Hi, I just arrived in Koh Samui 5 days ago and it's the second day my hotel has no water. I'm told by reception that Koh Samui has a water shortage but I don't seem to find any information about one in 2024. 

 

Anyone else having water shortage problems? I'm East in Chaweng near the main road. 

There is this article from April:

 

 

We have a water shortage most years.

No real rainfall last year, nor this year.

People on the government water supply often have rationing.

Places not on government water use wells or buy water from water trucks.

Many hotels also buy their water from trucks.

Should I go to another hotel? I'm here for another 2 weeks hence why I'm asking about 2024? I don't see any news about it yet...maybe this hotel isn't paying "extra" to get water cause I know the price has gone up on Koh Samui. I'm thinking about changing hotels if this is the case hence why I'm asking. It sucks that I can't have a shower or flush my toilet after doing a.... I'm never experienced this before.

Edited June 30, 20242 yr by organicman

8 hours ago, organicman said:

Should I go to another hotel? I'm here for another 2 weeks hence why I'm asking about 2024? I don't see any news about it yet...maybe this hotel isn't paying "extra" to get water cause I know the price has gone up on Koh Samui. I'm thinking about changing hotels if this is the case hence why I'm asking. It sucks that I can't have a shower or flush my toilet after doing a.... I'm never experienced this before.

When I first came to Thailand back in 2000, we had the same problem. The hotel put bottled water in the bathroom for use there.

If you move to another hotel in Chaweng, you are likely to get the same problem.

Most places on the major roads are government water supplied.

You would have to move to the less populated areas eg Choengmon.

The problem with your hotel may not be 'not paying' but rather that they are not a 'regular' customer.

The  water trucks cannot service everyone.

Most of the more expensive 4 and 5r star hotels have a regular supplier of water trucks as they are not on government water.

I live in a small resort with a water tank and small building to catch rainwater and we didn't needed water trucks in the last 4 years as far as I know ... I'm pretty sure the owner would have charged me for that and told me. Before I lived in fischermans village for 3 years and we needed it once, usually the water coming from a well on site.

 

From my impression, and that is not proven by any facts, it is raining a lot recently. There was quite a strong short shower on Saturday ... I understand that the weather is often quite local but I would have assumed that it will even out over time, more or less, but might be wrong? I also can't say how the average rainfall over the years was but it also feels more for me. I might be completely wrong.

 

I was on the weekend in Lamai in a run down cheap resort and there was no sign of water shortage. The weekend before i was in a different Hotel, same. 

 

Might it be - on top of the real shortage - that some are prepared and some not?

 

Edited July 1, 20242 yr by malasa

14 hours ago, organicman said:

Should I go to another hotel? I'm here for another 2 weeks hence why I'm asking about 2024? I don't see any news about it yet...maybe this hotel isn't paying "extra" to get water cause I know the price has gone up on Koh Samui. I'm thinking about changing hotels if this is the case hence why I'm asking. It sucks that I can't have a shower or flush my toilet after doing a.... I'm never experienced this before.

Many hotels and resorts buys water delivered by trucks, if they don't have enough. Water shortage on Samui is normal during dry months, so not newsworthy story.

20 hours ago, malasa said:

From my impression, and that is not proven by any facts, it is raining a lot recently. There was quite a strong short shower on Saturday ... I understand that the weather is often quite local but I would have assumed that it will even out over time, more or less, but might be wrong? I also can't say how the average rainfall over the years was but it also feels more for me. I might be completely wrong.

Last year was quite hot and there was water rationing aroun this time and the monsoon rains in the end of the year were sparse. Those are the ones which affects how soon the water shortage will arrive the next year..

This year has been even more hot so the rains of  the last month has  not done much to rise the water table or fill up the water magazines , they have more or less only made the soil a bit more moist. It takes lots of rains for water to seep down through a dry soil.

Edited July 2, 20242 yr by lom
sp

Better to move to Phuket, they have no water shortage at the moment.

31 minutes ago, UWEB said:

Better to move to Phuket, they have no water shortage at the moment.

Well, they had water shortage and rationing a few month ago.

Do you think that it could be that the have a slightly different climate than Samui with rains arriving in Phuket earlier in the year? 😉

14 minutes ago, lom said:

Well, they had water shortage and rationing a few month ago.

Do you think that it could be that the have a slightly different climate than Samui with rains arriving in Phuket earlier in the year? 😉

I was always told that Phuket and Samui have different climates and different tourist seasons.

Rain in Phuket - sun (and drought?) in Samui and vice versa.

2 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

I was always told that Phuket and Samui have different climates and different tourist seasons.

Rain in Phuket - sun (and drought?) in Samui and vice versa.

It was a rhetorical question..

33 minutes ago, lom said:

It was a rhetorical question..

Sorry 

23 hours ago, khunPer said:

Many hotels and resorts buys water delivered by trucks, if they don't have enough. Water shortage on Samui is normal during dry months, so not newsworthy story.

 

Well, a newsworthy story if an innocent tourist books a holiday without being told about this problem. Deceitful on the part of the hotel.

Second day? I wouldn't stay a single day if a hotel didn't even have water lol. The irony how they then talk about increasing tourism even further there.

Edited July 2, 20242 yr by ChaiyaTH