We maintain biological wastewater treatment plants (BIO plants, from €160), pump out septic tanks (from €75), repair pipes that roots have grown into, and clean grease traps for kitchens. Describe your system in your request.
Mežciems: estates, the forest edge and large complexes
Mežciems is a green neighbourhood in eastern Riga next to Biķernieki forest. Most of the buildings are apartment estates; next to them are healthcare complexes, retail sites and a sports track, and on the forest side, detached houses. Biķernieku iela and Hipokrāta iela link the neighbourhood with Jugla and Dreiliņi.
For detached house owners, the questions are about their own system: how to maintain it, how to meet Riga's requirements and what to do if the sewer starts to clog. In the estates and complexes, the questions are about kitchen grease, pumps and the courtyard network.
A BIO plant at a detached house: what Riga requires on top of maintenance
In Riga, a factory-made biological treatment plant comes with more obligations than a septic tank. In addition to annual maintenance, Riga's rules also require tests of the treated water.
| Obligation | How often | Where it is set out |
|---|---|---|
| Technical maintenance by a qualified company | At least once a year, unless the manufacturer's documentation says otherwise | Cabinet Regulation No. 384, point 4.3 |
| A copy of the maintenance document to the register holder | Within a month after maintenance | Cabinet Regulation No. 384, point 15.3 |
| Removal of excess sludge | According to the manufacturer's documentation | Riga Regulations No. 66, point 27 |
| Tests of the treated wastewater in an accredited laboratory, results to the Department | Once every two years | Riga Regulations No. 66, point 5.5 |
| Maintenance certificate from the service provider | At the Department's request | Riga Regulations No. 66, point 5.7 |
The tests are done by an accredited laboratory, not by us. A practical tip: don't take the sample right after the sludge has been pumped out, while the bacterial process is still recovering. We plan maintenance so that the plant is working steadily by the time the sample is taken. Maintenance includes sludge pumping, flushing, and checking the compressor, air diffusers and floats; see BIO plant maintenance.
Sources: Cabinet Regulation No. 384 of 27.06.2017 (points 4.3 and 15.3), likumi.lv/ta/id/291947; Riga City Council Binding Regulations No. 66 of 19.12.2018 (points 5.5, 5.7, 26 and 27), likumi.lv/ta/id/304471. Checked on 30 October 2026.
Trees and roots in the sewer
On the forest edge, large trees often grow in the yards. If a pipe or infiltration drains are near them, the roots seek out moisture and grow in through the joints. The signs are slow draining, blockages that come back after a few months, and a smell by the inspection chambers.
- If a blockage keeps coming back in one spot, we relay that section with new pipes and sealed joints (from €25/m).
- If roots have grown into the drain field, it no longer takes water; we build a new field further away from the trees, see drain field.
- At bends and on long runs, we install inspection chambers so that a problem can be found quickly.
If there is still a septic tank on the forest side
In Riga, a detached house with a septic tank must have its sludge removed at least once a year; septic tank pumping in Mežciems costs from €75 up to 4 m³. If the septic tank's drain field is overgrown with roots or floods, frequent pumping doesn't solve the problem, because the water from the septic tank no longer gets away.
In that case it is better value to convert the septic tank into a biological plant with an outlet into a ditch, or to install a new plant: it costs from €1,750, and the installation work from €800. See septic tank conversion into a BIO plant. If an existing BIO plant's alarm goes off, the explanation is on the page BIO plant alarm.
Healthcare and retail complexes
If a complex has a kitchen, canteen or café, its grease trap fills up regularly. In Riga, discharging wastewater containing fats into the network is prohibited, so it is worth putting grease trap cleaning (from €90) on a schedule. For buildings with basements, we maintain sewage pump stations, and for sports events with temporary toilets we pump out portable toilets.
On institutional premises, arrange entry in advance with security or the facilities department, and state where the truck won't get in the way of deliveries and visitors. For regular work with documents: pumping for businesses.
Access and nearby areas
The forest, the sports track and the large complexes affect the route, and traffic may be restricted during events. At a detached house, tell us how far the lid is from the street and whether there are low branches on the way that would get in a truck's way.
Nearby neighbourhoods: Purvciems, Jugla, Dreiliņi and Brekši. All areas: where we work.