New waste water bill, is it a scam?

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Scout
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New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by Scout »

I’ve lived here for years and am very familiar with the monthly water bill and where to pay it. The normal water bill has a section for wastewater, on mine the charge is listed as zero. My normal bill arrived last week, delivered by the motorcycle courier that drives from house to house, delivering water bills. ALSO last week, the postal service delivered a new “wastewater” bill, one I’ve never seen in all these years. This new bill is in the form of a letter, mostly in Thai, with the only English being “wastewater Bill” and instructions to pay it at the office on Nebkaehart, an office I am not familiar with. The letter appears to be from the Tessaban. My normal water bill is 147 baht, the wastewater bill is 146 baht. As I was seeing my lawyer on another matter today I took it to him and asked him to explain it to me. He laughed, then advised me not to pay it. He pointed out that the normal bill has a section for the wastewater charge (mine is zero) and said it’s just a local attempt to get money from farang, that Thai people don’t get this new bill. He said the money paid for the normal bill is sent to Bangkok, then formally disbursed where needed, but this new bill is only local with no indication of how it was assessed or where the money will go. My house is not connected to any wastewater discharge systems. So now I’m unsure what to do. Has anyone else recently received this new wastewater bill ? Anyone know anything about it or what I should do ? It’s small money but I’d rather not throw it away all the same.
handdrummer
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by handdrummer »

Take your lawyers advice and avoid the scam.
Takiap
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by Takiap »

Post the letter to the address where it tells you to pay, with a little note saying "Nice Try"

You might also want to consider informing both the police and the tourist police, and if you have a Thai wife, get her to take a pic of the letter and share it on Facebook.

I certainly would not be paying if I were you, even if it does turn out to be legitimate, because our home is not connected to any sewer system.

:cheers:
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hhinner
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by hhinner »

Well there is a waste water treatment plant on Naebkhehart. Perhaps the OP could post a scan/pic of the letter on here. Out of curiosity, where does the waste water go if not into a drain or sewer?
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by Scout »

Our waste water goes into underground circular concrete tanks, from where it then leaches into the ground. There are separate tanks for each of the 4 bathrooms, and each bathroom has separate tanks for sewer and greywater. Each type of water (sewer and greywater) has 2 tanks, a primary tank where the waste water discharges to from the bathroom, and a secondary tank that the primary overflows into. The solids from the sewer collect in the primary sewer tank and are then either digested biologically and/or pumped out periodically. The last few years I’ve had my primary sewer tanks pumped annually but my neighbors say that as long as one adds the bio-enzymes periodically you can easily go 5 or more years between pumping. Cost to have the pumper truck come pump the tank empty is 400 baht per tank. I’ll try to post a picture of the new bill that is in question, I’m really curious if anyone else is receiving these new bills.
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by handdrummer »

Scout, where can I buy the bio-enzymes?
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by Takiap »

handdrummer wrote: Fri Aug 31, 2018 2:19 am Scout, where can I buy the bio-enzymes?
You shouldn't have to buy anything. Providing you don't flush loads of tissue, and providing you don't use copious amounts of chemical cleaners, your septic tank should work just fine.

We have the same setup as mentioned above, and in the 10+ years we have had our place, we have only had our tanks emptied once.

One common problem here in Thailand with septic tanks is the fact that many places have the black plastic tanks with the overflow/outlet near the top. When buried in the ground, the overflow/discharge part is just beneath the surface where the earth is baked solid by the sun and etc. If you've ever tried digging a hole here with a shovel you'll know what I mean. This can make it almost impossible for the waste water to drain out.

With the concrete type mentioned above, you generally don't have this problem because the water/waste drains our further below the surface. To be on the safe side, I had our concrete tanks placed in such a way so that the top of the tanks are about half a meter below the surface, with only a large pipe coming up to the surface to allow for pumping if need be. At that depth, the soil is soft and water/waste can drain away easily.

:cheers:
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by handdrummer »

Takiap, we rent our house and have no idea what the septic situation is. At home I had a septic tank with a drain field and the tank required being cleaned out about every 5 yrs.

We don't flush paper but do use some diluted bleach to clean the toilets about once a month. I use a drain cleaner in the sinks about every 2-3 months to keep the water flowing out. If you think that won't harm anything I'll skip the bio-enzymes and buy a few more apples.
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by Takiap »

You should be okay without having to buy anything special. Back in the day, if a new house was built and a new septic tank connect, the plumber would start the bacteria ball rolling by tossing in a chicken from the supermarket and it seems to always have worked.

With the house we had built in Thailand, I adopted a different approach. Since I had the home built one meter off the ground, we have a large void area beneath us, so I simply disconnected the kitchen waste water, and also the shower waste water from our septic tank. This water now simply drains out over the ground beneath the house. I should add that although we are one meter above the ground, we had the void space completely enclosed, with only one small access door. I have been under the house several times since I did this to inspect, and never noticed any problems at all, not even a bad smell.

Grey water can also safely be used for watering your lawn and etc. although I certainly wouldn't use it anywhere near a garden where I'm growing edible stuff.

:cheers:
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georgy
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by georgy »

handdrummer wrote:Scout, where can I buy the bio-enzymes?
Homework has it
live and let live
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by handdrummer »

georgy wrote: Sat Sep 01, 2018 6:51 am
handdrummer wrote:Scout, where can I buy the bio-enzymes?
Homework has it
Do you mean HomePro?
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by georgy »

handdrummer wrote:
georgy wrote: Sat Sep 01, 2018 6:51 am
handdrummer wrote:Scout, where can I buy the bio-enzymes?
Homework has it
Do you mean HomePro?
Yes. HomePro. Sorry.

I typed HomePro but seems spell check changed it
live and let live
handdrummer
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by handdrummer »

Yes. HomePro. Sorry.

I typed HomePro but seems spell check changed it.

Thank you. Beware the all knowing spell check.
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by StevePIraq »

Talk about getting off topic.
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Re: New waste water bill, is it a scam?

Post by egiljohann »

I live in Chomsin Rd. near by the Chinese graveyard and so far have not got this bill. We don't have any septic tank as well, but my address is maybe not in the "greater Hua Hin area".
:roll:
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