Boquete's Contaminated Water

[NewsLady]

For those who didn’t catch the result of a water study (see chart below)  for alto Boquete and Oriana, there are coliform fecal matter in the water. I have heard that there is a new water system on the horizon, however I’m not sure the mayor or citizens know the extent of the dangers of the Boquete water in general.  People new to the area need to be very careful not to drink unfiltered water. Boquete is painted as a haven, but with the crime, the parasites, and insane driving, it feels more like a nightmare, (sorry realtors…).

     My son has been almost deathly ill for 4+ weeks with giardia, he is 8 yrs old, and has lost more weight and muscle tone then a little boy should ever have to. He is emaciated and has intestinal obstruction because of the parasite that also blocks absorption of iron and other . He has been through Flagyl an antibiotic treatment and now, after visiting the hospital last night, will go through another broad spectrum anti-parasitic.  The doctor told me that he sees many children from Boquete with giardia.  A whole group of women dining at a local restaurant last year came down with giardia and amebic disentary. Please use filtered water and don’t drink or give your kids water from the Boquete area. Santa Lucia area in Volcancito has very dirty water. Be careful on raw salads too. Some here take an anti parasitic each 6 months just to be cautionary. (the Doc recommends testing often instead).

     Please let me know if you or a loved one or friend has suffered with a water born illness here. I am going to talk with the mayor, or the department of health next week and I let them know what is happening amongst the foreigners, and find out what plans and timelines for addressing the situation is. I will inform you of any updates to this information.  Other problems in certain residential areas are water shortages in the dry season. Please ask before you rent or buy in these areas and message me if you know what areas have this problem. I have heard Palmira has problems? (arriba or abajo?) Please consider rainwater capturing solutions with filters, purchasing an extra tank for shortage resiliency.  Carry your filtered water hydroflasks to restaurants, especially for the young and elderly. If you have a stomach upset, immediately send a stool sample to the lab (up from Romero’s)  to find out if it is a parasite! it is only $3. A visit to Dr Gomez is $10. Early detection and treatment of Giardia is essential to avoid potential lifelong consequences. Parasites are nothing to talk lightly as they can more to organs and the brain and cause lifelong damage or death. They are tenacious and hard to get rid of, dietary changes, vitamin and mineral supplementation and herbal and pharmaceutical medicine will all be NECESSARY to treat effectively if possible. my # is 63055936 to call with questions or comments, Hablo español tambien. Or respond by email. by Tuesday. Thank you for your help.

[Bonnie]

For reasons stated in my response to Judy's post above, I do not consider this to be a "news" item. It lacks much in the way of facts and is rife with misunderstandings about how things work here.

[Keith Woolford]

No problem agreeing with Bonnie.

This whole 'report' should be discounted, imo, as the person who wrote it hasn't been here more than a month and is without local knowledge of the history or the future of Boquete's water systems, and/or how to live with them, as most folks have learned.

As far as I can tell, this is just a rant by someone who didn't their homework before moving to a foreign country.

Mayor Walker has had people working on repairs and improvements to the water service since the day he took office.

[JoJo]

Are you reading your own site? http://boquete.ning.com/forum/topics/what-s-going-on-with-the-water

 

[Bonnie]

It is not Keith's site. He no longer moderates the Ning forum.

[Hil]

Where is the water purification plant being constructed? And has the sewage plant been started? I haven't seen or heard of a shovel full of dirt being turned for this. Repairing leaks, replacing pipes and maintaining supply are important. You would think a water district could manage more than two or three projects when the money has been provided up front. I know many locals that will not drink the water and haven't for sometime. So, it is a problem. The locals have more time living in Boquete than any expat. Also, think about the crops that use this water. It's not a simple look the other way thing. I'm in Boquete three to four times a week, spend money, donate tax money while there, and WILL NOT drink the water. I use bottled water. How slow is progress supposed to be when it comes to health concerns over a water supply?

[Twin Wolf Technology Group]

Any recommendations on who to contact to install a water purification and filtration system for a rental home?   What are the costs?

Edited October 18, 2015 by Twin Wolf Technology Group

[JoJo]

We're in David and we used Bombasa. We're in a rental but the water pressure was so bad it wouldn't operate the on demand hot water tank. 

It's been three years ago so I'm sure the prices are higher than they were then, plus it depends a lot on what you need and how much you're willing to spend. We only had space for a 200 gal storage tank at that time.  Ours was just over $1,200 at that time. We now have a concrete pad adjacent to the storage tank and plan to add another one.

Hope that gives you "some" idea.

[Twin Wolf Technology Group]

Great, thanks JoJo.   I have a storage tank with an electric pump for pressure.   The tank is feed from two separate water lines.  I am fortunate to live in a location where two separate water systems cross the property but it needs a filter.

[Bonnie]

Hil, in many areas there are lines for potable water and lines for agricultural water.

Dan, Grupo Aguas put in our water purifying system: five filters and a UV unit. If memory serves, it was about $700. Not cheap, but we figured we're getting too old to risk a bout of giardia.

[Franagain]

One of the documents that sparked attention to the quality of water is this one, showing several months' test results of street (unfiltered) water in Oriana (Alto Boquete). The street water here is not potable, not safe to drink.

I live in Oriana and had my water tested back in March also.  As a result of the tests, I had a UV system installed by Grupo Agua here.  My household water is now clean and safe to drink.  I wanted my entire house on the system, instead of just ''drinking'' water, because of the possibility of contaminates in the water I use to brush my teeth, to shower, and as residue on clothes, bedding and kitchen ware.  I am very happy with my system, which cost about $800.

I've not been able to determine the SOURCE of Oriana's water.  There is a large raised tank that may or may not be cleaned regularly.  Where the water comes from that fills that tank is unknown.

 

Edited October 18, 2015 by Franagain

[Franagain]

It may be of interest to know that restaurants in Boquete are not required to provide potable drinking water - the health department does not require proof that water served is safe or clean.  Some customers drink bottled water (which may or may not be any better), but local water used in food preparation, ice, coffee, etc., may not be free of contaminates.  You pays your money and you takes your chances.....

 

I'm told that David restaurants DO have to provide proof that water served is safe/clean.  Might just be another rumor, though.

[Chica de Chiriqui]

It is truly imperative that people who are considering moving here and read the numerous internet sites about Boquete, or Chiriqui, or Panama', MUST REALIZE that each particular site, or comment, is not necessarily factual.  The majority of sites lean towards their own particular motive to entice people to move here.  

When someone makes a broad stroke comment, you must consider the source.  It could be true, it could not be.

Most times, when a site and its posters make only glorious, "positive" claims about how paradisaical it is here, they have a motive.  They are going to be benefited financially by the numbers of people moving here.  The expats who have something to gain will rarely tell it like it is.  That defeats the purpose.

Expats who try to earn their living here, many who are NOT legally qualified to engage in business, do so by selling real estate, services, advise, or renting their personal properties.   Of course they want more people to live here.  The greater the expat community, the better chance they have to gather more "customers".

I have always told people about what it's like moving and existing here; the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truth. It takes a certain, free spirit type of person to truly enjoy living here.  Panama' is certainly not for everyone.  All one needs to do is to research the rate of those who pack up and move back home...  making an incredibly costly choice for a life experience...

Edited October 18, 2015 by Chica de Chiriqui

[Penny]

The answer is simple and very inexpensive. Boil your drinking water for 3 minutes and pour it into a Brita-type picture.

I hate the idea of people buying bottled water. The throw-away plastic bottles are a huge threat to the environment and the oceans.

[Keith Woolford]

Where is the water purification plant being constructed? And has the sewage plant been started? I haven't seen or heard of a shovel full of dirt being turned for this. Repairing leaks, replacing pipes and maintaining supply are important. You would think a water district could manage more than two or three projects when the money has been provided up front. I know many locals that will not drink the water and haven't for sometime. So, it is a problem. The locals have more time living in Boquete than any expat. Also, think about the crops that use this water. It's not a simple look the other way thing. I'm in Boquete three to four times a week, spend money, donate tax money while there, and WILL NOT drink the water. I use bottled water. How slow is progress supposed to be when it comes to health concerns over a water supply?

Hilary, this is a five year project. The design-bid contract was only let a few months ago and is now in the detail study process. You can see surveyors around town every day gathering additional data for the engineers to make critical decisions and draw their plans.

I wouldn't expect to see any excavation or construction start for a while, but when it does the streets in downtown Boquete may well be a mess for years, and of course there will be service interruptions.

In the meantime, I believe the new Mayor is doing his best to keep patching and improving the existing systems to meet the demands of an ever growing population.

Tanks, pumps, and filters have come to be the norm around Boquete. Maybe in five years we won't need all that.

[JoJo]

We buy bottled drinking and cooking water in the 5 gal bottles. We have the stand with the hot/cold water distribution system and love it. Always have cold water and only seconds to heat water for tea. The bottles are recycled, no ending up in the landfills. There is no way I'm going to drink the tap water here. We filter the other water but we don't have as many problems in David as there seem to be in other areas. Maybe that's just a rumor too, who knows for certain.