Reservoirs A Must For Developers

[Jai Dee]

Reservoirs a must for developers

Move to solve dry season shortages

New real estate projects in the resort city of Pattaya will be required to have their own water reservoirs to solve shortages during the dry season, according to Chon Buri governor Pracha Terat. He said provincial authorities would issue an announcement in the next few months requiring developers seeking construction permits to include details of plans for water reservoirs on their sites.

"The water shortage is a big problem in Pattaya that may retard the full development of Pattaya. This problem is more severe than any government policies that are currently a concern among foreigners because water is a necessity in any community," he said. Mr Pracha urged not only real estate developers but also Pattaya residents to manage their water supplies better, especially storing rain during the six-month rainy season to use in the dry season.

More from the Bangkok Post here.

[Pattaya_Fox]

Reservoirs a must for developers

Move to solve dry season shortages

New real estate projects in the resort city of Pattaya will be required to have their own water reservoirs to solve shortages during the dry season, according to Chon Buri governor Pracha Terat. He said provincial authorities would issue an announcement in the next few months requiring developers seeking construction permits to include details of plans for water reservoirs on their sites.

"The water shortage is a big problem in Pattaya that may retard the full development of Pattaya. This problem is more severe than any government policies that are currently a concern among foreigners because water is a necessity in any community," he said. Mr Pracha urged not only real estate developers but also Pattaya residents to manage their water supplies better, especially storing rain during the six-month rainy season to use in the dry season.

More from the Bangkok Post here.

This has to be the "Pass the Buck" piece of the year so far. Is this 2007? I sometimes wonder.

A perfect example of fobbing off government and local authority responsibility to the private sector with a stupid not thought through idea.

We were recently told that all the water shortages were a thing of the past and that there would be plenty of water for everybody.

So what does Mr Pracha suggest? 2 0r maybe 3 metre wide reservoirs between the entrance and the bike sheds of the buildings which could double up as duck ponds in the rainy season?

Where will this end? Let me tell you............when there is a water shortage in the future due to lack of proper water management by the government they will just blame the developers for their inaction instead of investing in what is an absolute essential service.

[PhilHarries]

This is a classic example of an instance where a politico should have heeded the Lord's prayer.

"Oh Lord, help me keep my big fat mouth shut untill I know what I'm talking about."

Say we want to build an estate of 100 houses, about average. Assume each house consumes on average one cubic metre of water a day. Thay may be a bit out but it's a ballpark indicative figure. So that's 100 cubic metres of water per day, 700 on the week. This volume of water requires a reservoir roughly 20 metres square by 2 metres deep and that's only for a week! We will end up building huge reservoirs and living on them in houseboats.

We haven't yet addressed how we get the water into the reservoir. OK in the rainy season if the estate is built on low lying ground but what if it's near the top of a hill? Now we need a collection point and darn great pumps to persuade the water to flow uphill to our estate of houseboats.

Nor have we considered evaporative losses which will be very significant in the dry season.

Then partway through the dry season all our houseboats are lying in the bottom of a 2 metre deep muddy pit.

We haven't even covered the subject of water treatment yet. Does the esteemed governor suggest we pump the water straight out of the reservoir into our houses untreated?

Having said all that, these reservoirs will be a great place for mosquitos to breed, that'll increase the frequency of malaria and dengue fever and keep those pesky farangs away.

Oh well, start the day with a laugh is what I say and this is a cracker.

[bino]

It is common practice in the Caribbean islands, where water is precious. Every house or building is built with a basement reservoir, the locals call it a cistern. Downspouts lead into it, and rain is collected off the roof.

There is usually a pipe sticking out of the side of the house somewhere, so that water trucks can fill it easily in dry periods, or if you use too much water in your household. (This also serves as an overflow- if you get too much rain!)

Additionally, there will be a trap door somewhere in the house floor, usually the kitchen, so that you can get down there to clean it, and haul water up with a bucket and rope when there is no electicity (after a hurricane for example).

Because it is under the building, evaporation is not a problem. The rainwater is generally clean, having been through its own natural reverse osmosis process. Many people will pour bleach into the cistern occasionally as a water treatment / mosquito deterrent.

The 120 room hotel I worked at there had the equivalent of an olympic sized swimming pool in the basement, and for safety / guest comfort a filtration and chlorination system was installed. The massive roof area combined with ample storage served a hotel this size adequately. In the 5 years I worked there, there was only two periods that the cistern ran dry, and the hotel had to have water delivered.

If I was going to build a house or hotel here, I would definitely have a cistern collecting water off the roof in rainy season!

Edited February 13, 2007 by bino