Rīga currently has 26 free drinking water taps, managed and serviced by Rīgas ūdens SIA.
As elsewhere, the new free drinking water tap is designed at a height that makes it easy to drink or refill a takeaway water bottle and is also accessible for wheelchair users. It is also designed to accommodate animals. All of Riga's free taps are managed by the city's water supply, which is clean, of high quality, safe for use and regularly tested.
According to Sandris Vanzovičs, Senior Communications Coordinator of the Communications Department of Rīgas ūdens, residents report if something is dirty or not working as it should. Fortunately, such cases are quite rare, Vanzovičs said.
The cost of a free tap is around €6,000, excluding the project and construction costs. Two years ago, Riga City Council set up a free tap program in cooperation with neighborhood associations, where residents can have their say on the need for a free tap in a neighborhood or public place. The most active residents from Grīziņkalns and Brasa have also got a free tap in their neighborhood. The final decision will, however, be taken by the Rīga City Council after assessing the application to see if a free tap is really needed in a particular place.
According to the representative of "Rīgas ūdens", by the end of the year it is planned that new free drinking water taps will be built in Anniņmuižas Park, Latgale Park, Opera Square, Nordeķu Park, Viesturdārzs, Biķernieku Forest, Bolderāja promenade, near Māras pond, as well as two places in Uzvaras Park.
