Water

The water from the tap is now noticeably brown. Immediately after the flood, I noticed tiny little red worms in the water too. First I thought it must have been because of my filter... it had not been running for 4-5 days and that would be plenty of time for microorganisms to have a field day in it. But after a friend told me tiny red worms were crawling out from the water she had stored, I realized mine was not an isolated case (and she has no external filter). I read some where that they could be blood worms; from flies. Anyway, with all the water pressure problem that we had been facing, we decided to do away with the sand filter. It stands in the way too, the huge bulk of steel sitting in my porch.

Over the last 5 years, we've been seeing a drop in our water pressure as more houses in our neighbourhood fixed up water pumps to increase the pressure. We've checked and found out that if you install a reservoir (i.e. a water tank) and then pump the water from the reservoir to your whole house, that's fine. But the problem is most don't install a reservoir. As a result, their pumps draw water from the mains, resulting in low pressure for the other houses. We've refused to do the same because that's against the law.

I've written to the authorities regarding the low water pressure a couple of times, and guess what? The officers who came to check told us to fix up a pump as well. I've asked why is there no enforcement on those who break the law..... And the answer, everyone is doing it. Seems to me these days, it doesn't matter whether things are right or wrong. As long as everyone is doing it, even though it is wrong, it's okay! So, I couldn't really get a proper backwash done on my sand filter. Finally decided to change it into a smaller membrane filter. And we fixed it after our extra tank so that it can also be properly washed since our pump is installed after the tank.

Anyway, I spent a good part of Saturday morning watching the plumber work. It was fascinating watching this plumber fix up our new membrane filter. I've not seen such a fastidious and meticulous plumber for a long time. Reminds me of the old school of doing things - pride in their work. His work was neat and clean. His tools were clean and shiny. And he used his brain too! His work was well thought out. The last plumber who did my previous filter system was shoddy and just wanted to get his job done any way; typical of many these days. And we had to help him figure out the pipes! Am pleased with this new plumber's work...

This new filter comes with an auto timer for self cleansing. This little gadget, a Galcon 9001 was actually developed to water plants. Quite ingenious that they use it to stagger the cleaning of the filter. 8)

I was also looking at home filter systems for drinking. I am surprised at how much companies charge for such gadgets. One which I checked out required us to pay RM130 a month (including service) for 5 years. Add that to the electricity and water bills for running the unit, it comes up a whopping RM9500 for 5 years worth of drinking water!

Water is 40sen per cubic metre for the first 20 cubic meter, after which it's 70 sen pcm. Our household uses about 20 cubic metre a month for everything. My water bill for 5 years (for drinking, cleaning and washing) would then be RM480. Assuming I spend RM30 (I think it's way less) boiling water a month, it'd come up to RM1080. Let's say you get a very good thermopot for RM400. The total cost comes up to RM1960. That's a difference of almost 8K! For that cost, might as well get an external filter as well as another internal filter... And I'd still have cash to spare for other things. Well, of course some will argue that's the price you pay for convenience!!! LOL! It's just an observation I made over something that we take for granted.

BTW, folks in the districts affected by the flood are supposed to get a 30 percent rebate in their December 2010 water bill. So check your water bill!