Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

I'm on mains water with fairly new plastic tanks. It comes through through somewhat dirty though, leaving a brown residue on the bottom of bowls.
I obviously don't drink mains water but I'm concerned that however careful one is, you will still ingest some however small i.e. when showering or wiping ones face and it gets on to your lips. Having had sepsis with ecoli poisoning in the UK and nearly reached he pearly gates but didn't thanks to the NHS, I am understandably cautious. Is the risk of disease or illness from the mains water so small as to be unconcerning? Is there a reasonable cost filtration system available I could fit?

You could take the water and get it tested so settle your mind. I cannot understand why the water quality is poor though, it should not be as the mains should be potable.

How long has it been like this?
Have you taken it to the municipality?

The presence of debris in suspension may be a sign of dirt or rust in the pipes either in your house or in the mains, do you have a tap directly on the mains you could check or can you c heck a sample where it runs into your tank?

This sort of debris would not necessarily mean you have a biological risk and vise versa, you could have biological risk in clear water. Even if you did you would have to have a very "dirty" supply and open wounds or dring a large amount to cause problems unless you have a very challenged immune system.

Either way the water we get is supposed to be potable and if you are being supplied with poor quality water your first stop should be the beli. Incidentally where are you based?

I agree with everything that Jonnie has written, but would just add: -

Hector wrote:... Is the risk of disease or illness from the mains water so small as to be unconcerning?

Given your experience so far, I would say NO!

Take all reasonable precautions!

Is there a reasonable cost filtration system available I could fit?

I don't know how much you would call 'reasonable' to prevent a health risk, but there has been mention of filtration systems on the forum - see here

Just to investigate the source of the 'Brown Residue'...

It may be that this is because when the 'New' supply was first connected, dirt/soil was flushed into your tanks, and you are still seeing the after effects.

Try drawing a few litres of water from a tap directly connected to the Belediye supply and let it settle - if there isn't any residue apparent, then you can be reasonably sure that the residue is not present in the incoming supply, but is simply 'old rubbish' that is slowly being washed through the tanks.

For advice on cleaning the sediment out of your tanks, you will need to get advice elsewhere!

Just an add on. A filtration system will only remove solids from the water and actually these are probably not hazardous (depending on what they are) it will not necessarily remove chemical and biological contaminants. First to check is if the mains is clear thus proving/disproving if the contaminant is in the mains, if it is the municipality must deal with it, the Zabita department I think enforces health standards and things in bars and hotels so they may be worth a try. If you are nearby I can come have a look, just to help out.

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago, turned out to be rust in the solar panels, which when flushed out, solved the problem.

if we did it we put in washable filters with still if done cheap they dont rolls & Mini comes to mind