Drinking water I litre -1 baht. Is this water really drinkable?

[Ulic]

I use the machines that say reverse osmosis/ UV filter. Never had a problem the last 5 months. I drink about 2-2.5 litres a day.

never had an issue. I also eat from the food carts and market stalls. No issues there either.

[biggles45]

"been drinking tap water for more than 10 years in kpgn, never got any problem."

Same for me, in Pattaya I always used the tap water with no ill effects. They installed a coin machine downstairs and the GF likes to use it, tho I am not convinced its any better. She is filipina so I would have thought she could drink just about any water with no problems !!

[siamjimi]

I roommate’d with a suposed freind a short time back - actually providing him access to my well established home and my amenities bcoz it was his first arrival and experience in Thailand. I wanted to let him get himself acquainted with the place before committing to move onward to other accommodations.

I will never EVER do that again. We ended up with petty BS going on – misappropriating my belongings and supplying their intended move at the end of our agreed separation of roommate status if you know what I mean

My point about the water is - He and his GF were replacing the store bought water I buy in bulk with that of the sidewalk machines - refilling the larger plastic bottles at the sidewalk machines. If you set a bottle of the machine water next to store bought you see a readily recognizable quite dark shade of yellow color difference.

Doesn't it make sense there are specialized filters and other process that should be utilized that the small machines on the sidewalk cannot provide.

That’s why I buy nothing other than Chang, Coca-Cola or other major water supplier brands.

[craigt3365]

This topic comes up all the time. Here's where we discussed it before. Specifically an article I found interesting:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/385634-bottled-water-is-it-safe/#entry3768711

“The raw water that the drinking water companies use is taken from the same sources as the public tap water: Thailand’s rivers and canals. The only difference is in the treatment,” Suksom said.

“The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) treats tap water in conventional ways, by filtering out turbidity [suspended particles] and disinfecting with chlorine to remove toxic bacteria.” Although the MWA sets and enforces standards for tap water in Bangkok, the standards do not approach WHO or other international water quality standards. Outside Bangkok, water treatment comes under the aegis of the Provincial Waterworks Authority, whose standards are even lower, according to Suksom.

“The quality of tap water in Bangkok further suffers in neighbourhoods far from the pumping station where standpipe pressures may be low, making them susceptible to outside contamination, both industrial and organic, when pipes leak.

“Individual buildings may also have rusting pipes or pipe fittings, increasing turbidity and metal contamination. Furthermore, owners often build systems that store tap water in large tanks, where the supply can stagnate and breed bacteria.”

As you can see, the MWA doesn't really treat the water that much. And even if it is drinkable, who knows what happens to it after it leaves the treatment plant...as mentioned above.

Since the water comes from canals and rivers, this article is worth reading:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/571167-just-one-fifth-of-wastewater-in-thailand-is-being-treated/

"Every day, communities, factories and farms release 14.8 million cubic metres of wastewater," Pollution Control Department director general Wichien Jungrungruang said. "Of that amount, only 3.2 million goes into the proper treatment systems."

I'd rather take my chances with bottles that utilize multiple treatment methods as opposed to a street side booth or just drinking tap water. If you do drink tap water, at least let it sit over night so things can settle a bit.

[Paangjang]

Tap water when it leaves the plant is drinkable. The slot machines are supposed to have a filter and UV light but often they are not working. Safest is to put the water in the sun in clear one litre plastic bottles for an hour or two if you are worried.

THe bottled water thing is more to show you have money unless you happen to live in a place where the water does not taste good. (Adelaide in Australia for example.)

the forgoing assumes you use piped water. well water that may be used in a condo has not been treated though the plastic bottle trick will kill almost all nasties.

Google Plastic water bottles cancer risk. Basically plastic bottles are safe however, don't leave your plastic water bottle in the sun or a hot car etc. This has been proven, bad idea to drink the water after its been in a warm plastic container.

You know more than the World Health Organization about safe water do you?

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/wsh0207/en/index4.html

No i imagine i don't. Calm down pops. It wasn't me doing the research. I was just saying theres some interesting things on google regarding the topic.

Why are you so bitter? I never claimed to know more than the W.H.O.

Is it me or does Thailand attract some right weirdo's? Relax!

Edited November 10, 2013 by Paangjang

[harrry]

Tap water when it leaves the plant is drinkable. The slot machines are supposed to have a filter and UV light but often they are not working. Safest is to put the water in the sun in clear one litre plastic bottles for an hour or two if you are worried.

THe bottled water thing is more to show you have money unless you happen to live in a place where the water does not taste good. (Adelaide in Australia for example.)

the forgoing assumes you use piped water. well water that may be used in a condo has not been treated though the plastic bottle trick will kill almost all nasties.

Google Plastic water bottles cancer risk. Basically plastic bottles are safe however, don't leave your plastic water bottle in the sun or a hot car etc. This has been proven, bad idea to drink the water after its been in a warm plastic container.

You know more than the World Health Organization about safe water do you?

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/wsh0207/en/index4.html

No i imagine i don't. Calm down pops. It wasn't me doing the research. I was just saying theres some interesting things on google regarding the topic.

Why are you so bitter? I never claimed to know more than the W.H.O.

Is it me or does Thailand attract some right weirdo's? Relax!

Yes it was you doing the research. It was you who said "don't leave your plastic water bottle in the sun ". The total opposite of the WHO advice.

[stickylies]

12bt for 20 liters in white drums delivered at my house. i think the water is of the same type as the reverse osmosis/Uv/whatever. never been sick but only like it ice-cold (the taste).

[passedout]

"Yes it was you doing the research. It was you who said "don't leave your plastic water bottle in the sun ". The total opposite of the WHO advice."

Interesting article the one in the WHO site. Leaving plastic water bottles in the sun or heat may well kill extra bacteria contained in the water but I thought the point that harry was making was about chemical like BPA leeching from the plastic bottle into the water. BPA is a known hormone disruptor and it’s also contained in most can lining and Teflon pans.

http://www.naturalnews.com/041912_bpa_fetal_exposure_contamination.html

[Andre0720]

Many purifying sytems are based on reverse osmosis. Pure water.

One fellow in Rawai posted last year his findings. He had a way to test the water quality.

He claimed that collecting rain water, and boiling it, was the best water possible here.

Another test showed that ...but not sure if I can refer to that test...

But someone did before...

[MrRed]

After reading this thread i understand why i just drink beer now

[oldsailor35]

I buy mine in 20 ltr bottles for 25 bht. Never had any problem.

[Emdog]

i use the cheap machines and having been using them for about 12 years, no problem. What are these people worried about? Far more likely to get run over! How did humans ever last long enough to evolve considering bottled water is a recent invention? I went to India back when there was no bottled water (1984), decided I would just start drinking the local tap offering, get some activated charcoal and wait to adapt, which wasn't bad. If one worries about all this, might as well live in some bubble in my opinion.

[PoorSucker]

I buy mine in 20 ltr bottles for 25 bht. Never had any problem.

I pay 10 baht / 20 l. bottle.

[samuijimmy]

I've used the 20 litre bottles, for years both on KP and Samui, never had an issue. with the water, for drinking. .. 15 baht delivered to the door... I just phone it is delivered usually within 1/2 hour! (You pay 100 baht initial deposit on the bottles.... ) ...

^ I agree with the last sentence above from Emdog!

I was paying 10 baht until a few months ago, for almost 5 years .... I know Thai's that pay the same price... some companies probably vary!

Edited November 10, 2013 by samuijimmy

[notmyself]

I buy mine in 20 ltr bottles for 25 bht. Never had any problem.

I pay 10 baht / 20 l. bottle.

Damn that is a good price. I pay equal or at times less because they can't be bothered arguing for most things. When it comes to drinking water and rice I don't have a chance. I pay 14 Baht and they pay 7.

[bartender100]

We should all think how lucky we are to have access to clean drinking water wherever we are, and what ever machine it comes out off, many millions of people in the world still don't.

[Bpuumike]

I use it for cooking and boiling for tea & coffee but still prefer some branded bottles in the fridge.

Probably unnecessary paranoia.

I do seem to get through a lot of Lomotil though.

[trihent]

There is NO regulation on these machines (up country) an owner could put paddy water into it and no one checks or would ever know. I don't use them and there is machine 300 m down the road and I know that THEY use the local bulk water service as a source and they are suspect also. Another machine near me uses water from the local system administered by the local Wat. Who can you trust. A "Branded" machine might be ok upcountry there are no regualtion

[goltec]

Rainwater is by far the best source of drinkingwater. but it needs to be treated to kill bacteria by boiling or with silver.

Drinking straight from the tap is very dangerous.

In Thailand every district or in many cases the vilages are responsable for their own waterpiping network and they either pump it up from a shallow well or from a lake, canal or pond which is for sure contaminated with bacteria, pesticides, fertilisers and other chemicals.

The water is filtered very basicly and if you are lucky it is treated with chlorine.

The chance that the water contains heavy metals and chemicals is very big.

The water that comes from the local piping network is most likely in one place completely diferent than in another place 2 km. further on.

So you never know with what kind of water these vending machines are fed with to begin with.

lately I asked a shop owner if I could take a look inside a vending machine that was standing in front of his shop.

The machine had the text on it: " softener an UV".

He opened the door for me and there was not even UV installed.

He also told me that the last time the machine was serviced was more than 1,5 year ago.

Maintenance in general is a thing that the Thai are not very good at as you can see all around you.

Drinking chlorinated water is very dangerous for your body. do a little googling on it.....

People who say that they drink straight from the tap and from these vending machines but ALSO from the big white bottles and never had any problems should know that all the chemicals you get inside your body build up and can cause serious health problems sooner or later on.

See it as smoking cigarettes.

there is to much to tell about the quality of water to tell here in a single post. contact me if you want to know more.

I have been installing rainwater harvesting- and reverse osmosis systems in rural schools since 2007. http://www.hoat.nl/en

on the website there is also a video I made about the water that is used in the pipingnetwork in the Isaan. it is called "DRINKING WATER IN NORTH-EAST THAILAND IN TWO PARTS"

[Tropicalevo]

This topic comes up all the time. Here's where we discussed it before. Specifically an article I found interesting:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/385634-bottled-water-is-it-safe/#entry3768711

“The raw water that the drinking water companies use is taken from the same sources as the public tap water: Thailand’s rivers and canals. The only difference is in the treatment,” Suksom said.

“The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) treats tap water in conventional ways, by filtering out turbidity [suspended particles] and disinfecting with chlorine to remove toxic bacteria.” Although the MWA sets and enforces standards for tap water in Bangkok, the standards do not approach WHO or other international water quality standards. Outside Bangkok, water treatment comes under the aegis of the Provincial Waterworks Authority, whose standards are even lower, according to Suksom.

“The quality of tap water in Bangkok further suffers in neighbourhoods far from the pumping station where standpipe pressures may be low, making them susceptible to outside contamination, both industrial and organic, when pipes leak.

“Individual buildings may also have rusting pipes or pipe fittings, increasing turbidity and metal contamination. Furthermore, owners often build systems that store tap water in large tanks, where the supply can stagnate and breed bacteria.”

As you can see, the MWA doesn't really treat the water that much. And even if it is drinkable, who knows what happens to it after it leaves the treatment plant...as mentioned above.

Since the water comes from canals and rivers, this article is worth reading:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/571167-just-one-fifth-of-wastewater-in-thailand-is-being-treated/

"Every day, communities, factories and farms release 14.8 million cubic metres of wastewater," Pollution Control Department director general Wichien Jungrungruang said. "Of that amount, only 3.2 million goes into the proper treatment systems."

I'd rather take my chances with bottles that utilize multiple treatment methods as opposed to a street side booth or just drinking tap water. If you do drink tap water, at least let it sit over night so things can settle a bit.

Luckily we do not have rivers or canals here on Samui.

We just a have a few streams with waterfalls - used for entertaining tourists.

(But all comments about rusting/leaking pipes and dodgy treatment plants is very relevant.)

The large majority of Samui tap water is ether from a well or from a catchment reservoir. A small quantity of water is provided by the desalination plant. I know of only one company that is bringing in 20 litre bottles of 'mineral water' from the mainland. A very few remote areas do take water direct from the streams. Usually local Thai families.

The government normally only supplies the reservoir water to the larger villages and towns that are close to a major road. Most of rest of us use wells - or water trucks (which get their water from the wells). I have not heard of anyone knowingly receiving water from the desalination plant. Maybe the local government?

So - when we all talk about 'drinking from the tap' there are two main sources of water on Samui - big difference in quality. Where I live we can only have well water. Most of us use this water untreated - a few use it filtered. In living here for 13 years, neither I or any of my neighbours/renters/holiday makers have had problems from using the well water. I prefer not to drink it (tastes yukkie and it smells) - but we always use it for cooking, brushing teeth, rinsing mouth/cups/glasses etc etc etc

Back to the OP - I have no idea where the source for the machine water is, but unless it comes from the government - it is definitely potable. As other posters have said - the biggest problem is more likely to be the machines themselves. If they are not regularly cleaned and serviced - the machine will most likely become the source of problems.

Regarding RO, distilled and desalinated water - I am a tad concerned. I was always under the impression that we should not drink this as it is too pure! This means that the water can remove natural minerals from your body - minerals that your body needs! That is what I have been told over the years - not sure if it is true. Most of the bottled water in Hong Kong was distilled when I lived there, and a few million people seemed to survive it OK???

A few of the larger hotels have private RO plants or desalination plants, but they recommend that guests use the bottled water.

Looking over this post and others in the forum - it seems that we are all of differing opinions regarding what water we drink - but most of us seemed to have survived. If in doubt - drink the brown water. This is 100% safe for sure. It can be found in bottles and cans labelled Leo, Chang, Singha, Archa etc etc

Edited November 11, 2013 by Tropicalevo

[craigt3365]

The water from our tap is normally clear, but many times a year, it's brown. I just don't trust our tap water. We live south of Pattaya. A lot of water in Pattaya comes from the reservoirs nearby. I've seen water buffalo in them, people changing their car's oil, etc. Ugh.

[jinners]

> The slot machines are supposed to have a filter and UV light but often they are not working.

Simple filters are not much use. Unless the filters are changed frequently, they do more harm than good as the bugs breed in the filter.

The better machines use Reverse Osmosis to purify the water. R.O. is the only thing which will remove dissolved solids (besides distillation).

But as before, so much dependes on how well (and how often) the machines are serviced......

Been drinking it since I came here, almost 3 years now, from the machines. But it is the RO machines, the one in my current condo has a tick label to confirm regular servicing and that it works.

[goltec]

> The slot machines are supposed to have a filter and UV light but often they are not working.

Simple filters are not much use. Unless the filters are changed frequently, they do more harm than good as the bugs breed in the filter.

The better machines use Reverse Osmosis to purify the water. R.O. is the only thing which will remove dissolved solids (besides distillation).

But as before, so much dependes on how well (and how often) the machines are serviced......

Been drinking it since I came here, almost 3 years now, from the machines. But it is the RO machines, the one in my current condo has a tick label to confirm regular servicing and that it works.

every R.O. system should be combined with UV, always.

before the actual R.O. system there should be a water softener with resin to remove the calcium from the water.

This resin should be regenerated with salt every now and then.

If not, the calcium will scale the R.O. membrane and the R.O. system might not be working properly soon.

If the water is chlorinated there should be a large carbon filter before the softener otherwise the chlorine will damage the resin and the calcium will not be removed.

and then finally...... after the R.O. system should always be a mineral cartridge installed to put the removed minerals back into the drinking water and to bring the PH back to 7 ,8 or 9.

Only then R.O. water is healthy to drink.

[jackflash]

Here's what you need. The latest development from science:

Magnetic Water !!!

[PoorSucker]

This one has been around for a while.
First seen during my college time in the US.

[bartender100]

I just don't like the taste of the machine water, I still buy 1 1/2 Lt bottles for drinking, use the machine for cooking

[Tchooptip]

12bt for 20 liters in white drums delivered at my house. i think the water is of the same type as the reverse osmosis/Uv/whatever. never been sick but only like it ice-cold (the taste).

15 Baht for the same white drums also delivered at my house...but OK I will not negotiate next week

[williamrobson]

We get the clear 20l bottles delivered and pay a whopping 40 baht. Tastes fine no idea why its more expensive its just what we have always bought. Any ideas what the difference is?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[samuijimmy]

We get the clear 20l bottles delivered and pay a whopping 40 baht. Tastes fine no idea why its more expensive its just what we have always bought. Any ideas what the difference is?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Try a different company, enough of them around in the different areas.... You'll need to pay the 100 baht deposit, for a new company bottle(s) .... although most will fill another companies bottle... up to you to clean it out.... 15 baht seems to be the norm around (Thai price)...

.... unless your name is Poorsucker... we all know he's special ...

Not sure if the old company you use will give you the deposit back... never had to try that!.... I've been happy with my suppliers since day one on Samui!

[oTwoPies]

> The slot machines are supposed to have a filter and UV light but often they are not working.

Simple filters are not much use. Unless the filters are changed frequently, they do more harm than good as the bugs breed in the filter.

The better machines use Reverse Osmosis to purify the water. R.O. is the only thing which will remove dissolved solids (besides distillation).

But as before, so much dependes on how well (and how often) the machines are serviced......

Apologies if this has already been mentioned but I cannot be bothered to read all of the posts................

Get yourself a TDS machine, dirt cheap, available in Thailand and a godsend for assessing the water purity from RO machines:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Water-Quality-Tester-Hydroponics/dp/B009HMVDNA

Jackflash is absolutely correct regarding servicing whilst the emphasis should be on 'how well'. Our hotel has an RO water purifying machine. I tested said machine with the TDS meter. Reading 95ppm. Hotel tap water reading was 70ppm. I informed the hotel management the RO filters need replacing. I happened to be walking out when the RO service guy arrived so being inquisitive, I watched. The filter tubes are clear and, apart from the carbon and RO filter, the filters should be white. The filter tubes were BLACK not dark brown but black. The hotel was 4 years old and obviously the machine had never been serviced. I was quite surprised by the manner in which the service guy operated. He replaced all the filters, except the RO, with one type of white filter. When I picked up a filter to examine, he even told me the filters were identical. The machine should have 4 different types of filter ranging from a coarse carbon to a fine white filter and of course a new RO membrane. The RO membrane is expensive (about 1500 baht) so this was not replaced.

I tested the water, after the machine had been serviced, and the TDS was now reading 110ppm. Worse than before the service. I made further inquiries and it appears the hotel uses an underground well for their tap water and only has a Thai water authority connection for the RO water machine hence the discrepancies.

When I informed the hotel management of my findings they promptly informed me my TDS machine was obviously broken. I know this is not the case as there is one brand of bottled water that reads 3ppm on my TDS machine. Also, we use RO water from a nearby shop where the owner changes the filters every 3 months. The TDS reading varies between 5 and 30ppm. Perfectly acceptable and good quality water.

Hope you find this useful