Black water empties onto Phuket beach, stuns tourists

[webfact]

Black water empties onto Phuket beach, stuns tourists

The Phuket News

 

A tourist looks on as the black water flows past at Karon Beach yesterday afternoon (May 1). Screengrab: Facebook / Siang Prachachon Kon Phuket

 

PHUKET: Local government agencies are scrambling to figure what caused the water in a canal emptying onto Karon Beach to turn black yesterday afternoon (May 1), causing much concern among tourists.

 

In response, Phuket Governor Nopparat Plodthong yesterday evening ordered the relevant agencies to expedite an urgent investigation into the cause of the incident, which saw the black water empty into the sea at the near the Naga serpent statue halfway along the beach.

 

However, Karon Mayor Tawee Thongcham by late yesterday afternoon had said that heavy rain yesterday had caused a large volume of runoff to enter the canal, causing the water to turn black.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/black-water-empties-onto-phuket-beach-stuns-tourists-66967.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2018-05-02

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RotMahKid]

Rainwater is not black.

 

[keeniau96]

I do not recall Karon having this problem before during my 16 years here. Must be farengs doing nasty things, eh.

[nausea]

Organic matter makes water black, sometimes it's natural but in this case I'll go with the following definition:

 

"Blackwater is any waste from toilets or urinals. It is defined either as treated or untreated (raw), and contains disease-causing bacteria and viruses that can result in human illness from direct contact, or by consumption of affected fish and shellfish."

 

All I can say to Phuket tourists is good luck with the seafood restaurants.

[dfdgfdfdgs]

31 minutes ago, RotMahKid said:

Rainwater is not black.

 

But the filth on the roads is.  When it rains it all ends up in the rivers and klongs and eventually runs out to sea.

[dfdgfdfdgs]

5 minutes ago, nausea said:

Organic matter makes water black, sometimes it's natural but in this case I'll go with the following definition:

 

"Blackwater is any waste from toilets or urinals. It is defined either as treated or untreated (raw), and contains disease-causing bacteria and viruses that can result in human illness from direct contact, or by consumption of affected fish and shellfish."

 

Blackwater is not necessarily black that's just the name for it.  Even if the entire area's waste was released into the same drain it wouldn't be enough to turn a huge amount of rainwater black, like in the videos above.  There might be some human waste in there sure, but that's not the reason for the colour.

[seajae]

black water is polluted water, land run off is brown, very different conditions. The smell would also have been a hint, were samples taken, did anyone try to find where it was originating from, I doubt it, probably worried it would show it was govt or resort caused. You can see black water in canals etc everywhere due the amount of rubbish and crap that is thrown in them  but for this amount there would have to be other factors involved

Edited May 2, 2018 by seajae

[dfdgfdfdgs]

If you don't want to swim on beaches that might be contaminated with surface run off from urban areas then really you should be avoiding Phuket because there is simply too much development and too many people and too much traffic on the island.  But most islands release treated sewage into the sea, even the national park islands like Koh Surin have pipes leading from waste tanks straight onto the beach.

 

So then you're limited to off the beaten path destinations where there is little tourist infrastructure, but most tourists want their 5 star hotel and massage and night market.

[VocalNeal]

Is it still black today?

[trainman34014]

The only thing local Government Agencies 'scramble' for.... are more brown envelopes !

[madmitch]

It was only a matter of time before this happened. I mentioned in an earlier thread on the general topic of wastewater in Phuket that the Khlong at the back of Karon Beach was filthy and here we have it flowing into the sea. As always nothing was done about this before the rains started and by the time any action is taken it's too late. 

 

I may take a walk down there later and see what's happening.

[HarrySeaman]

2 hours ago, dfdgfdfdgs said:

If you don't want to swim on beaches that might be contaminated with surface run off from urban areas then really you should be avoiding Phuket because there is simply too much development and too many people and too much traffic on the island.  But most islands release treated sewage into the sea, even the national park islands like Koh Surin have pipes leading from waste tanks straight onto the beach.

 

So then you're limited to off the beaten path destinations where there is little tourist infrastructure, but most tourists want their 5 star hotel and massage and night market.

I think you mistyped that. You meant, "But most islands release untreated sewage into the sea".

 

Releasing untreated waste water into the ocean is an old and continuing practice. 

 

Run a pipe out into the ocean and pump anything out of it and  out of sight, out of mind.  Problem solved!

 

It was only a couple of decades ago that Boston, USA was forced to stop pumping untreated mixed rain water and sewage out to sea when it rained.

 

Pattaya only treats about 20% of its sewage, releasing both treated and untreated into the ocean.

 

It still happens in almost any community near the sea anywhere in the world.

 

Why anyone would think that any seaside community in Thailand is only releasing treated waste water into the ocean is beyond me.

Edited May 2, 2018 by HarrySeaman

[LivinginKata]

I seem to remember the installation of the sea water intake pipe for the desalination plant. It's not more than a few hundred meters away from this klong outflow.

[Moti24]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Local government agencies are scrambling to figure what caused the water in a canal emptying onto Karon Beach to turn black yesterday afternoon (May 1), causing much concern among tourists.

Karma!  It comes back to bite you on the arse when you least expext it.

[dfdgfdfdgs]

41 minutes ago, HarrySeaman said:

I think you mistyped that. You meant, "But most islands release untreated sewage into the sea".

 

No I meant treated, as in the sense that most of it is left in a tank and the sewage sinks to the bottom.  The rest is released into the sea as greywater/brownwater or whatever it's called and only the remaining solid particles are disposed of 'properly'.  I suppose you could call that untreated depending on your definition of what treatment is.

 

[VocalNeal]

45 minutes ago, HarrySeaman said:

It was only a couple of decades ago that Boston, USA was forced to stop pumping untreated mixed rain water and sewage out to sea when it rained.

 Victoria BC used to do this until "everyone" complained and they built a sewage treatment plant at great expense. Sure the effluent is cleaner but it didn't make any real, measurable difference to the ocean. 

 

There are many black small klong/ditches in Bangkok that could do with a good purge.

Edited May 2, 2018 by VocalNeal

[Old Croc]

When I lived in Patong my balcony would be constantly covered in (for want of a better word) soot, coming from the exhausts of the thousands of motorbikes in the town. It was impossible to keep it clean. Concern about what was going in to my lungs was a major factor in moving elsewhere on the Island.

I believe the poster who stated this black coloured water is from soot on the roads after the first heavy rain, is accurate.

[Deli]

It's simple shit & dirt. Take it to a foreign lab and you might get a true explanation. All the rest is as the water, crap

[Penicillin]

“Stuns tourists “  ........kills tourism. 

[peperobi]

That situation is everywhere in Thailand, canalization? Don't exist, depurators? Don't exist or like in Samui they have a depurator already long time but it was never in use like the incinerator. The authorities use it as an alibi that they do something for the environment, finally, they don't care about. All the luxury resorts even don't try to change the situation, is much easier to close both eyes and hope that the guests don't get disturbed by that rubbish. 

[Lupatria]

4 hours ago, keeniau96 said:

I do not recall Karon having this problem before during my 16 years here. Must be farengs doing nasty things, eh.

Maybe Nigerians who had to dump their black ink after a phone call from an informant.

[masuk]

1 hour ago, dfdgfdfdgs said:

No I meant treated, as in the sense that most of it is left in a tank and the sewage sinks to the bottom.  The rest is released into the sea as greywater/brownwater or whatever it's called and only the remaining solid particles are disposed of 'properly'.  I suppose you could call that untreated depending on your definition of what treatment is.

 

As I remember it, sewerage goes through a series of treatments.   

+Primary treatment is removal of debris, 'lumpy bits', by passing through course grids.

+Secondary treatment allows aeration and digestion of the liquid.  This can also trap methane gas and in colder climates is used to warm the digester and speed up the digesting process.  The sludge is dried and used for agricultural fertiliser.

+Tertiary treatment ensures the wastewater is fairly clean and phosphates are removed.

None of this is cheap, and some councils/shires have been known to shortcut the process.

This would also mean that cities and councils would have Environmental Scientists either on their staff or available for specialist advice and treatment recommendations.

[Juan B Tong]

Black water...Hey It's sewage!

 

Let's use the real word.

Edited May 2, 2018 by Juan B Tong

[samsensam]

4 hours ago, seajae said:

black water is polluted water, land run off is brown, very different conditions. The smell would also have been a hint, were samples taken, did anyone try to find where it was originating from, I doubt it, probably worried it would show it was govt or resort caused. You can see black water in canals etc everywhere due the amount of rubbish and crap that is thrown in them  but for this amount there would have to be other factors involved

 

right, back home i live in the countryside; a beautiful village with a small river running through it. after heavy rain the river changes to a brown colour, then quickly return to its pristine clear state -

yea, where i live the people care about the natural environment.

[madusa]

10 hours ago, nausea said:

Organic matter makes water black, sometimes it's natural but in this case I'll go with the following definition:

 

"Blackwater is any waste from toilets or urinals. It is defined either as treated or untreated (raw), and contains disease-causing bacteria and viruses that can result in human illness from direct contact, or by consumption of affected fish and shellfish."

 

All I can say to Phuket tourists is good luck with the seafood restaurants.

After reading this Phuket is off the destination on my holiday.

[observer90210]

Suicidal to swim in any Thai beach that is near a middle size or large sized city....unfortunately many people need to get sick before they learn....

[55Jay]

Imagine living next to a country that consumes a lot of re-fried pinto beans.

Edited May 2, 2018 by 55Jay

[nkg]

14 hours ago, webfact said:

Black water empties onto Phuket beach, stuns tourists

 

If the water was light blue and sparkling, and the beach had no rubbish, THEN the tourists would have been stunned ...

[Redline]

It never ends.   Rain causes pollution.  

Edited May 2, 2018 by Redline

[AhFarangJa]

one thing I know for certain is that I would not be standing as close to the edge of that sand as those tourists are...........