Building A Welll

[Dave Hounddriver]

Hi,   We have just purchased a plot in Dauin, Dumaguette. I would like to get a contractor to drill a borehole so we can ensure decent water supply.   Does anyone know of a company in the area that does such work. I'd like to drill, and line the hole so I can put a submersible pump down that I can run off solar pumping into an above ground storage tank.   Does anyone have recent prices for drilling? I presume it is by meter (foot?) with some sort of garantee on finding water and a garanteed flow rate?   What are prices and terms / conditions that are being paid else where?   I want to drill before we do any building / planning to make sure we dont end up with a bore hole in the middle of the driveway etc.   Do you need planning permit to drill? Other places I've lived / worked the state charges you per M3 of water you extract, even though you are not on the mains supply. Is this the case in the Philippines?   Any advice / comments / experience? Cheers   William

 

Sorry I cannot directly answer that question so I will open a separate topic about well water

 

I know of expats who have had wells drilled and been unhappy with the results.  The 'drillers' are usually a couple of lads with a tripod, rope and drill bit on the end.  Lift drill bit with rope.  Drop it into well. Lift and remove dirt. Repeat.

 

Unfortunately, I have not met anyone who has found good potable water using this method.  Its not 'poisoned' but it usually  has contamination by surface run off containing pee or salt water contamination from the sea.  The expats I know who have done it get water they use for toilets and laundry but not considered a decent water supply.  I hope your experience is different and I know there are lots of filipinos who drink water that would make me ill so if you are buying bottled water to drink then that well may be all you need.

 

Question:  Why not hook into municipal water and build a storage tank?  That is the common solution for low pressure or slow flow from municipal sources.

Edited May 3, 2015 by Dave Hounddriver

[Thomas]

Its not 'poisoned' but it usually has contamination by surface run off containing pee or salt water contamination from the sea. The expats I know who have done it get water they use for toilets and laundry but not considered a decent water supply.

Besides toilets, sea water, by being to close to the ocean or mangrove, make contaminated water even if drill and build the well corect.  But if the location is elsewhere, then problems normaly depend of the well isn't BUILD corect.

 

Here is a true story from Cambodia in how to NOT do it: :rolleyes:

( I have seen there are many wells with similar error in Phils.)

I building team was hired to make a huge well ment to support a hospital. It was big enough to have several builders in it at the same time. A Danish engineer told the build leader where and size, and left them to go to other build work, which he suppervised too, asuming they knew how to build a well.

When the engineer came back they had diged it in corect position, in corect enough size, covered the walls with bricks and it started geting water  - MUDDY water, because they hadn't made the walls any tight AT ALL, so the soil around didn't do any filtering at all...  :1 (103):

The engineer climbed down in the well and instructed how to adjust it, and the build leader said he understood. Then the engineer left to check other building. When he got back, then they had tighten the well EVERYWHERE, so no water couldn't get into it  :hystery:

Big confusion how to solve it, but then a clever of the WORKERS SKIPED listening to ORDERS and took a drill and made holes in the tight walls far down where FILTERED water could get in. Problem solved  :thumbsup:   :)

 

=Wells need TIGHT walls in the upper part some meters down  (How far down depend of soil type filtering capacity.)

 

In big parts of Phils it's EASY to get wells with water, except in regions where part of the year is dry, then better get a Water vein (corect expression?) finder to not need to drill/dig deep.  Some people are sensitive enough to find where the veins are by using e g a metal cloth hanger bend to 90 degrees, and in some places hints can be seen at the nature.   Then just make the well "anywhere" along that vein.

[RBM]

Would also endorse what Dave said. I know of several people whom have dug deep wells with mixed results. Ranging from disasterous waste of money to bad water. For sure there are success stories but not aware of them. A favorite is part way into the dig...sorry sir we never knew how Stoney the ground was must request higher payment. Or as one friend informed me, P80,000 into the dig they managed to have the drill stuck up in the hole never to be moved again.

[manofthecoldland]

    Three types of water where I live. #1 is for drinking and cooking. Highly filtered and zapped at water stations. Considered the most potable and safe at c. P20/5gal. We use it for drinking and cooking.

   #2 is metered municipal water line feed. Also considered safe and potable by most. c. P27/cu.m. We use it for dish washing, showers and sometimes on the plants, etc. We assume its safe and clean for those purposes and most locals drink it. .

   #3 is our well water. Piso cost is almost  zero (except for the work of  drawing it up by hand.) Good for colored clothes washing and rinsing, general dog washing,  dog bowl washing, lawn and garden watering, etc. Its treated with sunrock (clorox), white rock (local co-agulate)  and charcoal in the open well. Little cost. Relatively safe since we have no nearby neighbors and the septic and grey water system outlets are quite distant. 

   I like having a well. Saves money and gives me several minutes of light exercise when I fill the cistern/barrel. Its only 5 or 6 concrete sections deep, but only at the height of the dry season is it down to the last 1/2 meter. Thats when we have our regular handyman and helper bail it, dredge it and re-charge the system. Very quick. Tiny cost. 

  Good to have a well/cistern close to your dirty kitchen/laundry area if possible. 

   Initially it was a covered well with pump and elevated cistern to service the house, but it quickly became apparent that it was inadequate for our needs the way we had it set up, so the Mrs, had us hooked up to the metered lines. It all worked out for the best. 

   Advice: asses your various water needs and allocate resources accordingly when and if possible. 

[Jack Peterson]

 Not sure if I mentioned this before but in 2009/2010 we sank a bore Pipe, 27' they hit water at 20 feet but put the Extra  2 mtr in to ensure continuous flow.

We have a pretty High water table so it is constant, over these Years we have never run Dry

Now we have built our new Dirty Kitchen around the Pump so my Wife has water and Surfaces for just about anything. Odd We have no Photos yet but the monster is home so I will try and get some up to post.

Total cost  was about 35.000 peso For the Drill Work + Pump.

Washing with the Pump water has kept our line water to about 10/13 cubic a month which is Fine. Flower beds watered from the Pump, Lawn we use Line water when it is not Raining :hystery:

We had it tested and it was Pretty good result, ( Not quite Good enough for Drinking) [ but you can't have everything EH?]

 

Jack  :thumbsup:

[Gerald Glatt]

( Not quite Good enough for Drink

 

 

Do they use reverse osmosis in PI? Where we stay there is no need for a water softer but I understand some areas have hard water, are these used there? 

[Jack Peterson]

 

( Not quite Good enough for Drink

 

 

Do they use reverse osmosis in PI? Where we stay there is no need for a water softer but I understand some areas have hard water, are these used there? 

 

 Not a Clue my friend, They took a sample and we got back some sort of Report that basically said safe but not Potable, having said that, the water is Hard.

 

Jack :thumbsup:

 

Morning All. :morning1:

[Jack Peterson]

. Odd We have no Photos yet but the monster is home so I will try and get some up to post.

OK so now we have some Photos of the Area and the Pump. It ain't that Clean but then, it is the "Dirty Kitchen"

 

 

dirt

[intrepid]

Not a Clue my friend, They took a sample and we got back some sort of Report that basically said safe but not Potable, having said that, the water is Hard. Jack :thumbsup: Morning All. :morning1:

 

That's good to know.  I thought it was too hot all over the Philippines find hard water anywhere! I was teaching a rescue dive class some years back here in the north and some officers from Florida said they preferred diving with alligators to going under the hard water!  :hystery: I'll take the hard water over alligators any day!

[intrepid]

Jack,

Nice looking dirty kitchen.  What is the counter top made of?  In the pictures it looks shinny but I could not detect joints like tile.

danny