# Good Due Diligence When Considering A Property With A Borehole



## Knollbrow

Hi Everyone - my first forum post - but I've been gratefully lapping up lots of good advice here over the past few months.

We've been coming to Portugal for the past 20 years and we love the people, the climate and the fact that there are so many areas that are still completely unspoiled.

We are on the cusp of retiring and are considering buying a property in the Alentejo - we have two candidates - one is near Odemira and another is near Ourique.

Neither property has mains water (and unlikely ever to have) - but in every other respect they appear to be perfect for us.

I've read about drought and boreholes drying up in the Alentejo and I'm looking for other peoples perspectives on buying here and any ideas for good due diligence re. boreholes prior to progressing a purchase. 

The Odemira property has water supplied from the Santa Clara canal and a private borehole. The canal water is really agricultural water for irrigation, but I believe it can be filtered (using reverse osmosis) for domestic use but probably not for drinking.

The Ourique property only has water from a private borehole.

I've asked some obvious questions like - how old is the borehole / pump, how deep is it, but I'm sure there are more searching things we should be considering.

I'm thinking ... should we commission some kind of "hydro graphic" analysis of the borehole - i.e. to get a view of the water quality and the potential to provide future supply? Has anyone done such a thing?

Our questions are somewhat ironic, since having spent all our adult lives in Scotland, we have too much of the bloomin stuff !!! I'd hate to end up in the extreme situation of being drought challenged in our retirement though !

At the moment, here in Edinburgh its like being stuck in a giant drizzle filled tupperware box - grey, depressing, damp and still cold. I expect it will be like that for another few months.

Honestly, we cannot wait to get to Portugal.

Obrigado in anticipation of any help


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## MrBife

A lot depends on how much water you are going to actually need. If you have fruit trees and an established garden plus a swimming pool then the answer is quite a lot. Forget drinking water and RO machines - cheaper just to buy drinking water in Lidl like most people.

I wouldn't waste money on borehole surveys, but if you know the pump is more than 10 years old then you should start saving for the next one. 10 to 20 years is good average life.

Santa Clara is fairly reliable but if the supply dries up for a few weeks then you pay for a few trucks of water to tide you over and plan a water wise garden.

Seriously I wouldn't get too bogged down with this issue its easily juggled, not that expensive and just a normal part of life resolving a few issues now and again.

Digging a cisterna or putting in what the Portuguese call a Tanque (above ground water storage) can give you enough storage capacity not to need to worry through the summer Again though if you add a swimming pool then it will take a lot more planning - if you add a floating cover then evaporation is lowered and it requires a lot less topping up. There are solutions for all things but they all take a bit of work and thought.


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## Knollbrow

Thanks MrBife - thats good advice and I appreciate you taking the time to provide a considered response.

I've asked our lawyer to check if the boreholes are registered with Faro or Evora - not sure its a big thing but better if its all in order. 

I think a key thing is that my wife and I need to adopt a new mindset with respect to how we think about water ... and it just becomes part of immersing ourselves in a new culture in Portugal.

Thanks again


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## Easyriders

Hello, we are in Alentejo, near Avis. Our water comes from a borehole. We have never had any shortages, not even last summer when the region had been in drought for 2+ years. We do use bottled water to make coffee and tea, because the water is very hard and furs up the coffee maker, but there is nothing wrong with the borehole water other than that. Hope this helps. Rather like you, we had too much of the stuff in the UK - we lived in Wales!


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## Knollbrow

Thanks Easyriders - i’m getting more and more comfortable with the idea of a borehole- do you have any specific problems with high iron content with your water in the Alentejo - I believe if you don’t remove high levels of iron it can eat away at your plumbing pipes (and it can also react with sun screen and detergents leaving unsightly stains on laundry).


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## MrBife

When you move in and can get a water analysis done then would be the time to start considering what equipment may potentially need to be added. Chances are very good that none is actually required as this is a pre existing installation. If you really are concerned enough to go into the geology of the zone there are plenty of resources out there ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_the_Iberian_Peninsula 

Around Santa Clara the water table is quite high, borehole depth to reach an aquifer is low and the chance of hitting iron bearing strata whilst creating a new borehole is very small.

Plumbing pipes are all pex (polyethelene) these days which removes the possibility for galvanic corrosion. If the pipes in the property you are buying are iron then I would be more concerned about changing those than getting further into water chemistry worries without any analysis data


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## Devonshirelass

*thanks for the thread!*

Hi, Was about to post a question about boreholes but this thread has given me lots of food for thought and guidance... And given me another issue to consider - iron pipes! ( Just spent a lot of time and effort getting rid of lead pipe in the UK, don't really want to do it again..)


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