Heavy rain floods properties as residents urged to install backflow valves

Residents in Riga and elsewhere in Latvia have repeatedly seen their properties flooded by heavy rain this summer, with residents advised to install backflow valves, LSM reported.

On Zasulauka Street in Riga, conditions are normal during dry, sunny weather. But during heavy downpours, water flows into the yards and basements of nearby homes.

Resident Linda said she bought a property on Zasulauka Street four and a half years ago. Since then, heavy summer rain has regularly caused flooding because rainwater and sewage flow into the street collector in large volumes.

“The system has not been properly arranged with a backflow valve, so the basement, garage and the area in front of the garage flood. If there are no pumps, everything floods. The water reaches my ankles and higher,” Linda said.

The property has flooded three times this summer. Linda contacted the company Rigas udens, asking it to resolve the problem, but said the company replied that it was not responsible.

Sandris Vanzovics, head of the communications department at Rigas udens, said the neighbourhood did not have a stormwater drainage system. As a result, rainwater enters the domestic sewage system, which is not designed to handle such large volumes of water.

As a short-term solution, the company is installing water-level meters. Eighteen have already been installed across Riga, and the company plans to add 15 more. The meters will allow the company to respond more quickly to sudden surges in the pipes between pumping stations, either manually or digitally.

Rigas udens said sewage does not enter private property during downpours, but acknowledged that rainwater collection problems exist in several parts of Riga. The company said property owners should separate drainage systems or carry out repairs to prevent further flooding.