# Sintra water problem



## stagolee123 (Aug 7, 2009)

Hi folks,
A couple of years ago I bought a small house in Galamares near Sintra. I have been trying to get it fixed up for the last two years and I’m nearly there with the exception of one very large problem, there is no running water to the house.
As far as I can gather the water to the house used to be “free water” coming from a reservoir up in the serra de lune somewhere. I was told someone had built a swimming pool across the line bringing water to my house so I would have to call SMAS (the Sintra water company) to get water connected.

After initially contacting them 2 years ago and getting nowhere I decided to wait until the interior plumbing in my house was finished until contacting them again, for the last 4 months or so I have been trying to move them along to giving me a quote for how much it will cost to get water connected. Today I got the estimate: eight and a half thousand euros!!!
When I called and asked why it was so high (a third of what my house cost to buy) they told me that the connection fee is only €672 but that they will have to dig a 155m trench to my house to extend the pipe. 
I pointed out the fact that there is at least 10 houses within a 100m radius of my house with water but I was told that if these houses had water then the pipes bringing it probably wouldn’t have enough capacity to service my house as well, my house is very small and has one kitchen sink, a bathroom and a 10 square foot garden.
I am suspicious that the €61 euros I paid them to go out to my house and come up with an estimate was pocketed without them going out there and that the 155m estimate was just come up with by someone in the office drawing a line on a map from the nearest major road.
Also I am fairly sure that they could easily hook me up to a closer connection but that they would prefer to make me pay for the upgrade of their water network in that area.
The main problem for me is I have little or no money and after borrowing to buy the house and repair it to it’s current state my loan repayments mean I wouldn’t be able to save that kind of money in 5 years.

Anyway, I was hoping one of you folks might have knowledge of the area or somewhere similar and might know how someone would go about getting hooked up to the free water that I have heard mentioned by local people around there. I think it comes from reservoirs in the hills in the Sintra area.
I will be going over there at the end of September so I am going to try and make some enquiries then, in the meantime I thought I’d chance my luck here and see if any of you folks have any suggestions.
Thanks,
Stagolee123


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