Buying a property in Bali : Water

Due to low pressure and flow rate of public water distribution many properties have water tank for storage.

Many houses are not connect to the distribution web and has only "deep well"

Well

Ask to the owner/ seller where is and how deep is.

The well area must be clean, far away from septic tanks, rubbish storage and chemicals storage.

Well casing must be above the land surface and protected.

If there is an outside pump, check for pump function and check the pump status. If you are lucky, you can find a label on the pump with the characteristic or the model and check on internet the real performances. Here, most of the people declare that they have very deep well. But after, I saw very small jet pump that have a low suction power (it means about 15 meter deep).

If it is a dug well you can open and measure it.

Ask to the neighbor about water availability and problem. Check also activity in your area: a small chrome plating or a Bengkel (means kind services for cars , irons, and some other irons and paintings services) can pollute with very dangerous chemicals the area.

Water tank

Check it in your house.

The funny thing is that many privates are now installing high quality SS or food grade plastic, but many public places still have concrete open tank.

Open means that they have a simple cover, sometimes in asbestos that allow all the possible contamination. (Are exposed to cats, monkeys, insects, reptiles, dust and airborne contamination.

Concrete is also lined with some paint (Food grade)??

Water Quality Problems with Tanks and Cisterns

All the water, even high quality treated potable water, will deteriorate in water storage tanks and cisterns. Some types of changes for longer storage time are:

• Loss of disinfection residual by chlorine depletion, resulting in microbial re-
• organic and inorganic matter (e.g. iron, manganese, calcium, magnesium, hydrogen sulphide, dissolved organic carbon, etc.);
• Increasing concentrations of disinfection by-products such as trihalomethanes when chlorine reacts with organic matter;
• Contamination and biodegradation from living organisms such as insects, rodents, reptiles, birds, etc. that crawl or fall into the water;
• Internal contaminants added to the water from an improper, dirty or corroding cistern/tank;
• Algal growth may form toxins from cyanobacteria, and will also cause problems with taste, odor, clogging of water treatment equipment, and increased organic content, and generally impair water quality and safety;
• Microbial contamination and growth of microorganisms causing biofouling of the water tank and pipe walls;
• Contamination from air borne particulate or living organisms or their waste products;

Maintaining water quality during storage requires several key steps.

Cisterns and storage tanks must be properly sized, strategically located and well-constructed.

On a regular frequency, cisterns and tanks must be visually inspected, properly operated and maintained, and periodically cleaned and disinfected.

Water tank level control.

Check or ask also if the water tank has automatic level control for the refill. It's possible to find system with manual refill. Means for example, when in the middle of the night you need to go to start the well pump because the water is finish!!

Water tower.

Installing 1 or 2 tons of water tank on a structure require a good and calculated structure.

Here is a seismic area and during last earthquake the one that I find in my house was oscillating as a crazy on the unique escape way of the house.

Water tank and pump, must be ground connected (the yellow green cable) to avoid shower electroshock.

Septic tank.

Ask to the owner/ seller where is and how big it is.

Check if there is a vent pipe and inspection opening.

Check and ask where the overflow is going (if any)

Check the overflow place (if any)

Check if there are some inspections well on the drainage line.

Ask about the maintenance done.

These questions can save you from bad odors and huge problem in case of plugging.

SECURITY: In a septic tank there is always gas formation as Methane, CO, CO2 and H2S.

Opening and inspect it, can be very dangerous due explosion and asphyxiate risks!!

Please note that someone is discharging the grey water in a corner of the garden.

Some time the septic tank could overflow in your lovely lush garden, so, your children may breathe nice bacteria...

Keep in mind that Septic tank requires some maintenance to avoid smells and problem and if you discharge in an open stream, you have to disinfect the outlet for the local law and to preserve the health of your family!

PIPING.

when you buy or rent for long term house, it will be important to verify the piping condition and the integrity of the system.

Most of the piping is in PVC U, a straight plastic that in many countries is banned for potable water.

Often, this non flexible piping, is installed underground without any protection or pipe way.

From broken pipe foreign material can enter in potable water system.

A non detected leakage can cause also severe damage to the building.

Here below extract from WHO ( world health organization) document:

PVC pipe

Contaminants that may leach from PVC material include phthalates used as a plasticizer, antioxidants such as phenols and aromatic amines, lead, cadmium and organotin compounds used as heat stabilizers, acrylic processing aids, and residual vinyl chloride monomer (VCM).