Pumping and sewerage in Klīversala - restaurants, offices and riverside projects

Klīversala: the riverside between Āgenskalns and the Daugava

Klīversala is a former island that is now part of the Āgenskalns neighbourhood. It lies on the left bank of the Daugava between Āgenskalns and the riverside, and Raņķa dambis, Akmens tilts and Uzvaras bulvāris link it directly with the centre. Historic masonry and wooden houses stand alongside offices, apartment projects and waterfront development areas where construction is still under way.

There are practically no septic tanks or holding tanks here. Demand in Klīversala comes from elsewhere: hospitality kitchens, where grease has to be held back; buildings with basements, where wastewater has to be lifted to the street network; and building sites, where there is no sewer yet.

For restaurants and hotels: a grease trap schedule

Riga's rules for the mains sewer prohibit discharging wastewater containing fats and food waste into the network. For a kitchen, that means a grease trap that is cleaned regularly. In hospitality kitchens serving a large number of portions, the grease layer builds up fast, so a one-off clean after a blockage costs more than a schedule.

1. First clean We pump everything out, clean the baffles, check the inlet and outlet and refill the separator with water.
2. Observation After 2–3 cleans, you can see how fast the layer builds up for your menu and number of portions.
3. Schedule We set a regular interval and a time when the kitchen is closed; after each visit you receive a document.

If a building has several food businesses with separate separators, all of them can be cleaned in one trip, and each one receives its own document. More details: grease trap cleaning and pumping services for businesses.

Waterfront buildings: pump stations and basements

In a waterfront building, the basement can sit lower than the street sewer. If there is a toilet, shower or kitchen down there, the water from them will not flow to the street by gravity, and then you need a sewage pump station that lifts the wastewater to the outlet. A station costs from €1,650, and the use of the whole basement depends on it working.

• Regularly: pumping out and flushing the tank, checking the floats and the non-return valve.
• After heavy rain: check that the station switches on and that you can't hear it running non-stop.
• Alarm or smell: this means the pump is not pumping out; see pump repair.
• Flooded basement: we pump the water into a tanker, see basement pumping.

Historic buildings and offices: the courtyard network

In old masonry and wooden buildings, the courtyard sewer is often as old as the building itself: brick manholes, cast-iron or ceramic pipes and connections that have been rebuilt several times. Riga's network ends at the inspection chamber by the red line of the street or the property boundary, so everything in the courtyard is the responsibility of the building's owner or manager.

If a courtyard manhole overflows or its cover caves in, it can be replaced with a plastic inspection chamber and the pipe sections renewed (from €25/m), see inspection chamber installation. For offices with a canteen or café on the ground floor, it is worth planning grease trap cleaning and pump station maintenance on one schedule, so that all the building's documents are kept together.

Building sites on the riverside

While the waterfront projects are being built, workers need toilet facilities without a connection. We pump out portable toilets and the tanks of site cabins on a schedule, with the site address on the document.

An important detail for builders: in Riga, groundwater, surface water and underground water must not be discharged into the mains sewer without the approval of Rīgas ūdens (Riga's water utility). This also applies to water from an excavation pit. Plan a separate system for rainwater in the new building, see rainwater drainage installation.

Access in Klīversala

Being close to Akmens tilts and Raņķa dambis means heavy traffic, so we choose a spot for the truck together with you: an inner courtyard, a delivery zone or a side street. Trucks don't drive onto the pedestrian promenade, so tell us how far the lid or separator is from the roadway, and whether the hose can be run through the service entrance.

For restaurants, we agree the time in advance so that the work is done when the kitchen and terrace are closed. Price: grease trap cleaning from €90, pumping out a tank from €75 up to 4 m³; in Riga we don't charge for kilometres. Nearby areas: Āgenskalns, Ķīpsala, Torņakalns and Vecrīga. All areas: where we work.