Advice on water reconnection

@cs75

i can message my neighour to ask her parents to speak to georgi if that helps. hes the village water chap. and hes lovely which helps. as long as you have google translate he will happily work with you yo get you sorted

you need water! you can happily fill up bottles at my place whenever you like in the meantime though.

Many thanks Suzi , that would be great if you could.  I'm getting by with bottled water at the moment , just would be so nice to have a running water especially after the state I got in yesterday!

    Many thanks Suzi , that would be great if you could.  I'm getting by with bottled water at the moment , just would be so nice to have a running water especially after the state I got in yesterday!
   

    -@cs75

ive messaged. shes usually very good at helping. so hopefully.

if you have an issue always shout. theres usually someone here thats happy to help. if you want to fill up bottles we are here all day. just let me know your coming so i can walk down and open the gate.

if you want to see the window guy hes here at some point today. im just waiting for him to let me know what time. you are welcome to ask if he can help you. i tried. he was out the gate the second i agreed for him to do the work

Hi Suzi thanks for popping by earlier

***

I'm here till about 4 so fingers crossed he might be around

Many thanks.

@cs75

Don't share personal details on the open forums. Shared them by sending a private message.

@cs75 well I hope you actually get some water when you get reconnected.    Ours was turned off ,  without warning today and expect very, very unreliable supply until September.  It gets worse every year.  ***.  Selling house and can’t wait to get out of this ****hole!!!

Hi all, it’s quite common for the water supply to go off unexpected ours is notorious for doing this. We get around it as installed a 1000 litre tank and pump set up which often fills at night when pressure often returns as less demand on the water infrastructure at that time and if it does go off gives us a few days water.

very simple to do but just make sure its all in an outbuilding thats insulated otherwise freezes in winter. Were planning to do same with our storm water too have plans for a 2000 litre tank for garden use maybe start that in spring next year.

rgds all ozzy

@Snowball6

Whilst I understand you are frustrated, would you mind sharing your experiences with us?

It would go a long way for others to be able to understand your situation and possible outcomes if they are ever in the same situation.

What area are you in?

What elevation are you at? (on a hill?)

How often has it happened?

Do you have alternative options available? (Your own borehole?)

What's your backup if this is a common occurrence?

I'd appreciate it if you could answer some of them, so I can get an idea of what to expect if I were to get my property connected up to the mains (if it's an option).

Thanks

Carl

@Ozzy183a

Funny enough Ozz, I was looking at water tanks a couple of nights ago, trying to work out what size is best, do I get a 1k-10k water tank and collect water for the off days or do I just stay off grid and get a massive tank 10k+, so conversations like this one is a good resource for myself, I know it's not a positive one at the moment but the information I'm getting is in my situation I might be better off just staying off grid and investing in my own system, rather than spending the resources investing in an unreliable connection to the grid (the house isn't connected yet, and I'm not even sure if it's available to my property).

@CarlS1986

It's rarely very expensive to get connected to mains water, and I'd say it was highly recommended. Water is not expensive here, so it's not as if you will save huge amounts of money by staying off grid.

Most places have water, and they have it without any major issues. Many of the folks who complain don't undertake the very simple (and fairly inexpensive) measure of adding a tank/pump combo to their system. Usually, the issue is low pressure times, rather than completely cut off. But the Bulgarian plumbing default is to connect directly to the incoming water main which is a problem when pressure is low, and has no resilience.

In our village, I'd say over 90% of the village have a separate well... but even so they use the mains for drinking water/household use, and the well is just for gardening.

If you have a good, working well, it might be OK to stay off-grid. But a lot of the older wells in village houses are pretty shallow, and it's now pretty common to drill a deeper borehole to replace it (couple of grand, I'd guess).

@CarlS1986

Hi,

Be careful with large water storage systems as if you do not get the water turnover in the vessel then legionella will build up which is extremely dangerous for health and can kill.   Get only a tank size which you know you can turnover in a few days max and keep it cool as possible especially in this heat. We have ours in a brick insulated outhouse and had it running now for year, so far so good. will be looking at solar options for supply soon as a back up in case of power cuts which do happen.

rgds ozzy

@Snowball6

Oh, goodness, that would be so frustrating!

Our house is halfway up a hill and has had issues with low water pressure. Ours sometimes becomes a trickle or stops entirely while our neighbour, at the bottom of the hill, still has a decent flow. 

I think before we move permanently we may need to look into setting up a back-up tank.

@gwynj

Thanks for the information, like Jane has said, I'm in a similar situation, my house is the last one at the top of the village / hamlet (quite remote) but I do have a proper borehole I believe, but I wasn't able to open the hatch due to no key and unable to find a way of opening it without braking the lid.

When I'm over next I have a lot of things to sort out as usual, but I still need to find someone in VT who is a guru with boreholes and water, hopefully they can visit and unlock it before carrying out an inspection for me, this will give me direction on what avenue to follow.

I couldn't see any points where water would be coming in, the only service I was able to verify was Electric.

I can't wait to get back out there, but currently having issues with work and dates and uncertainties.

@CarlS1986

Another thing to consider is how is the water treated/purified when it comes from the ground, do not assume its drinkable. Ph, nitrates, bacteria etc etc. can be present which all need treating before using it in domestic situations. I used to manage a large estate back in Uk and we had two boreholes  and so know what to expect. Make sure there is a licence in place too for this as understand that just like in the Uk where the EA was involved a lengthy process was in place to control such things, i think technically you need one here too plus like in uk a small charge is payable to the municipal.

rgds ozzy

Thanks for the info Ozzy, I will add this to the list of things to ask and do when I'm out next.

In regard to water quality, thanks for the heads-up, I'm aware of the process from extraction to consumption, and have operated a mobile reverse osmosis machine in places where you need essentially swamp water to become drinking water for large quantities of people, and how to maintain it so it doesn't end up with legionella and other waterborne disease.

I am still planning what system will best suit me going forward, in the meantime I have purchased bottled water from the supermarket to use and drunk from the local fountains/springs.

@CarlS1986

As you can't find the water inlet, I wonder if the locked hatch you described is covering the municipal water stopcock and water meter. I thought from the photos before buying our place what looked like it could be a well was a well, but turns out it's a very deep hole to keep the pipes below ground freeze level, with the meter and stopcock at the bottom. The metre reader has to use a magnifying glass on a pole to see the numbers.

It will be interesting for you to find out. I hope you do have a well there!

@CarlS1986

Lol years ago when our water went off before our pump sent up, our neighbour said fill your 10 litre bottles from the spring up the road which essentially was some kind of water main overflow, he worked for the water co so thought ok.

We did that and luckily boiled it before we used it as just before we returned to uk noticed something swimming in the 10 litre bottle upon closer inspection they were leaches, never again will i use such water other than for garden purposes. Such water just doesnt appeal to me somehow….

take care all.

ozzy

Dam Ozzy that's scary, I do tend to take notice of the local area before diving in lol, thanks for the information though.

Jane, it will be interesting to find out, I say it's a borehole as it looks well constructed and recent rather than an old typical well, I also have not found any pipes going to the house and everything is back to bare floor and walls, so I can't see it being that, also I'm at the top of the village and there is no infrastructure I can see above me on the hill (I'm almost at the top give 200m), but also it's quite a way in my property which where its placed is kinda out the way and in an awkward place for commercial infrastructure.

But ill let you know when I get the hatch open.

Here is a picture of the hatch if it helps.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-wAbap … sp=sharing

@CarlS1986  Interesting! It may well be a borehole. I couldn't see the pic, it's set so viewers need to be authorized. At my place there's not any higher infrastructure. The water doesn't gravity feed from a higher communal tank, it relies on pumping pressure to push it up the hill. Why my water sometimes goes out but my neighbour twenty feet lower still has it! I expect if the power went off, we'd probably also lose our water. Often with older houses the water doesn't go to the main house but to an outbuilding.

@Ozzy183a Ugh! A good water filter is probably a must, even with municipal water.

Could someone advise me on how to get my water use paid from my bank account. It's the only service I receive that isn't paid via my Bulgarian bank account.

My problems are nothing to do with living up a hill.  I live at sea level.  They turn the water off earlier and earlier each year for the summer.  It’s meant to be 3 days on, 3 days off.  The 3 days ”on” are a joke and lucky to get a dribble.  Hardly enough to wash your hands.

Apparently Bulgaria were given EU funding for improvements for the water infrastructure (Novinite) but that money went ’astray’.   Ended up in someones pocket I believe.

Come on Bulgaria, less of the excuses and get a grip on the situation.  There are many other hotter countries that seem to cope well enough.

Oh no! That makes it a hundred times worse. I am so sorry you have to deal with this.

The only other solution, besides giving up on the place, would be to have a huge water supply tank, enough to meet your needs for several months, that you can fill with rain water from your roof as people have to do in rural Australia where there's no municipal supply. It could be set to top up when there is water supply.

But that's not a cheap option.

@janemulberrysorry try this one

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-wAbap … sp=sharing

Interesting! Please, let us know when you find out what is in there!

    Hi all, it’s quite common for the water supply to go off unexpected ours is notorious for doing this. We get around it as installed a 1000 litre tank and pump set up which often fills at night when pressure often returns as less demand on the water infrastructure at that time and if it does go off gives us a few days water.
very simple to do but just make sure its all in an outbuilding thats insulated otherwise freezes in winter. Were planning to do same with our storm water too have plans for a 2000 litre tank for garden use maybe start that in spring next year.

rgds all ozzy
   

    -@Ozzy183a

that is a fantastic idea. i will be doing this. i do plan to fill as much rain water as i can when/if it rains again haha.

our supply is dicy atm. its off atm. stupidly low preasure.

we are year 1 so learning the hard way year we do have a well i want to register (im guessing its not registered) and make sure its good to use as we will have horses and live stock as soon as visas are sorted

@Snowball6

This is a still a problem addressed by the tank/pump solution, albeit it with (probably) a larger tank. And/or connected to your own well.

I see Bulgaria's low regulation / low enforcement environment as a great plus of life here. But the flip side is that you have to take matters into your own hands and fix things that don't work yourself, rather than hoping that Bulgaria will make someone else (e.g. your neighbours, local authority, or water company) do it. If the issue involves corruption or misallocation of resources, I'd definitely do it myself, rather than hoping they'll make different decisions next year.

Of course, I agree that the situation is annoying... and should be unacceptable in an EU country... and that the local water company should improve the connections/service... and the government should spend its own (and the EU's) money more wisely. But the options are to be annoyed/angry and without water... or get it sorted out yourself! :-)

I had a lake (or a small pond, at least) in our garden last winter because there was a leak in the external water supply (before my meter). I'm pretty sure my legal responsibility is from the meter, and I could have gone to the water company and argued my case, It was easier/quicker to get the village plumber over (with the village digger) and in  a couple of hours they'd dug up the pipe and replaced the damaged section. For maybe 100lv each. Similarly, our friend up in VT saw the summer pressure problem, and immediately resolved it with a tank/pump, and I doubt he spent more than 500-1,000 euros.

Incidentally, I don't think the problem is a water shortage issue, at least not on any kind of grand scale. According to the stats, Bulgaria has a small population relative to its abundant water supply, and is ranked very highly in terms of its long-term prospects given climate change and hotter summers. It's a bit obscure, I agree, but it's another of the factors I really like about Bulgaria.

@cs75

If it is a free standing house consider drilling a well.   Water is double what is was 3 years ago.   (At least in St Vlas) 

My payback is three years,   And I also installed Solar with the same payback.    Utilities are skyrocketing.   

@cs75

when I did mine I went to local town and the water company, you will need your house title, but If your mayor is any good he will help you out, he should be able to arrange for them to visit, if all e fails look out for the person that reads the meters once a month hope this helps