Water

[MJP]

So anyway up here in Issan, the groundwater wells' dry, has been for around six weeks. All the 10,000 litres of rainwater harvesting storage has been depleted. Now the mains water, which had been running at a really generous 40 litres a day has dried up too.

I've never known it this bad. Apparently whilst I was away last year there was no water for six weeks.

Anyone else in the same boat?

[kannot]

How deep's the well?? Mines 75 metres deep down here in Pranburi. Had it bored in the dry season last year

Last few years very dry but now Pranburi dam is VERY full after I think a record amount of rainfall the last few months.

I also have a large lake 8 metres deep.

Village water is the pits, yet Thailand really does have an abundance of water its just they dont manage it well

[MJP]

How deep's the well?? Mines 75 metres deep down here in Pranburi. Had it bored in the dry season last year

Last few years very dry but now Pranburi dam is VERY full after I think a record amount of rainfall the last few months.

I also have a large lake 8 metres deep.

Village water is the pits, yet Thailand really does have an abundance of water its just they dont manage it well

Only 17 metres. I wasn't here for the borehole and well installation, which is ironic because a lot of my job is groundwater remediation and hydrogeology. Said they got refusal at 17 metres.

I'm just amazed this situation has got worse. One month there's flooding so bad it kills hundreds of people, then the next month we're in a drought situation.

Catchments, spillways and reservoirs. Please!!!

Edited December 27, 2013 by MJP

[krisb]

It's about water and he asks if anyone else is in the same boat

Edited December 27, 2013 by krisb

[Somsrisonphimai]

You can redo the well again using the company that specializes in groundwater drilling, so your problem can be solved.

[MJP]

You can redo the well again using the company that specializes in groundwater drilling, so your problem can be solved.

I know, but . . .

They only have a solid stem continuous flight auger rig up here which is okay for softer ground but gets refusal (stops) at rock, at which point I need a tri-cone bit rig which is just not available up here. I did try to get one but was met with the usual no can do.

I have rigs in the UK back at the yard which would do it, but that's 6500 miles away.

Oh wait . . . waters coming now! I can hear dripping!

Nice one Somsri !!!

That's done the trick!

[Somsrisonphimai]

It is a pain when there is no running water. It happens in my village all the time, no running water for week. Luckily, my parents have a well at the house and they share water with people in village when the water stops running. Moving might be the option for you, yeah?

[MJP]

It is a pain when there is no running water. It happens in my village all the time, no running water for week. Luckily, my parents have a well at the house and they share water with people in village when the water stops running. Moving might be the option for you, yeah?

Nah, can't move. Been here 12 years. It's all good apart from the odd drought, which is only mildly bad of late. Kids in a great school, all their friends here, very nice friendly village, farms and rubber doing well. Perfectly stable.

During these periods I've managed to get just enough to wash the school uniforms and kids clothes and clean the kitchen, leave enough for the kids to wash. But after a day or so I do start to smell myself. It's mercifully cool at the moment.

[NeverSure]

10,000 liters of storage really isn't that much. I would want 3x that much if I had a less than optimum well. It's amazing how much water a household uses even when careful.

[kikoman]

We store rainwater then filter it for drinking, also use village system that has been great for about 9 years (no pro-long down time, less then a day) my MIL has a well and we have a well in the rice fields.

I am in the process of installing a grey water system to reuse the wash water for watering our plants and lawn. The local river has never dried up, has gotten low but never dried up. We live outside of Nakhon Sawan.

Cheers

[Muhendis]

I had the same problem in Isaan last year Surface water well 6Mtr deep and getting a bit shallow. Lake 3mtr deep and dry. Called in the borehole people who went down 52Mtr to the deep water source and no problem since. The guys who drilled did everything right by lining the hole and checking water quantity/Hr. I can get 2.5 cubic metres/hr. Water quality is a bit minerally but extra filtering reduces that to an acceptable level.

[villagefarang]

Guess I am lucky I live where I do in Phaya Mengrai. No water problems here.

[The Deerhunter]

It's about water and he asks if anyone else is in the same boat

Perhaps he knows how to make a pun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ozyjon]

It would be interesting for me to know what towns are affected as Issan covers the top third of Thailand,, i don't think everyone is affected, thank you all who posted the towns you live in.

[Pormax]

I live in Isaan in a village halfway between Nangrong & Prachonchai. Been her 3 years and never had a problem with water. My village and 4 other small villages near us have the facility for mains water supply but decided many years ago to disconnct it as they did not want it. I think the attitude was, why pay for water when they can use deep wells to get it free and with no disruptions.

We use a lot of water as we have a very large garden and orchard.

There doesn't seem to be a water shortage here as many of the nearby lakes are still very high in volume, in fact we recently bought a submersible pump to take some water out of the lake which is about 40 metres from our property and used the water on the garden/orchard as the lake was so high that the water was still flooding the nearby area and doesn't seem to be drying out.

Maybe the Op is just unlucky where he is. If he is having problems now, then what can he expect now the dry season is here?

[lockman]

I'm over by Mukdahan, mine was drilled 6 years ago at the end of the dry season, 47? meters. They also hit rock, 1st place, couldn't get through, 2nd try, just kept resharpening and adding more to the bit, 3-4 days to go through rock, and nothing below but water. Villages around me have had wells go dry every year, and I knew that (reason for own well) mine never. Yea has a few minerals, which I filter for the house, otherwise not filtered for watering plants and stuff. Have a 20GPM submersable pump, has ran full bore before for 3 days, no problems but overflowing paddy. Well was lined with PVC down to rock. And believe me it was really a rinky-dink well drilling system. Oh, boring rock, someone sits on top to add weight to bit.

[Muhendis]

It would be interesting for me to know what towns are affected as Issan covers the top third of Thailand,, i don't think everyone is affected, thank you all who posted the towns you live in.

Sorry I forgot to mention, I'm about 17Km north of Buri Ram Mueng

[MJP]

It would be interesting for me to know what towns are affected as Issan covers the top third of Thailand,, i don't think everyone is affected, thank you all who posted the towns you live in.

It could be just a local issue over water tanks or the local headman being very conservative with water going into the dry season, which is no bad thing. I've no idea and can't get any information out of anyone.

This is 60km north of Roi-Et as the crow flies.

[nongsangcity]

Here in rural sakhon...village water was terrible....no water for 3 months may-july.....then 5 mins in the morning and 10 mins in the evening....decided to drill down...35 mts deep well and pump system.....been running 5 months now and touch wood up to now every thing has been fine......drilling cost 5000 bht and took 6 hours, pump cost 7200 bht and about 400 bht for wire and electrician ...the best money I have spent in a while....

Edited December 28, 2013 by nongsangcity

[MJP]

Here in rural sakhon...village water was terrible....no water for 3 months may-july.....then 5 mins in the morning and 10 mins in the evening....decided to drill down...35 mts deep well and pump system.....been running 5 months now and touch wood up to now every thing has been fine......drilling cost 5000 bht and took 6 hours, pump cost 7200 bht and about 400 bht for wire and electrician ...the best money I have spent in a while....

I know, if only I could get deeper. The drillers simply won't drill past 17 metres here where they hit refusal at the bedrock horizon so no one seems to know the specific yield of lower aquifers or whether they're under artesian pressure.

Doin' my head in.

[Muhendis]

A few more details on my water supply.

I am in an isolated location about 1 kM from the nearest village. Water and electricity do not come out to me so I have to DIY on everything. Thankfully there is no town supply of what passes as water and my home made electricity is more stable than the village supply (as long as the sun shines for a few hours every day).

My bore hole supply comes under sufficient pressure to push it to within 3 Metres of ground level so I don't use a submersed pump. The hole was drilled, as I say, to a depth of 52 Metres and the last five metres or so the guys were drilling through shale which looked a bit coppery.

[MJP]

A few more details on my water supply.

I am in an isolated location about 1 kM from the nearest village. Water and electricity do not come out to me so I have to DIY on everything. Thankfully there is no town supply of what passes as water and my home made electricity is more stable than the village supply (as long as the sun shines for a few hours every day).

My bore hole supply comes under sufficient pressure to push it to within 3 Metres of ground level so I don't use a submersed pump. The hole was drilled, as I say, to a depth of 52 Metres and the last five metres or so the guys were drilling through shale which looked a bit coppery.

Yes, you have drilled into an artesian formation. This is what I need.

One thing though, this groundwater may be quite salty and this has been blamed in the past for reducing crop yields as the salinity in agricultural soils rises and osmotic pressure in the root zone increases affecting plants which are not so halotolerant.

[krisb]

It's about water and he asks if anyone else is in the same boat

Perhaps he knows how to make a pun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm in oar!

[Muhendis]

A few more details on my water supply.

I am in an isolated location about 1 kM from the nearest village. Water and electricity do not come out to me so I have to DIY on everything. Thankfully there is no town supply of what passes as water and my home made electricity is more stable than the village supply (as long as the sun shines for a few hours every day).

My bore hole supply comes under sufficient pressure to push it to within 3 Metres of ground level so I don't use a submersed pump. The hole was drilled, as I say, to a depth of 52 Metres and the last five metres or so the guys were drilling through shale which looked a bit coppery.

Yes, you have drilled into an artesian formation. This is what I need.

One thing though, this groundwater may be quite salty and this has been blamed in the past for reducing crop yields as the salinity in agricultural soils rises and osmotic pressure in the root zone increases affecting plants which are not so halotolerant.

I agree with your comments re. salinity. The water is not overly salty but it has a fair amount of magnesium and iron ions in suspension. It was necessary to increase the filter units to cope with that also there is an unwelcome white residue left when the bore hole water is used for domestic supply. Preference is for the 6Metre well water when available. For irrigation there is no problem with the bore hole water although I am a little nervous about the long term effect of the minerals building up in the soil.

[risky11]

This sounds like a golden opportunity for someone who is willing to buy the proper drilling equipment. Might even get a governemnt grant to finance it!

[Boksida]

This sounds like a golden opportunity for someone who is willing to buy the proper drilling equipment. Might even get a governemnt grant to finance it!

I wouldn't recommend it. Thailand has the highest population of water well drilling rigs I have seen anywhere. Many government departments have them - to name a few:

Department of Groundwater Resources (DGR)

Royal Irrigation Department

Royal Thai Army

Department of Health

Disaster Relief Division

EGAT

Department of Public Works

and so on.

Most of these buy a few new rigs every year and the older ones are eventually 'recycled' into the private sector. There are scores of independent contractors with rig fleet sizes ranging from 1 to 10 units. I know one Australian supplier who has sold over 40 water well rigs in Thailand.

The DGR publishes hydrogeological maps for the whole country using the data from thousands of well to show different aquifers and expected depths and yields. As far as I know, there is a DGR office in Amphur Muang of every province and they can be a good first point of contact to get information on specific areas and local contractors.

[Nignoy]

It is a pain when there is no running water. It happens in my village all the time, no running water for week. Luckily, my parents have a well at the house and they share water with people in village when the water stops running. Moving might be the option for you, yeah?

Nah, can't move. Been here 12 years. It's all good apart from the odd drought, which is only mildly bad of late. Kids in a great school, all their friends here, very nice friendly village, farms and rubber doing well. Perfectly stable.

During these periods I've managed to get just enough to wash the school uniforms and kids clothes and clean the kitchen, leave enough for the kids to wash. But after a day or so I do start to smell myself. It's mercifully cool at the moment.

why don't you add more rain water tanks, part of our family live at Roma gateway to the outback, some times it goes years without rain, town and bore water stink of sulphur and taste like crap ,everyone saves rainwater,we have no problems, this year all of our tanks overflowed so no problems for 2014,

[MJP]

It is a pain when there is no running water. It happens in my village all the time, no running water for week. Luckily, my parents have a well at the house and they share water with people in village when the water stops running. Moving might be the option for you, yeah?

Nah, can't move. Been here 12 years. It's all good apart from the odd drought, which is only mildly bad of late. Kids in a great school, all their friends here, very nice friendly village, farms and rubber doing well. Perfectly stable.

During these periods I've managed to get just enough to wash the school uniforms and kids clothes and clean the kitchen, leave enough for the kids to wash. But after a day or so I do start to smell myself. It's mercifully cool at the moment.

why don't you add more rain water tanks, part of our family live at Roma gateway to the outback, some times it goes years without rain, town and bore water stink of sulphur and taste like crap ,everyone saves rainwater,we have no problems, this year all of our tanks overflowed so no problems for 2014,

I need to build a better above ground storage system. At the moment I've got a rainwater harvesting system that includes soakaways right under the Thai jars using concrete rings going down six metres to put excess water straight back into the unconfined aquifer and prevent run-off to hardstanding and consequent loss through evaporation.

Could double the present above ground capacity and need to fix the mains water storage tank, although right now the mains water is coming through with a high colloidal load which increases the risk of a higher microbial count and risk of pathogens too. So need to build a treatment process.

Edited December 31, 2013 by MJP

[Nignoy]

nam fun is always the best way to go, and a decent filtering system, everyone laughed when we refused to have town water connected in 1992, but the new owners of our property still have no town water and never have a problem!!