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Water shortage in Menorca

Posted: Sun Jul 2, 2023 1:55pm
13 replies249 views4 members subscribed
Carina

Posts: 9

Location: Mahón

Joined: 1 Jul 2023

Hello together, can tell me anybody, is there often and regularly a water problem in Menorca?  I read that the well water is not drinkable due to high nitrite levels from agriculture.  How is the water supply in principle in the houses and apartments in the cities and in the country. I am asking, because I want to grow organic vegetables. Is it permissible to drill a well on one's own land? And how about rain is it also raining less than normal in Menorca?

Ianrhammy

Posted: Wed Jul 5, 2023 9:44am

Ianrhammy

Helpful member

Posts: 124

60 helpful points

Location: Addaia

Joined: 29 Jul 2019

Posted: Wed Jul 5, 2023 9:44am

Mains water is perfectly drinkable, albeit with a tang of chlorine. Not sure about well water I'm afraid. There is always the danger of a water shortage on Menorca, as indeed there is throughout the world. Our politicians are not doing enough to secure water supplies for the future, and don't start me on privatised water companies in the UK. Menorca had a pretty wet May, which some say accounts for the excessive mosquito population at the moment! In Addaia our water is pumped electrically, so if we have a power outage we sometimes lose water supply, but on the whole it is very reliable. Water here is very hard, full of calc, which takes its toll on the water heater cylinders!

BobT

Posted: Wed Jul 5, 2023 11:51am

Posts: 35

9 helpful points

Location: Mahón

Joined: 23 Aug 2020

Posted: Wed Jul 5, 2023 11:51am

Most people use bottled water or have an osmosis purifier. If you plan to drill a borehole for agriculture , better check with the local ayutamente  first.Bob T

Carina

Posted: Fri Jul 7, 2023 8:08pm

Carina

Original Poster

Posts: 9

Location: Mahón

Joined: 1 Jul 2023

Posted: Fri Jul 7, 2023 8:08pm

Ianrhammy wrote on Wed Jul 5, 2023 9:44am:

Mains water is perfectly drinkable, albeit with a tang of chlorine. Not sure about well water I'm afraid. There is always the danger of a water shortage on Menorca, as indeed there is throughout the world. Our politicians are not doing enough to secure water supplies for the future, and don't sta...

...rt me on privatised water companies in the UK. Menorca had a pretty wet May, which some say accounts for the excessive mosquito population at the moment! In Addaia our water is pumped electrically, so if we have a power outage we sometimes lose water supply, but on the whole it is very reliable. Water here is very hard, full of calc, which takes its toll on the water heater cylinders!

  • Danke für deine Antwort. Was ich nicht ganz verstehe ist, welches Wasser pumpt man elektrisch?  Leitungswasser oder Brunnenwasser?  Und wie oft kommt es vor, dass es keinen Strom gibt?  Auch wenn auf Menorca jetzt eine Mückenplage herrscht, seien Sie froh, dass es im Mai noch geregnet hat.  Ich habe noch eine Frage zu unbeaufsichtigten Hunden.  Gibt es sie auf Menorca?  Wenn ja, bellen sie stän
Ianrhammy

Posted: Sat Jul 8, 2023 9:06am

Ianrhammy

Helpful member

Posts: 124

60 helpful points

Location: Addaia

Joined: 29 Jul 2019

Posted: Sat Jul 8, 2023 9:06am

Carina wrote on Fri Jul 7, 2023 8:08pm:

Danke für deine Antwort. Was ich nicht ganz verstehe ist, welches Wasser pumpt man elektrisch?  Leitungswasser oder Brunnenwasser?  Und wie oft kommt es vor, dass es keinen Strom gibt?  Auch wenn auf Menorca jetzt eine Mückenplage herrscht, seien Sie froh, dass es im Mai noch g...

...eregnet hat.  Ich habe noch eine Frage zu unbeaufsichtigten Hunden.  Gibt es sie auf Menorca?  Wenn ja, bellen sie stän

Leader kann ich Deutsch nicht so gut!

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Carina

Posted: Sat Jul 8, 2023 2:16pm

Carina

Original Poster

Posts: 9

Location: Mahón

Joined: 1 Jul 2023

Posted: Sat Jul 8, 2023 2:16pm

Ianrhammy wrote on Sat Jul 8, 2023 9:06am:

Leader kann ich Deutsch nicht so gut!

Drag and drop didn't recognize the title block and Google translated it back and forth. I don't need to speak english, so I lost a lot. 

 Thanks for your answer. What I don't quite understand is what kind of water do you pump electrically? Tap water or well water? And how often does it happen that there is no electricity? Even though Menorca is now plagued by mosquitoes, be happy that it still rained in May. I have another question about unsupervised dogs. Do they exist in Menorca? If so, do they bark non-stop?

Ianrhammy

Posted: Sat Jul 8, 2023 2:27pm

Ianrhammy

Helpful member

Posts: 124

60 helpful points

Location: Addaia

Joined: 29 Jul 2019

Posted: Sat Jul 8, 2023 2:27pm

Carina wrote on Sat Jul 8, 2023 2:16pm:

Drag and drop didn't recognize the title block and Google translated it back and forth. I don't need to speak english, so I lost a lot. 

 Thanks for your answer. What I don't quite understand is what kind of water do you pump electrically? Tap water or well water? And how often does it happen that there is no electricity? Even though Menorca is now plagued by mosquitoes, be happy that it still rained in May. I have anoth...

...er question about unsupervised dogs. Do they exist in Menorca? If so, do they bark non-stop?

Our tap water is pumped electrically from a small local reservoir. Electricity outages do not happen often and they are sometimes scheduled/planned by Endesa. Have no information about unsupervised dogs. Certainly in Addaia we do not hear any.

BobT

Posted: Sat Jul 8, 2023 5:39pm

Posts: 35

9 helpful points

Location: Mahón

Joined: 23 Aug 2020

Posted: Sat Jul 8, 2023 5:39pm

Ianrhammy wrote on Sat Jul 8, 2023 2:27pm:

Our tap water is pumped electrically from a small local reservoir. Electricity outages do not happen often and they are sometimes scheduled/planned by Endesa. Have no information about unsupervised dogs. Certainly in Addaia we do not hear any.

Further comments on Carinas post about water. Most water sources can me pumped . I advise to put a filter on the collection end of the pump. The pump won’t last long if it gets a lot of sand passing through. If you are going to drink the water I suggest to put a water purifier close to your drinking tap.Palliser in Maó still show the 5 filter reverse osmosis water filter. When I bought it 2 years ago it cost about 150 Euro. There are two men in Maó who can service it if/ when needed and can fit new filters if you cannot do it yourself. Its advantage is you get water without any taste. If you are pumping from a farming area you are likely to get  more than ideal nitrates in the water . I get sand in my water in Punta Prima area. I have to regularly clean or replace the tap filters. Bob t.

Carina

Posted: Sun Jul 9, 2023 11:26pm

Carina

Original Poster

Posts: 9

Location: Mahón

Joined: 1 Jul 2023

Posted: Sun Jul 9, 2023 11:26pm

BobT wrote on Sat Jul 8, 2023 5:39pm:

Further comments on Carinas post about water. Most water sources can me pumped . I advise to put a filter on the collection end of the pump. The pump won’t last long if it gets a lot of sand passing through. If you are going to drink the water I suggest to put a water purifier close to your dri...

...nking tap.Palliser in Maó still show the 5 filter reverse osmosis water filter. When I bought it 2 years ago it cost about 150 Euro. There are two men in Maó who can service it if/ when needed and can fit new filters if you cannot do it yourself. Its advantage is you get water without any taste. If you are pumping from a farming area you are likely to get  more than ideal nitrates in the water . I get sand in my water in Punta Prima area. I have to regularly clean or replace the tap filters. Bob t.

Hi Bob, I can't think of anything under water sources.  Did you have a well drilled or do you tap directly into a spring or do you pump the water out of a pond?  If it's a well, it might not be deep enough to pump sand with it.  Thanks a lot for the tips.  I would like to know from you if it is warmer in Punta Prima than in Addais.  Are there any climatic differences in Menorca?  Do you need a permit to drill a well?  Where do the Menorcinians actually live?  When I look at Google Maps, I see holiday settlements and hotel complexes everywhere.  That reminds me a lot of Mallorca.  I thought Menorca was still natural.  Of course I like infrastructure, culture and varied cuisine, but the coasts are mostly developed for tourism.  Or am I wrong? Many questions.

BobT

Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2023 11:23am

Posts: 35

9 helpful points

Location: Mahón

Joined: 23 Aug 2020

Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2023 11:23am

Carina wrote on Sun Jul 9, 2023 11:26pm:

Hi Bob, I can't think of anything under water sources.  Did you have a well drilled or do you tap directly into a spring or do you pump the water out of a pond?  If it's a well, it might not be deep enough to pump sand with it.  Thanks a lot for the tips.  I would like to know...

... from you if it is warmer in Punta Prima than in Addais.  Are there any climatic differences in Menorca?  Do you need a permit to drill a well?  Where do the Menorcinians actually live?  When I look at Google Maps, I see holiday settlements and hotel complexes everywhere.  That reminds me a lot of Mallorca.  I thought Menorca was still natural.  Of course I like infrastructure, culture and varied cuisine, but the coasts are mostly developed for tourism.  Or am I wrong? Many questions.

Carina, replying to your questions.I don’t have a well. I do have a water reservoir, which collects rain water, but I don’t use it. I have piped water from Aigues  sant lluis. It comes with sand in so I filter it with the reverse osmosis filter I mentioned previously. Piped water costs about 20 Euro a month even if you never use any.It’s the company service charge . My place is in Son Remei about 20 mins walk from Punta Prima and about 100 metres from the sea.I think that locations away from the coast tend to be warmer than coast places.I don’t know about Addadia, it’s only a place I travel through when going to Citadella. I noted there are some Germany origin people living around Son Remei/ son Ganxo.I think here is 50 % holiday villas and  50% local  Spanish people.And their dogs do bark sometimes. You get used to it.Rgds

Bobt 

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