Comments on: Regulating the Water Pressure in Your Mexican Home

By: Hannah Blueberry

Hannah Blueberry — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 04:56:03 +0000

In reply to Michael Watkins. Hello Michael The prices you mentioned in your email is it in Mx pesos or $usd. It seems very elaborate probably needed in the deserts but yikes! for daily toilet flushes or showers

By: Ellie Frost

Ellie Frost — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 15:29:50 +0000

My pump in Lakeside Chapala, MX is running intermittently. My rental agent is telling me it’s my fault because I didn’t keep enough water running in the various spigots my 2 bedroom. She had told me to do this, but frankly, I forgot. I use both bathrooms, the washer & dryer, and I water my plants and small yard. A plumber told me there was a leak under the “house” and someone would have to dig through the floor to find it! I think he may be right because my patio in back is wet for no reason as are signs of water leakage on the walkway by the house going out front. Any feedback would be appreciated!

By: James

James — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 15:58:23 +0000

In reply to Mel. Small pumps need to be 'primed' every so often to remove air pockets from the pipes. The pump will have a vertical pipe with a tap/key on top. You open the tap, fill that with water manually, get the pump running, and then close the tap/key (thus forcing out the air from the system and the water will be begin to pump from the cistern to the tank on the roof). If it's not air in the system, there might be an issue with the floater that controls the pump switch. Talk to your plumber about this.

By: Mel

Mel — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 15:18:09 +0000

In reply to MITCH. Ok Great!! I just had a plumber come in test all the toilets repaired a leak but my small pressure pump still cycles every half hour with no water running?? Any ideas what is causing this??

By: Mel

Mel — Sat, 03 Dec 2022 02:05:05 +0000

In reply to MITCH.

Hey Mitch
I have a question that you may be able to answer. I have a home in mazatlan as well and have two plastic tinacos on the roof as well. Just had them cleaned. I have a water uv system with filters all good. The issue that is driving me crazy is my pressure pump cuts in every 30 minutes or so with no one using water or flushing toilets. No leaks anywhere that I can see checked under sinks, toilet floats street filter Etc nothing. Just don’t understand why pump is cutting in.
Any thoughts???

By: Bobo

Bobo — Sat, 23 Jul 2022 00:18:27 +0000

In reply to Michael Watkins. MANY homes in America have septic tanks too.Fyi

By: Michael Watkins

Michael Watkins — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 21:02:08 +0000

Another technology to consider is an Atmospheric water generator. The devices is basically a dehumidifier which removes the moisture from filtered air and collects it in a tank, where it is then pumped through a filter and UV light and sent to whatever use you want. They are very reliable for drinking water on a whole house use, but get rather expensive for an entire off grid water supply.
They range from $2,000 for a daily drinking water source system to from
$10,000 to $50,000 for whole house use depending on your water needs.

By: Mexperience

Mexperience — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 14:20:32 +0000

In reply to panaharoldo. panaharoldo: You need a special permit to drill a water well in Mexico. You cannot simply drill down to the water level and extract the water that way. Michael: a propertly installed septic tank system doesn't pollute the property's fresh water supply.

By: Michael Watkins

Michael Watkins — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 01:43:47 +0000

In reply to panaharoldo. You do know that most homes in Mexico have fosas (or septic tanks) which leach the liquid contents of your septic system into the soil. If the soil is good for this, it can leach into the same water layer as your well. Maybe not so clean water as you think.

By: MITCH

MITCH — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 23:36:13 +0000

A cistern and tinaco is a good way to go
I live in Mazatlan and do not have a cistern but I have 2 tinacos 1850 liters of water
The city water pressure is enough to fill the tinacos at night
I installed a 1 hp pressure pump on the roof so have pressure for the whole house
Tinacos come in a tan color so are not ugly
UV lamps are ok but it MUST be located at POU / point of use like under your kitchen sink & UV lamps only kill bacteria
You don’t have purified drinking water using a UV lamp
You must have an reverse osmosis system to have purified drinking water
I have been in the water business since 1994

By: panaharoldo

panaharoldo — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:16:43 +0000

An alternative to the unsightly tinaco is to dig your own well and have an air pressure tank. It cost us about $4K usd to install a 21 meter well with submersible pump, 5 gallon air pressure pump, and whole house ultraviolet water filter to kill any bacteria. This did not cost much more than going the cistern, tinaco, and tower route explained in this article. The payoff is 24*7 clean and pressurized water without the ugly tank on our roof, as well as independence from any conditions associated with availability and health qualities with the public water supply.

By: Charles Bates

Charles Bates — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:54:23 +0000

Great piece of information on the water system for a home in Mexico. My wife and I are planning to buy a home in Mexico and this article has been an extremely helpful eye opener.