Forums > General > General Forum

1 2 View All

wantok

Feb 11, 2012, 7:18 PM

Post #1 of 43 (2734 views)

Shortcut

Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

I lived in Mexico 12 years ago and had to leave because I was continually plagued with typhoid fever, parasites, etc. I have particular health issues that make me sensitive to bacteria. I would like to relocate there if possible.

A friend who just returned from Merida said the water there is potable. I am wondering what, if any, cities have potable water in Mexico. (It is important that the whole city have it.) All information much appreciated!!

Thanks.

Wantok

chicois8

Feb 11, 2012, 7:45 PM

Post #2 of 43 (2725 views)

Shortcut

Re: [wantok] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Unless you sing in the shower, everybody drinks bottled water

wantok

Feb 11, 2012, 7:48 PM

Post #3 of 43 (2719 views)

Shortcut

Re: [chicois8] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

I drank bottled water. I would like to be able to eat out and be relatively safe. Water permeates everything if you are sensitive as I am.

Wantok

johanson

Feb 11, 2012, 7:50 PM

Post #4 of 43 (2717 views)

Shortcut

Re: [chicois8] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

In Reply To

Unless you sing in the shower, everybody drinks bottled water

No we don't all drink bottled water. I, for example have almost never had to drink bottled water since I arrived along the shores of Lake Chapala in 1997. I have a filter system and UV filters. Many of my neighbors also use reverse osmosis systems, something I have now added recently to my home.

chicois8

Feb 11, 2012, 7:51 PM

Post #5 of 43 (2716 views)

Shortcut

Re: [wantok] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Well maybe if you are that sensitive, Mexico is not your cup of tea......could not resist...LOL

wantok

Feb 11, 2012, 7:54 PM

Post #6 of 43 (2708 views)

Shortcut

Re: [chicois8] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Unfortunately you may be right. I am hoping there are some new developments. I was surprised that Bogotá, Colombia and Asunción, Paraguay have potable water however, and that made me wonder if there are any changes in Mexico. The World Bank has been spending a bunch on water in Latin America.

chicois8

Feb 11, 2012, 7:57 PM

Post #7 of 43 (2707 views)

Shortcut

Re: [johanson] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

In Reply To

Unless you sing in the shower, everybody drinks bottled water

I probably have if not the same filter as you one very similar,but all restaurants will not have modern systems, the OP states he is sensitive.......

Rolly

Feb 11, 2012, 8:02 PM

Post #8 of 43 (2704 views)

Shortcut

Re: [wantok] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

For 12 years, I have been drinking tap water at my house in Lerdo, Durango.
The adjoining cities of Gómez Palacio and Torreón have safe water also.

Rolly Pirate

YucaLandia

Feb 11, 2012, 8:15 PM

Post #9 of 43 (2694 views)

Shortcut

Re: [wantok] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

The last survey of Merida water tested roughly 360 homes across the city. This independent University study found 97% of the time the water was very clean at each home's water meter. The 3% that had bacterial contamination were in one area.

When they tested the same homes water quality at the kitchen sink taps, the number of homes with safe drinking water dropped to 76%. This showed that water quality was good in most homes, and that home plumbing contamination caused most home bacterial contamination at the sink (88% of sinks with contaminated water was caused by in-home problems) . This contamination in individual home plumbing can be remedied simply: Clean the tinaco or cistern to remove any organic debris, and then treat the plumbing system with just ¼ - ½ cup of normal bleach per 1100 liter tinaco. This amount of bleach temporarily raises home plumbing free chlorine levels to typical swimming pool levels. See: http://www.yucatanliving.com/...g-in-the-tropics.htm for disinfection and sanitizing schemes.

Merida's water comes from 350 ft deep wells. Deep wells here provide very clean but hard water. Many people here tend to drink agua de garrafon because of the high hardness of our tap water. Free chlorine tests of water in clean home tinacos shows that Merida's chlorination scheme works very well for most homes, even when the water sits in a hot tinaco. The free chlorine levels in Merida water ensures that your water should be typhoid free, unless your home has organic debris contaminating the tinaco or plumbing.

Since raw meat across Mexico often has salmonella contamination, and salad fixings and vegetables are frequently fertilized with night soil or animal manure (90% likelihood), it would seem to be tough to tell definitively if a bacterial illness like salmonella came from a salad, raw meat cross-contamination in a kitchen, or your tap water.

US water systems are typically allowed to have fecal coliform and accompanying microbial contamination 5% of the time, per EPA drinking water standards, and the last round of nationwide chicken studies found 83% of US grocery store chicken had either salmonella or campylobacter contamination and 50% of US turkey had salmonella contamination - so these problems are not just South of the Border nuisances.
Dr. Steven Fry
-
Read-on MacDuff
E-visit at http://yucalandia.com

(This post was edited by YucaLandia on Feb 11, 2012, 10:33 PM)

karenanron

Feb 11, 2012, 8:15 PM

Post #10 of 43 (2692 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Rolly] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

We were in Merida last August and stayed at a hotel in Centro. They provided bottled water for us. We will be back the next month, but staying in Chelem. The bottled water business is going well in Merida. You still have to wash all your fruits and vegies in a solution that I can't name right now.....due to a few glasses of wine. But I agree with what has been said that maybe Mexico not being your place in paradise which is too bad.

wantok

Feb 11, 2012, 8:22 PM

Post #11 of 43 (2684 views)

Shortcut

Re: [YucaLandia] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

I appreciate the information but feel that the issue is not simply cleaning "my" water. Mexico is such a wonderfully social culture, it seems contradictory to not be able to socialize in others' homes or go out to eat. And I know there is plenty of bacteria all around. My stomach has made peace with US bacteria, and I was fine in Montevideo, Asunción, Bogotá (all with potable water, which is why I am looking for this).

chicois8

Feb 11, 2012, 8:26 PM

Post #12 of 43 (2677 views)

Shortcut

Re: [wantok] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

In Reply To

Well it seems like you answered your own question, if you have found areas where you have no problems then maybe that's the place for you.......

wantok

Feb 11, 2012, 8:31 PM

Post #13 of 43 (2673 views)

Shortcut

Re: [chicois8] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

I have asked for help on this because I prefer Mexico to those other places. Thanks for your input.

karenanron

Feb 11, 2012, 8:32 PM

Post #14 of 43 (2672 views)

Shortcut

Re: [wantok] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

I'm certainly no expert but just relaying what we have experienced. I would say that with your health issues, it would be a crap shoot for you. YucaLandia lives in Merida and knows tons about the area. The times we have been there, we ate out every night and had no problems. Were we lucky? Maybe. Merida is a wonderful place. Go down and try it for a week.

chicois8

Feb 11, 2012, 8:38 PM

Post #15 of 43 (2670 views)

Shortcut

Re: [wantok] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Then maybe visit where rolly, steve or johanson live and see if it is compatible for you, we all love Mexico that's why we are here but it's like a marriage, if it does not work out then move on.........

bfwpdx

Feb 12, 2012, 5:13 AM

Post #16 of 43 (2636 views)

Shortcut

Re: [wantok] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

I understand the Baja peninsula has potable water because they use deep wells and have little run off from contaminated streams etc etc. It was potable when we travelled there 20 years ago. Maybe someone from that area could comment on the current situation. La Paz was a lovely city then.

whynotwrite

Feb 12, 2012, 5:33 AM

Post #17 of 43 (2633 views)

Shortcut

Re: [johanson] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

In Reply To

Unless you sing in the shower, everybody drinks bottled water

You are just drinking bottled water out of your tap. The water must not be good or you would not need the casa sized filtration system.

robt65

Feb 12, 2012, 7:09 AM

Post #18 of 43 (2602 views)

Shortcut

Re: [whynotwrite] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Hello whynotwrite,

Sorry but I have to agree with Pete (johanson) for several reasons. Our water in the San Juan del Rio area of Queretaro is fine for drinking, and I also am installing a total casa double filter system. I do not know your location, or for how long you have been here in Mexico, but there are numerous times when there are problems with municipal water delivery to homes, a maintenance problem, a line break, or even a semi annually closure of the water plant for periodic maintenance or cleaning. There are no public boil water advisory warnings here for such mishaps. I also am installing a cistern, and no matter how clean you keep your cistern there is always a chance for a water bacteria problem. So for those who can afford such a system, it is only prudent to install one. It is a fairly inexpensive insurance. As for myself with three older persons and two children in our household, I prefer to error on the side of caution. So having a filter system of any kind, is not necessarily an indication of bad water at the present time. That's my 2 cents worth anyway. . . . . . Each to his own.

robt65

(This post was edited by robt65 on Feb 12, 2012, 8:10 AM)

valdecker

Feb 12, 2012, 7:52 AM

Post #19 of 43 (2584 views)

Shortcut

Re: [wantok] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

I live in Ajijic; used to live in San Miguel de Allende. I can't handle the hot places as a year around resident.
I had the kind of problems you've described. All the bugs loved me.
Eventually, I figured out which restaurants weren't cleaning their food properly and I don't go there. I used bottled water at home.
Finally, I had a "whole house" purification system installed and seldom get the bugs.
Frankly, I don't trust those big garafons they sell. Why are there "things" floating in them sometimes? I don't really want to know.

(This post was edited by valdecker on Feb 12, 2012, 7:54 AM)

morgaine7

Feb 12, 2012, 7:57 AM

Post #20 of 43 (2581 views)

Shortcut

Re: [bfwpdx] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

I'm in La Paz, and everybody drinks filtered or bottled water. From what I'm told, the city water is good when it comes out of the plant but may not be by the time it makes its way through the outdated infrastructure. It's not all well water. Some comes from a reservoir in the hills outside of town that is both spring-fed and rainfall-fed. What comes out of my faucets is heavily chlorinated. I've used my pool test kit on it and the level is actually higher than in the pool. So it's probably safe but doesn't taste good for drinking. I use it "as is" for everything else (cooking, coffee, brushing teeth), but I'm not at all sensitive.

Kate

robt65

Feb 12, 2012, 8:16 AM

Post #21 of 43 (2575 views)

Shortcut

Re: [wantok] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Hi wantok,

I know there are difficulties for sure in many different places in Mexico. In the Tampico, Altamira area of Tamaulipas I was always having a difficult time with waterborne bugs. You can always carry a small bottle or two in your purse or pockets. Any boiled water for example for tea or coffee is usually not a problem. Don't take any ice from cafe's in your drinks and change a few NOB habits and life can be a more comfortable thing here in Mexico.

robt65

sfmacaws

Feb 12, 2012, 10:41 AM

Post #22 of 43 (2532 views)

Shortcut

Re: [wantok] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Personally, I never drank water from the tap in the US either. I question the infrastructure getting the water to my house and even, in some old houses I lived in, the pipes in the house itself. Plus, it never tastes very good in a locality with hard water. Same thing here in Merida, I brush my teeth and cook with it but I drink water from my RO tap and use that for coffee as well, a matter of taste more than anything. I've never seen a nice restaurant here in Merida that doesn't use bottled water for ice, I'm sure there are some but it isn't common.

All that said, if you are particularly susceptible to bacterial problems, the tropics is probably not the place for you. Everything grows better here including bacteria. I'd say you'd be better off in a cold and high altitude location in Mexico. Look in the Bajio and around San Miguel.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

Papirex

Feb 12, 2012, 3:11 PM

Post #23 of 43 (2477 views)

Shortcut

Re: [whynotwrite] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

There are no enforced public health laws or regulations down here. You are truly on your own to protect yourself and your family. The time zone listed in your profile is somewhere east of New York or Maine, so you are probably not in México.

No one should post as a resident if they don't live here, the reading public might be deceived into thinking you know what you are talking about.

The one thing that can be said about the water supply anywhere in México is that it is unreliably potable. It might be OK one one day in the morning, and contaminated the next. You must do everything to protect yourself at all times.

As to shallow wells, the water from a shallow well is always suspect. A vacuum pump will only lift water a few feet at sea level. Shallow water is almost always contaminated with animal and bird droppings, urine, decaying dead creatures, etc.

I had my training in The state of California. In that state, it was required for a well to supply domestic water, to be drilled through at least two strata of impermeable rock. This necessitated using a siphon jet pump to raise the water to the surface. The average well for domestic service was 180 feet deep. They were always expensive.

About 4 years ago, the shower heads in my house started to stop up. I removed the shower heads to flush the pipes. Many small pieces of plastic came out. They looked like they might have been part of clear plastic bags, before they were chopped into small pieces when passing through a pump. I had to flush the plastic out of the pipes every 2 or 3 days for about a month.

City officials denied that there was any problem, and would do no investigating. You must use silver colloids In the water to soak all vegetables before cooking them, and to treat water in garafons here, A whole house water purification system is good insurance, and a very good thing to have installed.

Stay healthy, and do everyone a favor, and stay gone, or don't post about things you have no knowledge of.\

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

fug

Feb 12, 2012, 3:26 PM

Post #24 of 43 (2468 views)

Shortcut

Re: [wantok] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

In answer to your post, I am unaware of any total cities that have 100% potable water. fug.

YucaLandia

Feb 12, 2012, 5:57 PM

Post #25 of 43 (2426 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Papirex] Cities with potable water?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Papirex is correct in instructing people to get your information from reliable sources.**

The silver colloid products recommended above are at best only partly effective against pathogenic bacteria, and they are completely ineffective against other some salmonella species.

A good National Institutes of Health (NIH) study tested common vegetables from Mexico City, and the found that silver colloid products like Bacdyne, Microdyne, et al only reduce counts of key pathogens by just 29% and 52% reductions, and also found that they do not knock out Salmonella Typhi. (Typhoid)

For microorganisms contaminating lettuce and leafy vegetables: lettuce contamination was reduced from 200,000 UFC/g down to only 96,500 UFC/g, and contamination on leafy vegetables was reduced from 175,000 to just 125,000 UFC/g. The remaining levels of microbial contaminants were more than high enough to sicken people.

Should we trust our health to colloidal silver soaks, when 81% to 48% of Mexican microbial pathogens remain after soaking with Microdyne or Bacdyne silver colloids, and when Salmonella Typhi is basically untouched. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17061512
steve

-
**If you check pseudo-scientific "health" sites around the web, there are plenty of claims about colloidal silver, but actual peer-reviewed research by respected scientists contradict the "health" site claims. I personally trust NIH study results of Mexican microbes on Mexican vegetables over internet claims.
-
-
Read-on MacDuff
E-visit at http://yucalandia.com

1 2 View All