and what it has to cross: paving, trees or a fence.
Nearest neighbourhoods
In Pārdaugava we also work in Atgāzene, Šampēteris, Āgenskalns and Ziepniekkalns, where a separate phase 5 and 6 co-financing programme applies. All places: where we work.