Plan To Restore Pattaya Beach

[webfact]

Restoration plan to turn clock back 60 years for Pattaya

Wannapa Khaopa

The Nation

Researchers have completed a master plan to reverse coastal erosion and restore a stretch of beach running between North and South Pattaya to a width of 35 metres and a length of more than 2.7 kilometres.

A 20member team led by Prof Thanawat Jarupongsakul, a lecturer at the Unit for Disaster and Land Information Studies at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Science, devised the plan, which will add sand to the eroded area.

After a year of studying different methods of adding sand, the team finally found a suitable method. Chosen because of its similar composition and grainsize to the sand on the eroded beach, 369,035 cubic metres of sand from a Rayong river mouth will be used to reclaim the beach in Pattaya to a width of 35 metres and a length of 2,785 metres - its dimensions in 1952.

The reclamation effort will be done in 100mlong stages, as authorities do not want it to affect vendors and tourists.

Thanawat said his team had done a chemical analysis to ensure that the sand from the river mouth was not contaminated by any chemical substances that could harm people. The river mouth is 90 kilometres from Pattaya.

"The beach is only 3.5 metres wide now; it disappears during high tide," Thanawat said.

"We expect that in the first year after reclamation, the beach will be eroded 10 metres; in the second and third years it will be eroded a further one metre each; and from the fourth year on, it will lose 0.8 metres per year. Therefore, we will have to add sand again every 10 to 14 years. However, if there are heavy storms, we will have to reclaim it earlier - in the next five to seven years," he said.

Included in the 35metrewide reclamation area is a 15metrewide portion next to the road which will serve as a buffer zone, under which a strong buffer will be buried to prevent severe erosion when there are storms.

The Marine Department plans to provide Bt387 million for the reclamation, said Somchai Sumanuskajonkul, director of department's Engineering Bureau.

Thanawat said the team expected 1.7 million more tourists would visit Pattaya a year. It is estimated every Bt1 invested in the restoration will generate Bt40 of revenue for the city.

Thanawat and Somchai will this month submit the plan to the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

"Normally, the EIA consideration process takes three months to a year. If it approves the plan, the Marine Department will be able to start the beach restoration in 2012 or 2013," said Thanawat, adding that it would take eight months to complete.

"If the restoration in Pattaya is successful, we will use it as a beach reclamation model to be implemented at other eroded beaches in Thailand," Somchai said.

-- The Nation 2011-10-01

Edited October 1, 2011 by Tywais
Corrected typographical error

[pauljones]

Lets be honest.

They want to add to the beach so local authorities can rent it out to vendors.

[Guest]

"Therefore, we will have to add sand again every 1014 years" LOL!

[Swiss1960]

The idea is nice... but people who want to be on the beach will go to Jomtien beach... I spend all my time there, it is more quiet, much less coconut tree girls, less scammers... and more friendly owners of beach chairs... best place I found for me is around Jomtien Soi 9 - <snip>

Edited October 1, 2011 by craigt3365
derogatory remarks removed

[lonewolf99]

Where do Thai professors learn mathematics ?

Where do they buy their crystal balls from from ?

And when / where / who compiles (accurate figures) of the city Revenue ?

On the other hand if it goes ahead they are to be commended for what ever efforts they make to improve the beach front.

As posted already - Jomtien is the better beach area and its twice as long and many more yards wider.

Edited October 1, 2011 by lonewolf99

[OzMick]

Although this sounds completely insane, there is underlying reason - namely a B387 million fund to plunder.

Consider an analogy - you have serious cut on your leg. Do you arrange for continuous blood transfusions or stitches?

Sand is mobile stuff. If you want the beach to look like it did in 1952, you need to look at what has been changed since then which may have altered the wave and current patterns, and then remove the alteration. Or, construct breakwaters/groynes to slow the movement of sand so that the amount eroded is less than that arriving. But that is a one-off cost, much less amenble to long term pilferage.

[nurofiend]

maybe they should do the opposite

[OzMick]

The idea is nice... but people who want to be on the beach will go to Jomtien beach... I spend all my time there, it is more quiet, much less coconut tree girls, less scammers... and more friendly owners of beach chairs... best place I found for me is around Jomtien Soi 9 - far enough from the center of Jomtien <snip>

Sounds like a wonderful spot - I wonder if you sit with your back to the sea?

Edited October 1, 2011 by craigt3365
derogatory remarks removed

[daninthai]

Although this sounds completely insane, there is underlying reason - namely a B387 million fund to plunder.

Consider an analogy - you have serious cut on your leg. Do you arrange for continuous blood transfusions or stitches?

Sand is mobile stuff. If you want the beach to look like it did in 1952, you need to look at what has been changed since then which may have altered the wave and current patterns, and then remove the alteration. Or, construct breakwaters/groynes to slow the movement of sand so that the amount eroded is less than that arriving. But that is a one-off cost, much less amenble to long term pilferage.

You're right. But these are Thai academics. Their 'master plan' is just to dump more sand on the beach, a plan which any 5 year-old could have come up with. These people probably don't know what 'currents' are.

[ginjag]

"Therefore, we will have to add sand again every 1014 years" LOL!

Sand..................IT'S GRIT,................Will they change the water??????.................Would it be too much of an operation to exchange Koh Lhan beach and water.

[doggie888888]

It's like episodes of Blackadder where the assistant goes to the boss and says "master, I have a cunning plan" and the audience knows something really funny is going to happen.

[craigt3365]

Several inappropriate posts have been removed. Unreal. Keep it civil or warnings will be handed out next time. :jap:

[jackr]

<snip>

Decent enough plan - beaches are propped up the world over, but, of course, being Thailand, folk will always feel the urge to deride it. For sure, Jomtien is the quieter of the two, but types that visit Pattaya would probably prefer to plonk theirselves on Pattaya Beach. If one requires a nice beach, one doesn't visit this region.

Edited October 1, 2011 by craigt3365
derogatory remarks removed

[Payboy]

turn clock back 60 years

Why stop at 60?

[saintofsilence]

Let's hope the new beach iskept a bit cleaner because the current one is a disgrace most of the time and also over run with rats.

Edited October 1, 2011 by saintofsilence

[djlest]

well grit doesnt wash away as much as sand might...

as for it actually eroding - or the professors/team just trying to milk the new government for a job that will cost millions (but realistically just a few trucks of sand dumped and the rest put in the pockets of the new scammers... the build a new beach scam has arrived)

QUOTE: WE WILL have to add sand again every 1014 years

LOL - would you trust anyone who comments a line like that?

[Asianrider]

hope the plan succeeds - let's give them the benefit of the doubt, and watch the progress first before judging.

[saintofsilence]

After the last big storm there was a lot of sand pushed away by storm water drains going into the beach ,I think that is also where a lot of rubbish come from.

[Suradit]

The idea is nice... but people who want to be on the beach will go to Jomtien beach... I spend all my time there, it is more quiet, much less coconut tree girls, less scammers... and more friendly owners of beach chairs... best place I found for me is around Jomtien Soi 9 - <snip>

Yes, no one will go to Pattaya Beach. It's too crowded.

Yogi Berra on why he no longer went to Ruggeri's, a St. Louis restaurant: "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

[Suradit]

Where do Thai professors learn mathematics ?

Where do they buy their crystal balls from from ?

And when / where / who compiles (accurate figures) of the city Revenue ?

On the other hand if it goes ahead they are to be commended for what ever efforts they make to improve the beach front.

As posted already - Jomtien is the better beach area and its twice as long and many more yards wider.

The problem is more to do with reporters mangling the information, especially when it comes to translations.

Jomtien ... and many more yards wider.

Well that's the whole point, isn't it? They want to make Pattaya Beach wider.

[Spalpeen]

369,035 cubic metres of sand is a weirdly specific number. I'll bet that if you checked you would find that this is an Auspicious Number chosen by an astrologer. An important detail missing from this cunning plan is how they plan to move 369,035 m3 of sand from Rayong to Pattaya. A big lorry carries about 10m3, so that would be 37,000 lorry trips. If you use barges, how do you get the sand from the barge in to the beach? If they just want a permanent beach they'd be better off making a super-sized version of the beach volleyball pitch on Jomtien beach, with a sea wall retaining an area of sand permanently above sea level.

The history of messing around with beaches and coastal erosion patterns is littered with examples of the law of unintended consequences. I also wonder what would become of the 369,035 m3 hole in the beach at Rayong.

[aonangkrabi]

When I do the math I calculate 32 years: 35 m minus 10 m minus 1 m equals 24 m after 2 years. Then divide 24 by .8 and you arrive at another 30 years.

By the way, in the Netherlands they stopped adding sand to the beach. Instead they take sand from farther out at sea and deposit it a strategic position just offshore. Wind and currents will then do the beach sand replenishment.

Edited October 1, 2011 by aonangkrabi

[Thai-Aust]

how about cleaning up all immoral stuff. I can't recognise how it was only 15 years ago. Last year I went there in the hope to spend holidays with my family just like we did 15 years ago, I was frighten, scared. It's changed so much, thoght we were somewhere else, not Thailand!

[julemanden]

hope the plan succeeds - let's give them the benefit of the doubt, and watch the progress first before judging.

Agree !

[wans]

better off removing the road and turning that into beach

[anon467367354]

I question any and all of these tax payer funded "projects", perfect opportunity for the corrupt to pocket as much as they want. Maybe it is a good idea to do some beach restoration, but should that be considered a priority over the many needs of the Thai people? A strong Thai community will make Thailand prosper way better than focusing on a few foreigners handing over money to the few. Amazing how health awareness, health care and education are still not taken off the back burner. :jap:

[gilfhunter]

they should seive the crap out of the sea first.

[Raindancer]

Forget the beach plan and restore humanity to the greedy vendors. But this is Thailand and these people with Tuk Tuk and Jet skis as well as hotel owners have destroyed what they have through GREED!

Stupid people who are blinkered and only focus on the amount of money that they can make TODAY. No thought about repeat business for years to come.. just about TODAY...stupid philosophy....but then again they do not have the experience and business acumen that makes the west different in customer servicing and marketing. Give tourists a fair deal and they will come back....TOO LATE....Too many embassies in the western world are warning their own people to stay away from Thaland and specifically Phuket.

TAT ...wake up and face the real world! The internet is a powerful weapon and media information system. Millions of people exchange their experiences on holiday and especially the bad times and rip off mercahnts during time spent in Thailand and not just in Phuket!!!!!!.

Rant over....and I have just cancelled my first proposed trip to Phuket after numerous years in LOS..

[looping]

how about cleaning up all immoral stuff. I can't recognise how it was only 15 years ago. Last year I went there in the hope to spend holidays with my family just like we did 15 years ago, I was frighten, scared. It's changed so much, thoght we were somewhere else, not Thailand!

Agree. The only time I went to Pattaya, I was totally ashamed to be a farang, utterly disgusted at the state of the shirtless tattooed morons littering the beach, drinking Chang in the sun, and the girls, giving my wife the evil eye. Never again.

Never mind the war on drugs, how about a war on Pattaya; cleaning it up!

[BlackJack]

you are ALL WRONG

its about building large condo's 150 meters from the sea

work it out