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WATER SUPPLY IN LOWER RIBERAS


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I live on San Mateo and have rarely had either water supply issues or sanitation issues. It is a good idea to have a filter on the water coming in (i.e. before tinaco and/or aljibe) and I change that filter every two or three months. So, I guess it depends on where you live in Riberas.

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6 minutes ago, Ferret said:

I live on San Mateo and have rarely had either water supply issues or sanitation issues. It is a good idea to have a filter on the water coming in (i.e. before tinaco and/or aljibe) and I change that filter every two or three months. So, I guess it depends on where you live in Riberas.

Ferret you must be one of the few folks who have not "had problems ", but if you say so....Besides the regular city water, lower Riberas has " problems " with a high table water and differculty to dig foundation's without ingress of some water. I can never understand why the city allows many houses to be built there, but this is Mexico and Riberas is one of the "hot" and affordable areas, what do I know. Way back I bought a couple of lots for 35pesos sq mt, wish I had bought more!!!

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My house was built just under 30 years ago... back when builders knew how to build and built well. I have watched the recent construction in my immediate area and, for the most part, I am not very impressed.

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2 hours ago, Ferret said:

My house was built just under 30 years ago... back when builders knew how to build and built well. I have watched the recent construction in my immediate area and, for the most part, I am not very impressed.

They may have been good builders , but building a house on a high water lot with no main sewer system is crazy. If Chapala City had any sensible planning department no houses would be built there..but what the heck this is mx so lets go with the "flow". I was  happy to make a few bucks.  Ferret i have 5 lots in FI you want to buy?

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The poor quality of water in Lower Riberas is a major issue of concern.  I lived in Riberas about 10 yrs ago and had to clean my muddy water filters every month, even with bleach.

Don't know if it has improved much since then.  I will leave that up to others living there now to reply.    

I don't think quality of builders or construction has anything to do with the quality of the water there !!!!

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I find it interesting that none of the people who are bashing Riberas have specified "where" in Riberas they experienced problems... either with the water or with the sanitation. FYI, a good builder knows how to build a decent septic system and, no, they are not the same as those systems done NOB.

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We have lived in lower Riberas for more than 10 years.  Our house is over 25 years old.  We've had no problems with the water supply.  We have a filter system coming into the property, and a drinking water filter system in the kitchen.   We have a couple of garafons of water in reserve in case they are needed , but haven't had to use them. (We used bottled water for cooking and drinking before we got our kitchen filter system.) 

There was some work on the sewer system down the street this winter, and we had to conserve water somewhat for a day or so, but that's been the extent of water shortage.   

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Not sure what part of Riberas had work done on a sewer system since there are not any sewers in Riberas that I know about.  Many folks have septic tanks that they aren't aware of.  They recently did some water supply line work and installed a balancing valve that was supposed to help parts of Riberas that were always running out of water.  Maybe that's why you were having to save water.  The truth is that SIMAPA is underfunded like most infrastructure in Mexico.  The wells are old, poorly kept, and water quality is bad.  Yet the folks in charge keep giving permits to build without any thought to future needs or even current needs.  It has been years sine new wells were created.  Our water comes in as a trickle and full of sand and mud.  You need a big aljibe, a good filter system, and a lot of patience.  And you will still need to buy water from  a truck on occasion.  That is just one ugly truth about living in "paradise."

Alan

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It's a sad comment on SIMAPA.

Chula Vista, for example, manages its own well system and has for over 50 years.

They have their own ownership contract of two wells with CONAGUA, pay CONAGUA rates for each litre extracted, pay for the total extraction quota, perform regular maintenance and test water daily for bacteria and quarterly for heavy metals, arsenic, etc..

The key point is they are able to provide 24X7X365 potable water to residents and fully recover all operating costs by charging SIMAPA rates per cubic meter.

Shouldn't SIMAPA be able to do the same?

SunFan

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7 hours ago, barrbower said:

Not sure what part of Riberas had work done on a sewer system since there are not any sewers in Riberas that I know about.  Many folks have septic tanks that they aren't aware of.  They recently did some water supply line work and installed a balancing valve that was supposed to help parts of Riberas that were always running out of water.  Maybe that's why you were having to save water.  The truth is that SIMAPA is underfunded like most infrastructure in Mexico.  The wells are old, poorly kept, and water quality is bad.  Yet the folks in charge keep giving permits to build without any thought to future needs or even current needs.  It has been years sine new wells were created.  Our water comes in as a trickle and full of sand and mud.  You need a big aljibe, a good filter system, and a lot of patience.  And you will still need to buy water from  a truck on occasion.  That is just one ugly truth about living in "paradise."

Alan

I appreciate your honesty.

Living here for a mere 7 years, I have learned that property owners, and those in real estate, either gloss over the glaring problems with the infrastructure here or lie outright.

Once one discovers the truth, it is often too late. 

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Also remember that saying "20/20 hindsight" and due diligence (which is what the OP is trying to do). This thread from the past may help... Septic tank questions ( arghhh ! ) - Ajijic/Chapala/Guadalajara - Chapala.com Webboard

How many people actually check the systems of the house that they plan on renting or buying? Or do they just ooh and ah at the decor and the garden or the size of different areas or the view? The best prevention is education.

A properly sealed from above septic system here is similar to turning a glass over (the tank) and submerging it in water (the ground and it's fluctuating water table)... the water will not rise inside the tank.

 

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1 hour ago, Ferret said:

Also remember that saying "20/20 hindsight" and due diligence (which is what the OP is trying to do). This thread from the past may help... Septic tank questions ( arghhh ! ) - Ajijic/Chapala/Guadalajara - Chapala.com Webboard

How many people actually check the systems of the house that they plan on renting or buying? Or do they just ooh and ah at the decor and the garden or the size of different areas or the view? The best prevention is education.

A properly sealed from above septic system here is similar to turning a glass over (the tank) and submerging it in water (the ground and it's fluctuating water table)... the water will not rise inside the tank.

 

While it may be true that the water will not rise inside the tank, it is also true that when the ground here is saturated after weeks of heavy rain, proper below-ground seepage from even the biggest drain tank/field becomes an issue. A saturated sponge cannot hold more water. I would be willing to bet that when one sees hoses draining into streets during the rainy season, people are dealing with this well-known problem. No judgment here, because we have experienced this ourselves. 

 

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5 hours ago, chapalence said:

Living here for a mere 7 years, I have learned that property owners, and those in real estate, either gloss over the glaring problems with the infrastructure here or lie outright.Once one discovers the truth, it is often too late. 

They're not in the business of telling you the truth!  That's why you should question present tenants ( if possible),surrounding neighbours, or even hire and independent inspector to "give you the goods".  IF they deny access for said person, well.............that should tell you all you need to know.

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I find it interesting when people indicate during rainy season that their yards have standing water in them.  That says to me (in many cases) that they don't have any PVC pipes for drainage from the yard out to the street.  Drive around Ajijic Centro. Do you see very many PVC pipes running under the sidewalk out to the street?  Nope!

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When we first arrived ('98) there was very little development in Riberas. We were told water table was too high, and in times when the lake levels were even "normal" it would cause problems for houses etc. because water table was then too close to the visible ground level. And so very few people ever wanted to build or live there.  (In fairness, it was also considered too sparsely  built, with too much vacant scrubby land between, so a quick and scary  "get-in-do-the-deed-get-out" for bad guys made a lot of people choose to avoid that risk.)

Move forward even a decade..... lake way down and way up and levelling out again  BUT more and more demand for housing and a lot of other choices were already reaching capacity. Result? Lots of houses were built  with little to no thought about how things would be as density got worse...... and when unsuitable land for nature's reasons gets even more stressed as houses houses are added.................

And it's not just lower Riberas. Friends a block above the carretera have had years of black water  problems  in front of their and many others'        homes.

 

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On 5/25/2023 at 12:42 AM, SunFan said:

It's a sad comment on SIMAPA.

Chula Vista, for example, manages its own well system and has for over 50 years.

They have their own ownership contract of two wells wif CONAGUA, pay CONAGUA rates for each litre extracted, pay for teh total extraction quota, perform regular maintenance and test water daily for bacteria and quarterly for heavy metals, arsenic, etc..

The key point is they are able to provide 24X7X365 potable water to residents and fully recover all operating costs by charging SIMAPA rates per cubic meter.

Shouldn't SIMAPA be able to do teh same?

SunFan

With respect, you are comparing Apples with Oranges. As you say  Chula Vista has its own well and takes care of its maintenance. Location can play a major part in finding decent-quality water. Anything that Chapala SIMAPA has to look after is a total failure, maintenance does not figure into running their system. Like CFE preventative maintenance is not in their playbook, (or the Mexican dictionary) run it till it breaks down, period, then look for parts that are not in their inventory!!!

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My point was there is no reason why a competent water system cannot be available Lakeside. It's not rocket science.

The SIMAPA water usage fees alone should enable maintenance of the system. The addition/expansion capital cost of wells should be charged to those who benefit.

SunFan

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37 minutes ago, SunFan said:

My point was their is no reason why a competent water system cannot be available Lakeside. It's not rocket science.

The SIMAPA water usage fees alone should enable maintenance of the system. The addition/expansion capital cost of wells should be charged to those who benefit.

SunFan

With respect SunFan there are only certain locations where decent water can be found...and Riberas is not one of them period. Sometimes luck trumps science. Time and time again pumps burn out due to a lack of maintenance ......again I don't think "maintenance or competent" is a word in the Mexican SIMAPA or CFE playbook'

Water is a scarce commodity at Lakeside and we all need to use it carefully...unless you have "gray" water, watering lawns is not a good idea.  Maybe down the subterranean bowels of Chapala City Hall, there is a master plan for Water Conservation!!!

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