Boreholes & Water storage tank refill

Tintek wrote:

Hi, my girlfriend and i purchased a house in Pakozd around 3 years ago. We knew there was a borehole which hadn't produced for some time so the cost of drilling a new one was taken into account. 3 years down the line our new borehole has dried up so we're looking to drill a new, deeper one.

In the meantime we have a large 2500ltr storage tank that we need to fill up temporarily while we drill the new hole. We have contacted the fire brigade, council and local water supplier to see if we can get it filled, with no luck.

Does anyone else live from borehole water or use storage tanks? have you needed to get them filled in times of drought?

Any help, suggestions, personal experiences will be much appreciated.

Stupid question: do you not have mains water? Or your neighbours?

Love to know if you have got a bore hole contractor as I've been interested in finding one for 3 years. I live off a communal well for drinking and have 2 IBC for everything else as I harvest water from my roof

Hi I live near Pakod and we have a communal well which I use for drinking water for everything else I use a rain harvesting system, I have 2 IBC 500 gallon tanks. Really interested in if you have found or find a person who can drill a bore hole as I've already dug a well to 15m without any success.

Not sure who you are asking.

There's a borehole contractor here where I live (next to Budapest) but that's irrelevant to your needs.  They have an ancient drilling rig which looks like it was built in the 1950s from a Soviet design.   Random guess is to contact is a local agricultural organisation - farmers association or similar.  If you have a well drilled, you have to have the water tested to see if it is potable (drinkable).  If not, you can only put it on your plants.

If anyone near you has water, you can connect to them but your problem is how to agree and pay for shared use of their infrastructure.

KelvinZalaszengrot wrote:

Hi I live near Pakod and we have a communal well which I use for drinking water for everything else I use a rain harvesting system, I have 2 IBC 500 gallon tanks. Really interested in if you have found or find a person who can drill a bore hole as I've already dug a well to 15m without any success.

Hate to say this, but this is why such rural Hungarian properties are so cheap. No utilities and no way to easily upgrade.... 

Heck, even trying to get something one would consider "normal" in many other western countries (such as a electrician or plumber) here is difficult. Getting a well driller that could drill the well you may need is going to be nearly impossible....

hi, there is mains water 2 streets down but none on our street.

KelvinZalaszengrot wrote:

Hi I live near Pakod and we have a communal well which I use for drinking water for everything else I use a rain harvesting system, I have 2 IBC 500 gallon tanks. Really interested in if you have found or find a person who can drill a bore hole as I've already dug a well to 15m without any success.

Hi, we found a local guy (lives in Sukoro) who drilled to 25m for us but hit granite and couldn't go deeper. The borehole has been fine through winter up until a few weeks ago due to the lack of rain. We managed to get our 2500ltr tank filled by the firebregade for a fee.

Regarding digging a well... From Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alUVf3AEOZI

The earth has not changed.....  You either have easily accessible water.... or you do not....

Tintek wrote:

hi, there is mains water 2 streets down but none on our street.

Not too easy then.  We looked at land like that once.   To get to the mains water, you'd need to lay a pipe.  That means it'll cost you to get all the way to the other street assuming that's the water company pipe and not a private one.   We rejected land like that despite ridiculous protestations by the seller that it was possible.  I'd want it in blood or a hard offer from the legit water company. 

As others say, it's usually it's best to buy properties only that already have service laid on or is in the street outside the gate.  As a minimum one needs water and electricity.  You can get away without sewerage via septic tank and no gas by using a heat pump or wood etc with solar water heating. 

BTW, I noticed around here it hasn't rained for about a week or more.  I'm not seeing any forecasts for rain either.   But that's Hungary.  Might not rain again until September or if it does, it'll be a massive flooding type thunderstorm of biblical proportions that will blow up some of your TV/electrical goods.  Not very useful but interesting to look at.

fluffy2560 wrote:

BTW, I noticed around here it hasn't rained for about a week or more.  I'm not seeing any forecasts for rain either.   But that's Hungary.  Might not rain again until September or if it does, it'll be a massive flooding type thunderstorm of biblical proportions that will blow up some of your TV/electrical goods.  Not very useful but interesting to look at.

Well,... Actually, it has rained pretty regularly and predictable where I live all year....

Well... Actually, till the past 5 to 7 years or so..... Welcome to global warming which causes global climate change... Which mostly right wing, anti professional, authoritarian governments deny is happening enough to really do anything meaningful about it. The real pandemic.....

In short.... for me, local weather has become completely unpredictable in recent years. And this is after almost 2 decades of local land management (i.e. farming and gardening here).

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

BTW, I noticed around here it hasn't rained for about a week or more.  I'm not seeing any forecasts for rain either.   But that's Hungary.  Might not rain again until September or if it does, it'll be a massive flooding type thunderstorm of biblical proportions that will blow up some of your TV/electrical goods.  Not very useful but interesting to look at.

Well,... Actually, it has rained pretty regularly and predictable where I live all year....

Well... Actually, till the past 5 to 7 years or so..... Welcome to global warming which causes global climate change... Which mostly right wing, anti professional, authoritarian governments deny is happening enough to really do anything meaningful about it. The real pandemic.....

In short.... for me, local weather has become completely unpredictable in recent years. And this is after almost 2 decades of local land management (i.e. farming and gardening here).

I tend to agree. 20 years ago it was like clockwork.  Now we never know what's going to happen.  We've actually been watering the plants already.  We've had no significant rain for a couple of weeks at least and I didn't manage to get my water storage sorted out yet due to a shortage of builders and now presumably the corona virus.  I should have hired that digger and done it myself.

I just moved to Pakod and have same problem (I didn't consider no water as a possibility!).  Think rainwater harvesting is my best option... I can find such tanks on Amazon but can you recommend someone to connect it all up as I need help with this?

1966Katya wrote:

I just moved to Pakod and have same problem (I didn't consider no water as a possibility!).  Think rainwater harvesting is my best option... I can find such tanks on Amazon but can you recommend someone to connect it all up as I need help with this?

From other discussions here, you probably need something like an agricultural supplier to help you with this but it depends what you want to do.   Water or any utilities in the street is a serious problem here. 

Maybe give us some more info - do you want this rainwater for you to drink or is it to water the garden/land?  Do you speak Hungarian?

Preferably to drink, but WC, small hot shower and washing up (maybe even a washing machine!) eventually.  I am studying Hungarian but Google translate is my best friend at the moment.  It is a one storey building but am pondering two linked overground storage containers in the cellar or eaves fed by filtered water from the downpipes.  I have electricity which is a plus.... and at worst I can manually top up using jerry cans.  A system in principle something like this... I just don't know who might install such a thing?
https://www.rainharvesting.co.uk/rainwa … buildings/

1966katya wrote:

Preferably to drink, but WC, small hot shower and washing up (maybe even a washing machine!) eventually.  I am studying Hungarian but Google translate is my best friend at the moment.  It is a one storey building but am pondering two linked overground storage containers in the cellar or eaves fed by filtered water from the downpipes.  I have electricity which is a plus.... and at worst I can manually top up using jerry cans.  A system in principle something like this... I just don't know who might install such a thing?

There have been a few discussions about this kind of thing.  Unless you have plenty of storage, you might find you run out in the summer.  You could get a borehole and the electricity will help run a pump wherever the source.  But testing of the water might be problematic.

There are sometimes street hand pumps for water here and there. You might be able to fill up your jerry cans there.   For a quick fix, perhaps get an IBC or similar container.  Obviously needs to be for "food" use.

Like here: drinking water tanks.    There's a link on there for possible installers: Possible installers. 

Bit of a project.  Might be cheaper to get properly connected.  Maybe ask your neighbours if they have water?  Sometimes they'll let you hook up to their pipes but they might want money if they paid for it originally. 

I'm planning an underground tank myself but I will only use for watering the plants.

What about your sewage connection?

You can find water rain water storage tanks on FB market place locally. We got one from a gentleman in Gardony and he delivered it.

The big tank for the borehole water we purchased online, link below.

hd-rotatech.hu

We discovered, on further investigation, that our borehole had not run dry! the pipe from the pump had simply pulled itself out of the tank! With a few days digging up the pipe and refitting were back in the game.

The fire Brigade were awsome in the interim coming regularly to fill our tank.

With regards to fitting the system we did it ourselves. You only need basic tools and all the parts were purchased from the local hardware store or obi/praktiker.

If you need any specific info regarding the system feel free to drop me a PM.

Tintek wrote:

You can find water rain water storage tanks on FB market place locally. We got one from a gentleman in Gardony and he delivered it.

The big tank for the borehole water we purchased online, link below.

hd-rotatech.hu

We discovered, on further investigation, that our borehole had not run dry! the pipe from the pump had simply pulled itself out of the tank! With a few days digging up the pipe and refitting were back in the game.

The fire Brigade were awsome in the interim coming regularly to fill our tank.

With regards to fitting the system we did it ourselves. You only need basic tools and all the parts were purchased from the local hardware store or obi/praktiker.

If you need any specific info regarding the system feel free to drop me a PM.

Excellent post!

How did you dig the hole to get the tanks installed or were they there already?

I started to dig the hole by hand and quickly learned that it would take months and many painful blisters to reach the necessary 2.5m depth.

We knew a local man who had a little bobcat digger, he came over and dug the hole. I can't remember the cost but we decided to get him to remove some tree stumps and level the garden as well. He did a really good job, just a shame as I think he's retired from building work now.

There are plenty of local handy men that advertise on the notice board at the Coop on the main street. Or ask at the hardware store, I can't tell you how helpful the ladies are in there! I can't really speak hungarian, I know a few words/phrases but they always give me the time of day to help.

Tintek wrote:

I started to dig the hole by hand and quickly learned that it would take months and many painful blisters to reach the necessary 2.5m depth.

We knew a local man who had a little bobcat digger, he came over and dug the hole. I can't remember the cost but we decided to get him to remove some tree stumps and level the garden as well. He did a really good job, just a shame as I think he's retired from building work now.

There are plenty of local handy men that advertise on the notice board at the Coop on the main street. Or ask at the hardware store, I can't tell you how helpful the ladies are in there! I can't really speak hungarian, I know a few words/phrases but they always give me the time of day to help.

I know the feeling.  I've got a dodgy back at the moment so I'd rather others do it.

We had a Bobcat here yesterday doing some levelling and making a temporary area of hardstanding for cars from 6 tonnes of crushed stone.   I think our water tank here will need a small JCB (backhoe).   The cost our Bobcat with the guy  was about 10K HUF per hour with a minimum of 4h.  The driver was like an Formula 1 driver/operator and made short work of it all.  They were done within 2h, possibly 3h all in.  Bobcats are brilliant machines - please Santa.

We will need a concrete box solution, tank in the middle with sand/gravel around the outside plus connection to the downpipes on the house, pump to the standpipe etc.  There's a septic tank box in there at the moment but it hasn't been used in many years.  But it'll have to come out as it's about 2m wide x 2.5m long and perhaps 1.5m deep and full of earth.  I'm thinking the same hole can be used for a water tank for watering the garden. Aiming for 3-5000 litres.

Thanks for all the info.  The well is very deep but dry - and I suspect it is just blocked.  Trouble is, I can find no-one to repair it... they all refuse and offer a new well and licence which I don't want.  The house is very old but well made and all plumbed so am convinced the well will work if someone can check it out/clean it.

There is also a concrete rainwater storage well fed by the roof guttering which is empty.  I am going to clean the guttering and test running some water down it and see if it makes it to the storage area. 

My immediate problem, is of course, no water but even with loads of jerry cans I can find nowhere to fill them up.  The village fountains are frozen or out of use... there appear to be no truck stops/service stations with water.  Lastly, the house is up a a very high, bendy, narrow track - okay for cars (a bit rough) but not for trucks or fire engines. 

For now I could manage with jerry cans, log burner and bucket showers - if I can just find somewhere to get water!   I will try the fire service if you think it will work, but concerned they will just laugh!