# Buying a house with bore hole water supply.



## Speago

Hi all

We have just fallen in love with a property that we would like to buy. The only thing is, the only water supply is from a borehole. Which I know very little about. I know a LOT of properties in Portugal rely on only borehole water.

I have lots of questions, but was just wondering if anyone could give me some advice on the in's and out's of buying this type of property and what I need to consider?

I understand the bombeiro will deliver water as a backup if the hole runs dry, but no idea of the cost. 

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks


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## MrBife

Definitely don't consider this as a reason not to purchase. A borehole is an advantage and a benefit and not a disadvantage.

However be aware that they do need refurbishing every 10 to 20 years and depending on the depth of it you could allow up to say €5000 for the cost of that in the purchase or ask that it be done as a condition of the purchase.

Plenty of borehole experts around that will visit and give you a check of the system and their opinion on anything that may need doing.

Local truck delivery services are not a problem either, in our area we pay €25 for 4000 litres.


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## Speago

Hi MrBife

Thanks for the reply, very helpful. I know the borehole was originally done about 22 years ago. The pump did look almost new so not sure if it has been refurbished since installation. I will make that one of the questions I ask. Might also be worth me getting someone to check it out. 

Something else I was told, is that the borehole should be 100m away from the property. This one is about 12m away. Does anyone know about the 100m rule, and if one so close to the house would cause problems? 

Thanks


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## MrBife

I dont know of any specific ruling about distance from the house but clearly distance from any septic tank (fossa) is something to be taken into consideration in order to avoid contamination. You can get an analysis of the water done to check this.

Probably you are not going to drink water from the borehole anyway - just in case. Bottled stuff from the supermarket is not a big cost over a year - or just stick to wine !


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## Speago

Yes! the septic tank distance is something else I have to check out. 

The water pressure was really good and the water was crystal clear, unlike the mains water we have at the moment that comes out of the tap a sort of a green/brown colour. I don't even like giving it to my dogs to drink.

Can anyone recommend a borehole specialist in West Algarve who will check it out for me, along with the water quality?

Also, anyone know what sort of cost I would be looking at to get a solar system installed to run the pump?


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## travelling-man

Just put about half a gallon of the water into a sterilised container and take it to a chemist..... if they can't have it tested, they'll send you to someone who can do it for you. 

If the house has been unoccupied for a significant period, it's likely the fosse may well need some attention so at least budget for that during your negotiations.


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## MrBife

Speago said:


> The pump did look almost new so not sure if it has been refurbished since installation.



The borehole pump is at the bottom of the drilled bore hole shaft and pumps water upwards. It can't be seen from ground level so whatever you saw was not that !


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## In 2 bikes

we've just had the pump replaced in our bore hole. It was 10 years old and was costing a fortune in electricity. The new pump and fitting charges came to 800 euros. We're lucky enough to have a water company supply too ( which we have turned off ).....The bore hole supplies the entire house and the sprinklers for the lawns. Water pressure is awesome. The only downside is the pool water goes green when filled from the bore hole which then requires 'shock' chlorine treatment to clear it. This is something that is simple and cheap to do and becomes easier with practice.


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