Field Notes
Practical answers about wells, groundwater and water supply on the islands — written by the people who do the work.
Equipment
Dry-run protection for well pumps: how it works and what it protects
A dry-run trip stops a submersible pump before it destroys itself. It does not prove the well is empty. How the common protection methods work, what an alarm can really mean, and why resetting it again and again is the wrong fix.
October 9, 20267 min read
Equipment
Variable-speed booster pumps for villas: when are they worth it?
A variable-speed booster changes its motor speed to hold pressure steady as demand rises and falls. For some villas it is a real upgrade; for others it adds cost and electronics for little gain. How to tell which you are.
October 9, 20267 min read
Equipment
Submersible pump cable sizing: why well depth changes the electrical design
A deep well puts a long cable between the control panel and the motor, and every metre of it costs voltage. Why cable size is calculated rather than chosen from the motor's power, and what else keeps the connection reliable underwater.
October 9, 20267 min read
Water Supply
How to disinfect a water well after flooding or pump work
A flood around the wellhead, a pump pulled out for repair or a season of disuse can all leave contamination inside a well. Disinfection is the step that deals with it, and it only works as part of a sequence.
October 8, 20267 min read
Equipment
How deep should a submersible pump be set in a water well?
Too high and the pump can run dry when the water level falls. Too low and it pays to lift water it never needed to, close to the sediment at the bottom. The right depth is calculated from the well, not chosen.
October 8, 20267 min read
Equipment
How much electricity does a deep well pump use?
A pump's electricity use comes down to two numbers multiplied together: the power it draws and how long it runs. Everything else, from the depth of the well to a clogged filter, changes one of those two.
October 8, 20266 min read
Water Supply
How to protect a borehole from surface contamination
Most contamination in a drilled well does not come from the aquifer. It comes down from the surface, through the wellhead, along routes a little concrete and a few sealed fittings would have closed.
October 7, 20267 min read
Drilling
4-inch vs 6-inch boreholes: what actually changes?
Diameter is one of the first numbers on a drilling quote and one of the most misunderstood. A wider hole changes what equipment fits and how the well is built. It does not, by itself, find more water.
October 7, 20266 min read
Guides
Deep wells and septic systems on the same plot: what to plan first
On a villa plot, the well and the wastewater system compete for the same ground. Placing them together, early, is far easier than moving either one after the slab is poured.
October 7, 20266 min read
Guides
One shared well or separate wells: water for small developments
Four villas can drink from one strong well or four modest ones, and the right answer is rarely obvious. The hydraulics, the ownership questions and the failure maths that decide it.
October 3, 20267 min read
Drilling
Does groundwater change with the seasons? What well owners see
The island's rain arrives in pulses, and the water table quietly follows. Why levels move, which wells feel it most, and how to time tests and decisions around the cycle.
October 3, 20266 min read
Water Supply
Private well or water truck: the long-term maths for island properties
Delivered water solves today; a well changes the cost structure for a decade. How to compare the two honestly, and the properties where trucking really is the better answer.
October 3, 20266 min read
Guides
Deep well water for resorts and hotels: designing for occupancy
A resort does not use water the way a big villa does. Occupancy swings, laundry, pools and staff quarters change the whole design brief. What a hotel-grade groundwater system has to get right.
October 1, 20267 min read
Drilling
Drilling a well on a hillside plot: access, platforms and timing
Half of the island's best building land sits on slopes a drilling rig cannot simply drive onto. What a rig needs from your plot, how slopes change the sequence, and why the drilling date belongs early in the build programme.
October 1, 20266 min read
Guides
Buying a villa with an existing well: what to check before you sign
A proven well adds real value to an island property. An unknown one adds quiet risk. The documents, tests and half day of checks that tell you which of the two you are buying.
October 1, 20266 min read
Guides
Saltwater intrusion: how coastal wells go salty, and how they don't
Near the coast, fresh groundwater floats on salt water, and the well's own pump decides which one it drinks. Why intrusion happens, the early signs, and the habits that keep a beachfront well fresh.
September 26, 20266 min read
Water Supply
Filling a swimming pool from a deep well: what to check first
A pool is the biggest single drink a villa ever takes, and well water can absolutely supply it. Whether it should depends on two tests and a bit of patience.
September 24, 20266 min read
Equipment
Power cuts and well pumps: keeping water flowing when the grid drops
When the electricity goes, some villas lose water in ninety seconds and some never notice. The difference is architecture, not luck. What outages do to pumps, and the backup options ranked honestly.
September 22, 20266 min read
Drilling
Shallow well or drilled borehole: which does your property need?
Thailand has two very different kinds of well, and they are not interchangeable. How shallow ring wells and drilled boreholes differ in water, reliability and risk, and how to choose.
September 19, 20266 min read
Equipment
Why does my well pump keep turning on and off?
Rapid on-off cycling is the pump fault owners notice last and pay for most. The causes are a short list, they can be checked in order, and most are cheap to fix when caught early.
September 18, 20267 min read
Equipment
Pressure tanks for villas: how they work and how to size them
The small tank beside the pump decides how often the pump starts and how steady the showers feel. It is not a water reserve, and its size is a calculation rather than a preference.
September 18, 20267 min read
Water Supply
Why well water turns brown or orange: iron and manganese
Water that leaves the pump clear and turns orange in the tank is not a mystery. The chemistry is ordinary and treatable, but the treatment has to follow a test rather than a guess.
September 18, 20266 min read
Water Supply
Sand or cloudy water from a deep well: what does it mean?
A glass of well water tells you more than most owners expect. What settles, what floats and what clears on its own each point somewhere different, and only some of them point at a filter.
September 18, 20267 min read
Equipment
Water tank materials compared: PE, fibreglass, stainless and concrete
Tank size gets all the attention, but the material decides how the tank ages in island conditions. How the four common options compare on sunlight, taste, cleaning and repair.
September 17, 20266 min read
Water Supply
Using a deep well for garden irrigation on Koh Samui
A landscaped garden can quietly out-drink the villa it surrounds. What irrigation really demands from a well, and how storage lets a modest borehole water a serious garden.
September 15, 20266 min read
Drilling
Comparing well drilling quotes on Koh Samui: the hole is not the system
The cheapest drilling quote is often the most expensive well. What a complete quotation itemizes, from casing spec to pump and tank, and how to put two offers side by side honestly.
September 13, 20266 min read
Guides
Is well water safe to drink? Test first, treat second
Groundwater on the islands ranges from excellent to undrinkable, and looks tell you almost nothing. What a proper water test covers, when to run one, and how the result decides the treatment.
September 11, 20266 min read
Equipment
How to choose a deep well pump in Thailand
A well pump is chosen from two numbers, flow and total head, and neither is horsepower. How submersible pumps are sized, why bigger is worse, and what the test pumping report contributes.
September 9, 20267 min read
Guides
How a villa water system works, from borehole to tap
Source, storage, pressure, treatment: the four stages every reliable villa water system on Koh Samui is built from, and how a weakness in one shows up in the others.
August 21, 20267 min read
Equipment
Low water pressure in your villa: causes and fixes
Weak showers have a short list of causes: elevation, a tired or undersized pump, clogged filtration, or thin pipework. How to find yours before buying anything.
August 19, 20266 min read
Guides
Borehole maintenance: what a well needs to keep producing
A drilled well is a machine with moving parts and a service life. What annual servicing covers, why yields fade, and the two documents that make every future repair cheaper.
August 17, 20266 min read
Drilling
Deep well drilling on Koh Samui: what property owners should know
What a drilling project actually involves: the survey that sets expectations, the days on site, casing and test pumping, and how the pump and filtration get specified afterwards.
July 12, 20267 min read
Drilling
How much water will a well actually produce?
Depth gets the attention, but yield is what a property runs on. How test pumping measures a well, why neighbouring boreholes differ, and how the number drives pump and tank decisions.
July 10, 20266 min read
Guides
Planning water for a villa development on Koh Samui
At project scale water stops being a connection and becomes infrastructure: peak demand across units, shared or individual plant, redundancy, and what has to exist at handover.
July 8, 20267 min read
Drilling
What affects the cost of drilling a well on Koh Samui?
Four things move the number more than anything else — and none of them can be known for certain until someone looks at your site.
July 1, 20265 min read
Water Supply
Private well or municipal water: which makes sense on Koh Samui?
Municipal supply is simpler to start; a private well buys independence. Which wins depends on where your property sits and how it's used.
June 28, 20266 min read
Equipment
Six warning signs your well pump is about to fail
Most pump failures announce themselves days or weeks ahead. Catch the signs early and a repair replaces an emergency.
June 25, 20265 min read
Equipment
What size water tank does a villa on Koh Samui need?
The right tank is a buffer against the gaps in your supply — sized from how many people use the water and how long resupply really takes.
June 22, 20265 min read
Equipment
Well water filtration: what you actually need (and what you don't)
Island groundwater varies bore to bore. The only way to size filtration honestly is to test the water first — then treat what's actually there.
June 19, 20265 min read
Drilling
How deep are water wells on Koh Samui?
The honest answer is a range, not a number — here's what decides where your site lands in it.
June 15, 20265 min read
Water Supply
When the tank runs dry: emergency water for villas and resorts
Emergency delivery is a real service — but the best emergency is the one that never happens. Here's how island properties stay ahead of an empty tank.
June 12, 20265 min read
Guides
Building a villa? Plan the water before you pour the foundation
Water is easiest and cheapest to get right before the walls go up. A short guide to sequencing it into a new build on the islands.
June 8, 20266 min read
Water Supply
Water on Koh Phangan and Koh Tao: how island logistics really work
The water is the same job; the getting-there isn't. Why supply on Phangan and Koh Tao runs on schedules, and how to plan around them.
June 4, 20266 min read
Guides
Groundwater permits in Thailand: what property owners need to know
When a licence is required, who applies, and why a legal well protects you at resale time.
June 1, 20266 min read
Water Supply
Dry season on Samui & Phangan: preparing your villa's water supply
Every March the islands rediscover water scarcity. The fix is boring: storage, scheduling, and one decision made in November.
May 20, 20265 min read
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