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State of the Environment in Riga 2001
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 Water 
 
 DRINKING WATER
 
Municipal enterprise "Rigas Udens" supplies the City with drinking water from abstraction sites located outside the terittory of Riga City: surface water intakes - the Daugava and ground water intakes from Baltezers area, Zakumuiza and others.

 

The Daugava water treatment facility draws water from the reservoir of the Daugava hydroelectric power station and provides 40 % of the water consumption in the city. In the 1990s, drawing of groundwater supplies was cut down (see Figure 69 ).

 

According to the data of municipal enterprise "Rigas Udens" the consumption of drinking water dropped at unexpected rate since the latter half of the 1990s, and it is still continuing to decline. The water supply has also decreased (see Figure 34 and Figure 39 ).

 

Besides it different industrial and service enterprise intake water from surface and ground waters for they technical needs and human consumption (the number of these enterprises is variable).

Dynamics of water abstraction and use within Riga City is shown (see Figure 65 ). Total amount of water abstraction in the territory of Riga City has tendency to decline.


Over the past years, it can be said that the overall quality of water in the centralised water supply network has changed for the better (see Figure 31) because of successful implementation of Riga Water and Environmental Project.

The average water quality indicators before distribution network in 2000 are shown in chapter "Indicators".

 

In Latvia the requirements for the drinking water quality are set by Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia (Regulations No 63, 23.02.1999.). Drinking water quality in Riga complies with it's the standards, except a part of the ground water from few wells at Baltezers where manganese content slightly exceeds standard.

Evaluation of the drinking water parameters  (color, turbidity, odor, taste, Coli index, total bacteria) in the City network is required by sanitary inspection, and according to these parameters the overall drinking water quality corresponds Latvian norms (see Table 11 ).

 

In certain cases, however, the chemical and microbiological sanitary indicators do not meet the national standards, which alarms residents as their health is subject to serious potential risks. The situation is critical in communal wells where the quality of water continues to worsen (see Figure 32) thus posing threat of intestinal infections. This problem with wells is most widespread in districts with decentralised water supply (the Zemgale suburb, the Northern district, the Kurzeme suburb).

 

  

 

This page was last updated: 2003.03.31.