Water Problems In Chalong - No Tap Water And Dirty Tap Water

[Thunderbird4ever]

Water problems in Chalong

After about three weeks with almost no water or water preassure in the middle of Chalong in a secured villa where I live and its making the everyday living almost impossible. The little water preassure that water department is turning on is only at late in the night time and totally impredictable. We have small kids and have to sleep when they sleep so can not stay up till 1am-2am at waiting for laundry etc to get done.

Another problem that has occured is the very dirty water that is coming out of the tap. Three days ago it was terribly dirty and today it is still misscoloured with a light yellow colour and with the same stinking odour. God knows what is in this water and if it is dangerous to shower or to do do the dishes in. We have had this dirty water earlier this year several times and its rather disgusting.

As almost everyone else living here I am also about to install an outdoor water tank of 2000 litre with an automatic pump. The cost will be under 10.000 baht so the price isnt the problem. But i really see little point in this if its only going to collect muddy and dirty water that will sit in the tank and which will have to be cleaned out at some point. In this case your tank is filling up with 2000 litre at night time with this dirty water just to be drained straight back out again? Then we are talking seriously wasting of water!

It is about time that the water department is coming out with some more statements and informing the people about the whole situation. They should make daily statement on water levels and when working on water pipes where and when. When the water preassure will be turned on in various places etc. The water department should be given some daily column space in international and Thai media as well as having a website of their own updating situation- in both languages.

After almost ten years here and seeing other problems on the rise like the high crime rate and I am on the brink of moving away from Phuket. It is definately not only a paradise anymore. Iam not scared of living here but when reading the news one gets an idea of whats going on here. It has become a not so very ideal place to raise children anymore. So with water problems and lack of infomation from the water department and this could be the straw that brokes the camel's back for many. Meaning moving to other places of Thailand.

[geriatrickid]

I sympathize.

Is it possible to filter the water before it goes into your tank?

[KarenBravo]

I'm surprised that you are on town water only. Chalong has some of the best quality ground-water on the island. Most properties have a well.

Filters are expensive and I don't think they could do too much with that sample in the picture.

Alternative is to build your holding tank and buy water.

[gotlost]

Can you have your own well (borehole)?

[Thunderbird4ever]

I'm surprised that you are on town water only. Chalong has some of the best quality ground-water on the island. Most properties have a well.

Filters are expensive and I don't think they could do too much with that sample in the picture.

Alternative is to build your holding tank and buy water.

I dont think most properties have a well, more likely the fewer. I ve been to one house in here thats got one. The ground water level is lower than before so some with wells are having these problems. I dont know whats the best solution and I think you re right about filtering. Most likely they could not take care of it if water is like this. Whats the price of having a well dug out?

I ve seen some huge water purifiers in stainless steel. Same as the small ones you can put on your kitchen wall for drinking water but standing on the floor, but I guess the huge ones are quite pricey and not sure if it will work or how. Filter prices etc.

I dont know about holding tanks and buying fresh water. Bacteria growth in these tanks etc?

What seems to be the best option?

Edited July 3, 2010 by Thunderbird4ever

[petercallen]

The problem started about a month ago when they replaced a pump but seems to have improved the last few days.

Watering the plants has been a hassle we have been letting a bucket fill and watering that way.

We have a 650 s/steel water tank and it has a drainage plug in the bottom, the outlet is 6 inches above that so any

silt settles below that, we have not had a problem with silt if we did i would turn of the water at the main and clean the tank when the water level was low.

The water where we live in Chalong is chlorinated so it is safe.

You may live near the end of a water main pipe and when the water pressure varies a lot it stirs up the sediment in the pipe and ends up flushed to the end.

The water company may be able to flush the pipe with a stand pipe, its worth asking them.

[KarenBravo]

I dont think most properties have a well, more likely the fewer. I ve been to one house in here thats got one. The ground water level is lower than before so some with wells are having these problems. I dont know whats the best solution and I think you re right about filtering. Most likely they could not take care of it if water is like this. Whats the price of having a well dug out?

I ve seen some huge water purifiers in stainless steel. Same as the small ones you can put on your kitchen wall for drinking water but standing on the floor, but I guess the huge ones are quite pricey and not sure if it will work or how. Filter prices etc.

I dont know about holding tanks and buying fresh water. Bacteria growth in these tanks etc?

What seems to be the best option?

I have one of those big silver filters for a deep bore which is slightly silty. It struggles to clean it, so, it definitely won't clean your sample water.

For well-digging, ten years ago I paid one thousand baht per half metre with the concrete ring included. I would double that price for a guesstimate.

Alternatively, you can have a deep-bore drilled for the outrageous sum of 180,000 Bt which gives you three attempts to hit water.

Edited July 3, 2010 by KarenBravo

[Thunderbird4ever]

A deep bore is definately out of the question. I will demand some answers and an inspection from the water department. Heading over there on monday and dragging a team back here to inspect it. We are after all paying for this shitty p water so I think they at least owe us that.

Other solutions are welcome

[grumpyoldman]

A deep bore is definately out of the question. I will demand some answers and an inspection from the water department. Heading over there on monday and dragging a team back here to inspect it. We are after all paying for this shitty p water so I think they at least owe us that.

Other solutions are welcome

Move over to Nai Harn, Rawai area.

The water coming out of my well now is so clear, I'm pretty sure you could drink it.

[katabeachbum]

The improvements on Chalong water supply was SMS to me by Land & House on June 21st.

The brown water is a result of repairs, and it can take a while to get it clear if many neighboring properties are vacant.

A storage tank 2m3 is IMHO a minimum for any home in LOS, and a pump to achieve acceptable pressure. Brown sh-t remains on the bottom of tank, and outlet is higher providing cleaner water. Just open the bottom valve on occasions to flush out the brown (soil and iron).

Next step to achieve cleaner water is to install a filter.

A deep well provides rather clean water, and a waterguaranteed well can be done for 150k included (bl--dy expensive) pump, piping and 30k license.

When you think watersupply is clear again, remember to clean all taps sills as they are full of brown stuff

[katabeachbum]

A deep bore is definately out of the question. I will demand some answers and an inspection from the water department. Heading over there on monday and dragging a team back here to inspect it. We are after all paying for this shitty p water so I think they at least owe us that.

Other solutions are welcome

They will probably suggest you to be disconnected if you are not happy with the quality of water they supply

[wtk]

I got a note saying that the government water supply will be closed for 3-4 weeks or until they fix their lines for chalong/rawai. We called the water companys number to confirm I am surprised nobody has mentioned anything about this in the forums yet

[LivinLOS]

Alternatively, you can have a deep-bore drilled for the outrageous sum of 180,000 Bt which gives you three attempts to hit water.

We had so many problems last year that the messing with water trucks got to be too much and had a deep bore done.. Superb system, clean water, can fill a small swimming pool in a day, and cost 180k but I think they guaranteed to hit water for that..

Personally any way you can minimize use of Thai services and bring a service under your own control is a wise investment.

[Valentine]

When I went to Bangwad to enquire about the water supply in Chalong, after pressure problems for about a month, they told me the repairs would be finished in 2 days. As it turned out it took another week but pressure has been OK this past couple of days. One concern I have with the water are the heavy metals. Bore water consistently has iron in it throughout Phuket so it would seem government tap water would be safer as it comes from the dam although I do know the water authority does use some water from tin mines which contains heavy metals & many of the water trucks get their water from old tin mines.

[Thunderbird4ever]

Getting tired and upset about this water now. No public information from the water department and we dont know anything what this water contains. Its upsetting to see the lack of information from the water department.

Dirty water supplied from the government and they take light on this as it was only a minor issue. Well I dont think it is..

If problems for such a long period and they should get information out officially and tell people what meassures to take. Daily water samples, how long this will go on and where to get clean water from.

They should definatly not act like we are living 100 years ago.

In the past there were some issues but dirty water disapeared after just hours or one day, and on one occassion after one and a half day. I asumed it to be from some work on the pipes as clean water came back quickly.

This time it is different. Its now close to a week and the water smell like shit.

I had a talk with some neighbours yesterday and they all have the same problems. Installing a water holding tank and where the outlet is some inches up on the tank and it wont make a difference on this water. As you can see from the bottles the water is as dirty at the top of the bottle as on the bottom even when the bottles has been untouched for over a day. The sediments in this water dont sink to the bottom of anything.

One Thai neighbour said some house in Chalong are connected to Kathu as ours, and some to a place in Chalong.Chalong water supply does not have this problem. As long as the department has their pumps on and the preassure here has never been problem. Its rather the opposite with a very high preassure.

If you just add the stinky smell and here you got fridays water quality !

Here we are on mondays quality. Not very much better and the same smell. Actually at some time on Saturday the water was more dirty than this. Something between this and my first photo in thread.

Edited July 5, 2010 by Thunderbird4ever

[Thunderbird4ever]

Two days ago i went to water department in Kathu and had a talk with a female scientist. She said its the water reservoir in Chalong that is causing the problem and that they had a an accident there with some filters. She belived it to last one more week. I asked for information about all this to the public and the only thing she said was; Sorry we make for you next time..

She then told me she took water samples once a week. I told her she needed to take it everyday in this situation and get the info out in public. She only smiled and said sorry.

The first water i had today was better than in my previous posts, but then after two more hours something nasty came out.

This was different from the dirty water before as the sediments sank to the bottom within some hours

Its also worth mentioning that I talked to some girls down at the pier a couple of days ago who had got some skin rash after showering when their water was at its worst 4-5 days ago.

Here is todays water at its worst today

And with sediments sunk to the bottom

[merijn]

I live in Kathu and have government water and my own deep well.

Normally the water in Kathu is fine but when they work on the main pipe I will have dirty water for a day or so until everything is flushed out.

I tested the dirty water and it was mainly sediments. For this reason i put the water first in a holding tank and from there to the house.

Normally my house is connected to the government water and the deep well i use for my garden.

If required I can reroute my deep well water also to the house.

I would say that the deep well is the way to go, it is expensive to drill but you always guaranteed of plenty water supply for your house and garden.

[HDRIDER]

I live in Kathu and have government water and my own deep well.

Normally the water in Kathu is fine but when they work on the main pipe I will have dirty water for a day or so until everything is flushed out.

I tested the dirty water and it was mainly sediments. For this reason i put the water first in a holding tank and from there to the house.

Normally my house is connected to the government water and the deep well i use for my garden.

If required I can reroute my deep well water also to the house.

I would say that the deep well is the way to go, it is expensive to drill but you always guaranteed of plenty water supply for your house and garden.

Hi

I THINK i have the same setup as you, own well and also government water but i am only using water from government i have never used my own well, i have a filter behind the house but everything from well is turned off, do you have a company to look after your filter and the lines or do you do it yourself, if you have a contact to a good company to setup or check my lines i dont want to mess anything up, our public water here in Nai Harn is great and i pay around 200-500 B a month so maybe better just to use public water. Thanks

[Thunderbird4ever]

Had the water running for 5 hours yesterday and it looked clean but still the strong odour is there. This morning it was back to how it is every morning..brown and stinks. Quite nasty the brown stuff in my sink only after 30 min of water running out of my tap today. Phuket might have water shortage but someone have to drain this shit out. This water is no good use for anything else than watering gardens.

What do to and what happens if all residents are draining water like I am doing now?

Are other residents of Chalong still having this problem or is it just the upper parts going towards Kata?

Edited July 11, 2010 by Thunderbird4ever

[LivinLOS]

Had the water running for 5 hours yesterday and it looked clean but still the strong odour is there. This morning it was back to how it is every morning..brown and stinks. Quite nasty the brown stuff in my sink only after 30 min of water running out of my tap today. Phuket might have water shortage but someone have to drain this shit out. This water is no good use for anything else than watering gardens.

What do to and what happens if all residents are draining water like I am doing now?

Are other residents of Chalong still having this problem or is it just the upper parts going towards Kata?

Options that might help..

1) filtration

2) buying from water trucks

3) putting in a bore

Options that wont help

1) Posting on ThaiVisa

The water company really wont care.. Complaints just get ignored in the services dept's.. You need to take your own steps to solve it. Many of us suffer from water issues.. Where I am they changed some piping in Kathu and the pressure dropped so house supply became intermittent even with a tank. We suffered with it for a few months in the vain hope they would fix it, in retrospect all that waiting and suffering was simply wasted time and energy.

[merijn]

I live in Kathu and have government water and my own deep well.

Normally the water in Kathu is fine but when they work on the main pipe I will have dirty water for a day or so until everything is flushed out.

I tested the dirty water and it was mainly sediments. For this reason i put the water first in a holding tank and from there to the house.

Normally my house is connected to the government water and the deep well i use for my garden.

If required I can reroute my deep well water also to the house.

I would say that the deep well is the way to go, it is expensive to drill but you always guaranteed of plenty water supply for your house and garden.

Hi

I THINK i have the same setup as you, own well and also government water but i am only using water from government i have never used my own well, i have a filter behind the house but everything from well is turned off, do you have a company to look after your filter and the lines or do you do it yourself, if you have a contact to a good company to setup or check my lines i dont want to mess anything up, our public water here in Nai Harn is great and i pay around 200-500 B a month so maybe better just to use public water. Thanks

When the deep well was drilled and the water was tested in a laboratory it was found out that my water had a lot of iron in the water and the ph was vey low. ( for the rest it was perfect )

The reason for the iron was the fact that I live above an area with a lot of tin/metal in the ground and they had to drill through granite to find enough water.

Originally I used a “respectable” farang water filtration company to come up with a design for a filtration installation to remove the iron and to increase the PH level.

They installed everything but it was not working, basically they did not had a <deleted>…ing clue what they were talking about.

After a lot of fighting I ripped everything out and installed the filters and ph adjuster myself, complete with a automatic backwash and pump control system. ( I’m original a electrical engineer by trade ).

The water is now fine and I use it for my 1 Rai garden and the government for the house.

But if required I can connect my well water to the house and the other way around.

[katabeachbum]

Had the water running for 5 hours yesterday and it looked clean but still the strong odour is there. This morning it was back to how it is every morning..brown and stinks. Quite nasty the brown stuff in my sink only after 30 min of water running out of my tap today. Phuket might have water shortage but someone have to drain this shit out. This water is no good use for anything else than watering gardens.

What do to and what happens if all residents are draining water like I am doing now?

Are other residents of Chalong still having this problem or is it just the upper parts going towards Kata?

More than 50% of people in Phuket does not have public water supply at all. Guessing watersupply to the majority of Phukets population gets priority, before trying to satisfy one farang.

Those who are lucky enough to have public water, just need to treat it before using it.

My 80 meter deep well supplies several houses, and a few days ago we treated tanks with chlorine to keep our supply clean. Lucky us, we have water:)

Thinking of it, only 2 of my properties have public supply. Of course they have tank and pump making it possible to treat water to our quality standard

[LivinLOS]

You still seem to think that ranting online will help.. It wont.. Take steps to solve your own problem.

I too am in a rental house.. Still needed water, so a bore was the way.

If your only prepared to move, then thats your option.

[katabeachbum]

Seems that you as much as your friend LivinLOS have some awkward banana comments to this.

And lucky enough to have public water.. what are you talking about. I dont think we are talking a bamboo hut life up on Big Buddha hill. Rather one of the most populated areas on this part of the island.

Since I v never met LivinLOS, he s not my friend. Only in your mind

Here in Tambor Karon not even a third of the houses have public water, wether they cost 1 million or 70 million baht. So we simply envy you and your public watersupply. Even if the water is not perfect, we would all still like to have it supplied at only 10-11 baht m3. Treating it after supplied is inexpensive and simple

You ask for advice on Thai Visa, but dont really want it from posters with water experience. Up to you

[HDRIDER]

Options that might help..

1) filtration

2) buying from water trucks

3) putting in a bore

Options that wont help

1) Posting on ThaiVisa

The water company really wont care.. Complaints just get ignored in the services dept's.. You need to take your own steps to solve it. Many of us suffer from water issues.. Where I am they changed some piping in Kathu and the pressure dropped so house supply became intermittent even with a tank. We suffered with it for a few months in the vain hope they would fix it, in retrospect all that waiting and suffering was simply wasted time and energy.

Well, if you think I expect clean water out of my tap because I post on Thai Visa, I think this says a lot more about you than me.

I am posting here as everyone else, to exchange information, get some tips, hear if someone else knows whats going on. You can see in the beginnning of this thread that posters had no clue what was the reason for this dirty water. I guess you didnt know either. So please leave out weirdo comments like that in the future.

More than 50% of people in Phuket does not have public water supply at all. Guessing watersupply to the majority of Phukets population gets priority, before trying to satisfy one farang.

Those who are lucky enough to have public water, just need to treat it before using it.

I dont think this is about satisfying one farang. Seems that you as much as your friend LivinLOS have some awkward banana comments to this. This is about the whole village and many more areas around here. Its 80% thais only in this village.

And lucky enough to have public water.. what are you talking about. I dont think we are talking a bamboo hut life up on Big Buddha hill. Rather one of the most populated areas on this part of the island.

Drill and bore is out of the question as I am in a rental house. And if there is something I couldnt be more happy about when living in Phuket these days, it is just that. Just pack up and move if you dont like your neighbours, Phuket or your water!

As much as I am looking for more info on this whole situation it is also useful for others who wants to come and live on the island or here in Chalong. Ignorant water department and dirty water and yes I wish Phuket with all its other problems on the arise good luck in the future.

Hi

Easy Tiger people try to help you

Get a filter installed, it’s not that expensive, i use reverse osmosis, only for my fridge. Cold water and ice machine but it delivers enough so you can use it for all your need for food and drinking water. Cost around 8.000 and up

Get a bigger filter installed where your main water comes in, also inexpensive and you can take it with you when you move, easy and everything can be done in 1 day and you don’t need to be grumpy anymore, easy yes??

[grumpyoldman]

Seems that you as much as your friend LivinLOS have some awkward banana comments to this.

And lucky enough to have public water.. what are you talking about. I dont think we are talking a bamboo hut life up on Big Buddha hill. Rather one of the most populated areas on this part of the island.

Since I v never met LivinLOS, he s not my friend. Only in your mind

Here in Tambor Karon not even a third of the houses have public water, wether they cost 1 million or 70 million baht. So we simply envy you and your public watersupply. Even if the water is not perfect, we would all still like to have it supplied at only 10-11 baht m3. Treating it after supplied is inexpensive and simple

You ask for advice on Thai Visa, but dont really want it from posters with water experience. Up to you

OP I think the first mistake is trusting that "a public water" system here in Thailand would work perfectly. As we all know, part of life living here is that nothing works perfectly. Gets real windy, my power goes out, a couple weeks ago I had no trash pickup in my neighborhood for about two weeks as the trash truck was down, etc., etc., etc.

So I think your fellow TV posters have pretty much given you your options. My opinion is, that probably somewhere around you they have been working on the pipes and mud is getting in there, who knows, two weeks from now maybe the work will be done and it will clear up. Amazing Thailand !

Anyway, best of luck with the situation.

[steelepulse]

I agree with HDRIDER. Pay up and get your own filter. Sorted.

[LivinginKata]

Ok folks, everyone calm down. A number of flaming remarks have been removed and one post flaming other members has been deleted. Please keep your replies and suggestions in the realm of practical solutions. Thank you.

[Valentine]

I am just happy to have good water pressure again although I must admit it is a bit smelly but does not appear to have any sediment in it.

[Kimera]

I have enquired of the (goverment) re. a bore hole told not possible here on Phuket! all you people with bore holes, are they bore holes or wells?