Ocean Pollution At Pattaya Beach

[garyinthailand]

I have a travel guide that goes on at some length about the inadvisability of swimming at Pattaya Beach because of sewage pollution. Haven't been able to find anything else confirming or denying that.

Does anyone have information? Is the water really so ppor one should not go in? Thanks!

[whatsoever]

Appart from the chance of being killed by a jet ski or speed boat there is also a good chance of literaly swallowing raw sewage. I often find it hard to believe that ferangs swim in the sea in Pattaya. Think Bombay midden and you will be near to the mark

[Basil B]

A lot better than it used to be, there is a pumping station near the entrance to Walking St, all I think this does is filter out the solid stuff and pump the rest out to sea, If you go out on a boat at the right time you can see a very brown streak heading towards the private beach of one of Pattaya's top hotels.

Best not to swim Pattaya beach, jomtien is better and for the best beachs get a boat out to Koh Larn for the day.

BB

[homeless007]

At the moment Pattaya and Jomtien are sewage, garbage, dead fish and jellyfish-heaven....i am on the beach daily below the hill and go swimming most of the days, the first hundred yards you will be wading through any kind of refuse you can imagine...never got sick yet...probably acquired immunity over the years..

once in the while i try wongamat, that is usually the best, with most germans and russians..

good swim...

[Scabo]

I try get up early and go for an early morning swim(Havent been since mid July)

Park my bike at Soi Post Office, swim 10mins out then back. Cant say that I have

had any problems. Luckily it is still to early for the jet skis(5.30/6am)

Swam in better but and have certainly seen worse than Pattaya(Penang)

[innovator]

Would you swim in an oversized toilet??? My GI doctor warned me to avoid swimming in there at all times, unless you want a serious stomach infection, leading to the squirts and worse, if not taken care of properly with medication and fluids.

A Visa commercial might look like this.

A swim in Pattaya bay----free

A visit to the local hospital---15,000 ++

A lifetime memory and lesson learned to stay out of the water.....PRICELESS

[kedawi]

Thailand introduced a pollution monitoring scheme in 2002 called Index Quality of the beach" - but I have failed ever to find any info released under this name.

It is very difficult to find exactly how polluted the beaches around the Chonburi coast are.

Hearsay about encounters with turds is all very well, but it fails to get to the root of the problem.

Wind and tides move pollution around and where it comes from is anyones guess. (did you know there was a sewerage outlet on Wong Amat beach?)

It is of course not just raw sewerage one should be worried about.......

Chonburi and Rayong province are some of the most highly industrialised in Thailand and toxic (?) run off from these industries should be of great concern as too is the run off of phosphates etc from agriculture and the various fish farming activities in the rivers estuaries that flow into the gulf of Siam.

pollution is carried around the Gulf....it does not remain in one place.

recently it was JOMTIEN beach NOT Pattaya beach that received a scolding for it's water quality.

As a coda it is worth noting that clear water is not necessarily a sign of PURE water, it means all the algae and micro organisms are dead.....so one needs to know why......

Edited August 6, 2008 by kedawi

[Tolley]

Plenty of swimming pools in Pattaya better to use the pools.

[ZZZ]

This is from The Nation, 2004:

When the Pollution Control Department surveyed Thailand's 14 major tourist beaches earlier this year it found that none of them fully met its stringent criteria on proper management that would otherwise help maintain these natural resources in superb condition.

In measuring the quality of beaches, the department relies on five major yardsticks - coastal water quality (coliform bacteria from sewage and sediment); volume of rubbish (in the water, on the beach and in nearby communities); quality of sand and sand dunes; coastal erosion and quality of coral reefs; and coastal land uses and problems caused by construction work.

The best beaches would have got the highest-possible five stars, but none qualified. Most of them are in the middle rank of four stars: Had Sai Kaew (Samed Island), Hua Hin, Chaweng (Samui Island), Karon (Phuket) and Had Yao (Phi Phi Islands).

Eight other most visited beaches found to have slightly lower quality are given three stars. These are Pattaya, Bang Saen (Chonburi), Cha-am (Petchburi), Wanapa (Rayong), Lamai (Samui), Patong (Phuket), Lo Dalum (Phi Phi) and Ton Sai (Phi Phi).

A big surprise is that Jomthien Beach was found to the worst among the 14 beaches, getting only two stars. Jomthien's low ranking is in contrast to the general public's belief that the beach is relatively cleaner than nearby Pattaya beach in terms of seawater quality.

[R123]

Go and take at look at the water in Pattaya Beach.

It is filthy and polluted in common with most/all beaches at or around Pattaya/Jontiem.

So can you now answer your own question(s) OP?

Edited August 6, 2008 by R123

[whatsoever]

I try get up early and go for an early morning swim(Havent been since mid July)

Park my bike at Soi Post Office, swim 10mins out then back. Cant say that I have

had any problems. Luckily it is still to early for the jet skis(5.30/6am)

Swam in better but and have certainly seen worse than Pattaya(Penang)

But you do know that it is a toxic toilet

[ZZZ]

Here is the latest Beach index I could find, 2006.

Pattaya Beach has the same rating as Patong beach in Phuket and the beaches on Koh Samet. Jomtien beach gets the lowest rating.

[calibanjr.]

A lot better than it used to be, there is a pumping station near the entrance to Walking St, all I think this does is filter out the solid stuff and pump the rest out to sea, If you go out on a boat at the right time you can see a very brown streak heading towards the private beach of one of Pattaya's top hotels.

Best not to swim Pattaya beach, jomtien is better and for the best beachs get a boat out to Koh Larn for the day.

BB

Lived in Pattaya for about a year '93-'94 before moving on to my next debacles in BKK and now CM. One of my favorite things to get me out of the bars, etc. was a good book to take on the boat, spend a day at Koh Larn. Cleaner, and the water's generally cooler and more refreshing. Great day trip. Other than that, never liked the beach at Pattaya Tai or Jomtien, would go down to Sattahip.

[Basil B]

Plenty of swimming pools in Pattaya better to use the pools.

Yes, there are loads of hotels that have a private pool, also many that do not have a pool at all, please tell use where there is a public pool?

BB

[Laawman]

Nothing wrong with the water in Pattaya Bay................

[LtCol]

That photo looks to be on a good day much better than the last time I was there last year

[sotsira]

Here is the latest Beach index I could find, 2006.

Pattaya Beach has the same rating as Patong beach in Phuket and the beaches on Koh Samet. Jomtien beach gets the lowest rating.

If thats the data that was issued in 2006 would it not be completely irrelavant now that its 2008.

Im no expert but surely the water qaulity could change on a daily basis let alone over 2 years.

[Guderian]

I have a travel guide that goes on at some length about the inadvisability of swimming at Pattaya Beach because of sewage pollution. Haven't been able to find anything else confirming or denying that.

Does anyone have information? Is the water really so ppor one should not go in? Thanks!

These guys will swim in Pattaya or Jomtien

[britmaveric]

I wouldn't swim there - take a boat to Koh Larn would be my recommendation.

[Tony Clifton]

I read somewhere above Bang Saen beach has slightly lower quality, it's actually the filthiest beach I have ever seen in my entire life.

[kedawi]

This is from The Nation, 2004:

When the Pollution Control Department surveyed Thailand's 14 major tourist beaches earlier this year it found that none of them fully met its stringent criteria on proper management that would otherwise help maintain these natural resources in superb condition.

In measuring the quality of beaches, the department relies on five major yardsticks - coastal water quality (coliform bacteria from sewage and sediment); volume of rubbish (in the water, on the beach and in nearby communities); quality of sand and sand dunes; coastal erosion and quality of coral reefs; and coastal land uses and problems caused by construction work.

The best beaches would have got the highest-possible five stars, but none qualified. Most of them are in the middle rank of four stars: Had Sai Kaew (Samed Island), Hua Hin, Chaweng (Samui Island), Karon (Phuket) and Had Yao (Phi Phi Islands).

Eight other most visited beaches found to have slightly lower quality are given three stars. These are Pattaya, Bang Saen (Chonburi), Cha-am (Petchburi), Wanapa (Rayong), Lamai (Samui), Patong (Phuket), Lo Dalum (Phi Phi) and Ton Sai (Phi Phi).

A big surprise is that Jomthien Beach was found to the worst among the 14 beaches, getting only two stars. Jomthien's low ranking is in contrast to the general public's belief that the beach is relatively cleaner than nearby Pattaya beach in terms of seawater quality.

I think those figures are a few years old...the Jomtien thing is well talked about even on this site............but the point about Jomtien is made. it's not just looking at the water that tells you. THe Gulf of Siam has industry all round it as well as human efluent the rivers carry industrial and agricultural waste into the gulf where the tides etc deposit it ....who knows where....so whilst puttting a pumping station in Walking street mat reduce the amount of visible turds, it won't help against the heavy metals phosphates and toxins form elsewhere in the Gulf.

What is "PCD" - the source for the ratings in the picture.

i have found it near impossible ever (7 years) to get a reliable (free) comprehensive guide to water quality around the coast of Thailand.

I doubt if the is enough monitoring anyway, and any negative results would whenever possible be glossed over or lost.

PS - I think Wannapa is Naklua, North Pattaya. I'm told there is a sewage outlet there

Edited August 10, 2008 by kedawi

[LennyW]

Plenty of swimming pools in Pattaya better to use the pools.

Yes, there are loads of hotels that have a private pool, also many that do not have a pool at all, please tell use where there is a public pool?

BB

Euro club has a fine big pool, near Pattaya RC or just off Chaiyapruek 2.

[dhind1]

To sum up.

Most folks think the water is sub standard. However, many people regularly swim in the bay and do not experience any ill effects.

If you are a person who gets sick easily then you might want to avoid swiming in Pattaya or Jomtien. If however you feel you have a strong constitution then you might just be ok.....

[PhilHarries]

My understanding of the pumping station near walking street is that it pumps the collected sewage back up to the water treatment plant the other side of the Sukhumvit (well that was how it was intended when they built it). I think the problem comes from the storm water that gets discharged straight from the outlets on the seaward side onto the beach thence into the sea. I'm just back from two weeks there and lunched often at Pattaya Beer Garden so had a good chance to observe the discharge from the station. During the days I was around there was no discernable discharge from the station however there is a large putrid looking pool of water that seeps out through the sand. However one night there was a rainstorm and next day the sand bar that held back that pool of water was almost completely washed away evidently by the rainwater runoff. And there's the pollution problem as all the rainwater has to pass through those lovely drains and anyone whose ever smelt the odours emanating from within them has a good idea of what's down there.

Personally I wouldn't even paddle in the sea at Pattaya.

[gk10002000]

Plenty of swimming pools in Pattaya better to use the pools.

Yes, there are loads of hotels that have a private pool, also many that do not have a pool at all, please tell use where there is a public pool?

BB

Many hotels will let you swim for the day for 50 or 100 baht. There was a thread here a few months ago.

Mike's shopping mall has very big rooftop pool on the roof. Great view.

MIke'e Orchid on soi 2 or 3? Very nice pool with the vanishin edge. 100 baht for the day and lounge last year.

[CaptainNemo]

Yeah my Siamese sis-in-law did an Enviro Science degree project on the Pattaya sea poo... focussing on the lesser spotted turtleheaded bellyfish...

If only the drunken western tourists who kept hitting on her knew what a favour she was doing them by not telling them what they were swimming in. ...mmm salty!

[CHdiver]

I heard the Fish do poo in the water everywhere, now that is disgusting....

[syd barrett]

A friend of mine went swimming in the seawater in Pattaya and after arriving home in the U.K. developed a gum infection.

Three months later he had to have all his teeth extracted and opted for immediate insertion of plastic dentures.

He was 36 years of age.

Medical experts in the U.K. were unable to conclude the exact cause of such a devastating bacterial gum infection, but it was agreed that the seawater/cunnilingus route was probable.

[anothertorres]

but it was agreed that the seawater/cunnilingus route was probable.

dude, awesome.

[johng]

http://pattayaone.net/news/2009/august/news_28_08_52_3.shtml

Pristine beach