Phuket’s water supply in a critical situation

By Kritsada Mueanhawong

 

 

Phuket’s water lords are now admitting the island’s water situation is in a critical situation – a situation they have had the power to avert but have chosen instead to ‘hope’ for monsoonal rains and go in search of alternative water sources to top up the dwindling catchment resources.

 

Phuket is now in the throws of a water shortage. The PWA says the water supply in Bang Ward Dam is only enough for the end of next month if no rain arrives.

 

The Phuket Water Work Authority manager Kraisorn Mahamat says, “The water in Bang Wad Dam (Kathu) is only enough up to the end of next month if there is no rain, while the other two reservoirs are enough until the rain comes.

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/phukets-water-supply-in-a-critical-situation

 

-- © Copyright The Thaiger 2019-04-23

This is Bang Wad Dam this afternoon. It is low but nothing like the picture in the article ?

11 minutes ago, Soupdragon said:

This is Bang Wad Dam this afternoon. It is low but nothing like the picture in the article ?

Hotels are getting priority for water. They can't have tourism affected but residents can suffer. I've tried for the past 30 hours to get water delivered and I had to give up. 6 day queue or no water at all. 

Extortionate priced water still has a wait time. 

 

Time to install another big tank under ground so I never have to deal with this again. 

^^^My supply in Bang Tao which is from Bang Wad is so far unaffected, not even reduced pressure.

 

I must be one of the lucky ones as I have never seen so many water trucks all over Phuket.

43 minutes ago, hansgruber said:

<snip>

Time to install another big tank under ground so I never have to deal with this again. 

 

But how big a tank. In Patong I built only 30 k liter storage which supplies only 7 days if no water supply (and we are on town water mains). Went big in Kata with 2 x 200 k tanks as no town water mains. Gives 90 day supply. Still not enough. Already trucked in 12 k * 8 trucks  or almost 100 k liters.

1 hour ago, hansgruber said:

Hotels are getting priority for water. They can't have tourism affected but residents can suffer. I've tried for the past 30 hours to get water delivered and I had to give up. 6 day queue or no water at all. 

Extortionate priced water still has a wait time. 

 

Time to install another big tank under ground so I never have to deal with this again. 

We got water delivered yesterday cause the mains were under maintenance and it took me about 30 minutes to get it. The guy had to drive to the supply point, come back, and unload it. no pre-ordering needed.

Price was shocking of course... 600 baht for 2000 liters.

About 4 days ago they said they had enough for another 39 days and had made arrangements for private water sources if needed. Now it seems the truth is coming out. Oh well. We will soon see what comes to pass.

56 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

In Patong I built only 30 k liter storage which supplies only 7 days

Do you have a hotel or a lot of people in your property as that seems very high?

9 minutes ago, topt said:

Do you have a hotel or a lot of people in your property as that seems very high?

 

We own an apartment block with 12 apartments, 21 bedrooms and a bunch of wash rooms and wash machines. Not a hotel. 5 k liters a day. It's a challenge to supply water. Look at Hans, I assume he has a single unitl home and might have to go hotel. Where the hotel get water. It's all a challenge that I closely manage early each morning.

 

Edit - that's just one of our Patong buildings.

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1095983-phuket’s-water-lords-confident-of-supplies-and-back-up-plans/

 

Full control from cradle to grave????

The headlines of the Phuket water situation have been contradicting each other for months now. water crisis followed by no water crisis here.

 

I'll take notice of the posteres here who are clearly describing a problem with water supply.

 

I take it the Thai authorities are concerned of negative effects on tourism, as usual.

3 hours ago, hansgruber said:

Hotels are getting priority for water. They can't have tourism affected but residents can suffer. I've tried for the past 30 hours to get water delivered and I had to give up. 6 day queue or no water at all. 

Extortionate priced water still has a wait time. 

 

Time to install another big tank under ground so I never have to deal with this again. 

Why don't you get a deep, narrow-bore drilled? It doesn't feed from the water-table.

I hope the whole place dries up and the lords are moved on !

The future some would say for most of the planet. I had 60K worth tanks in Oz and we rarely got low because of rainfall at times to refill and top-up the tanks.

Occasional buying in of water over many years.

My advice to anyone who has a home: Install as much as you can in H2O storage. Rainwater once the initial water has flushed off roofs is beautiful to drink and as clean as any water near civilisation can be.

Just imagine what will happen if one year the rains fail.

Water supply is not a priority for the military junta. High speed trains and other mega projects are. 

1 hour ago, Thingamabob said:

Just imagine what will happen if one year the rains fail.

In his best selling book "Collapse" Jared Diamond devotes a chapter to the demise of the ancient Khmer civilization in Cambodia.  Their ancient city and the community it contained was an architectural and social marvel.  The people relied on the huge lake for water and for the massive amounts of fish it supplied.  The lake was replenished each year with the monsoon rains.

 

One year the monsoons did not come.  No one knows why.  And the result was a massive and highly developed city without water or food.  The ancient Khmer where literally wiped out within a year or two.

5 hours ago, Joe Mcseismic said:

Why don't you get a deep, narrow-bore drilled? It doesn't feed from the water-table.

I have one. 67 metres deep and bone dry. 

4 hours ago, Tropposurfer said:

The future some would say for most of the planet. I had 60K worth tanks in Oz and we rarely got low because of rainfall at times to refill and top-up the tanks.

Occasional buying in of water over many years.

My advice to anyone who has a home: Install as much as you can in H2O storage. Rainwater once the initial water has flushed off roofs is beautiful to drink and as clean as any water near civilisation can be.

I have no town water. I rely on rain water collection and bore well. I haven't needed a truck of water for nearly 5 years. 

The lack of rain and everyone sucking the same water from their wells have depeleted the supply. 

I just create another underground tank and I'll never have this problem again. My tank now is 22,000 litres. I'll do another identical for 44,000 total. 

Should be enough for a family of 4 all year round. 

8 hours ago, hansgruber said:

I have one. 67 metres deep and bone dry. 

Wow! (gob-smacked).

Hilariously the might great Thai  Nation can't even  supply water to its  own citizens.

Unfortunately, regardless of location, much of the water humans use is wasted. 

 

People brush their teeth with the tap running , take a shower with the water constantly running. Flushing toilets that use too much water per flush ...the list is endless.

 

It's only when its not ' on tap ' and costs a lot of money that people start thinking about using it more carefully. That scenario is going to be a lot more frequent in future.

 

 

20 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

 

But how big a tank. In Patong I built only 30 k liter storage which supplies only 7 days if no water supply (and we are on town water mains). Went big in Kata with 2 x 200 k tanks as no town water mains. Gives 90 day supply. Still not enough. Already trucked in 12 k * 8 trucks  or almost 100 k liters.

4,400 litres a day? how many swimming pools do you have? Drinking, laundry, toilets and showering...for a family of 4 that's 250Lt a day each! Talk about excessive consumption in a drought!!!

1 hour ago, TPI said:

4,400 litres a day? how many swimming pools do you have? Drinking, laundry, toilets and showering...for a family of 4 that's 250Lt a day each! Talk about excessive consumption in a drought!!!

 

But we don't have a family home. We have a home rental business with 12 apartments, a total of 22 toilet/showers, many have their own wash machine. Explained that in a later post.