Getting Rid of Dirty Water

Friday brought quite a shock to the system.  Not my system particularly but the water system in Kathu just over the hill from Patong in Phuket.  Now you should know that Phuket has a potable or drinkable water supply system and it has to be said that most of the time the water supply is pretty good assuming you accept the very frequent though short interruptions caused by cars or bikes smashing the pipework somewhere or just plain old pipes fracturing.  Now water is not something in short supply in Phuket most of the time given the amount of rain that falls.  The island does have a reservoir in Kathu but with the surge in population on the island over the last few years I fear it is now under capacity.  So if there is any break in the water system off goes the supply.

Anyway I have installed a tank now to store a day or so worth of water which is pumped into the house having beed fed up with not being able to shower one too many times.  That is OK and if you are living here or renting a house you are well advised to ensure it has a storage tank otherwise you will find yourself cursing when you can’t flush the toilet or do the washing up etc.  I have also installed a pretty large filter system which serves the entire water supply to the house save for the downstairs loo which is supplied direct from the city water supply.
On Friday I was chilling out downstairs and so went to use said loo.

Phuket Water Problem

Looking into the bowl my anger started to rise against two of my three boys thinking they had once again failed to listen to Dad and flush the loo.  However closer inspection was necessary since the problem did not disappear after flushing.

So next I thought I’d run the tap.  Hmm well I don;t fancy drinking that.  Come to think of it I don’t think I would like to shower under it either.

I wouldn't wash in this let alone drink it

So the moral of the story for anyone thinking of staying in this wonderful island is to make sure your house is fitted with a decent water filter system.  I bought mine from Home Pro in the Tesco complex.  It is just a simple but large carbon filter.

However as we also use tap water for ice (we have one of those fridges that connects to the water supply) and making tea and cooking vegetables etc., we also have a small osmosis system under the kitchen sink.  I haven’t a clue how it works but the water that it produces is clean, clear and tastes quite OK.

Just in case you are interested I thought I’d show you the filter systems I have installed shown in the pics below.  Now you know why most people buy bottled water to drink.

This is a carbon based filter that strips impurities - drinkable output

So basically the system I have is an underground tank fed by the city mains to provide some storage to bide us over the times when the water is not available – a couple of days worth 1000 litres if you’re careful for a family of 4.  Then the water is pumped into the pressurised filter tank which has carbon granules to filter the water.  The pressurised bit is good so that you don’t end up with water running hot and cold in the shower as you are showering.  Anyway that serves the house and then we have the supplementary second stage filter to purify it more before we get to ingest it via ice or cups of tea or whatever.

This is a low volume drinking water filter

It all works great unless the electric fails – which is another fairly frequent occurrence.  If that happens it is off to the downstairs loo where the city water is hopefully still on and the hot water tank hopefully still has a little hot water left.  Well actually even if the hot water is cooled it is no big think because the water is generally at a pretty lukewarm temparature anyway given the temperatures most of the year here in the wonderful island of Phuket.