Samuiu Water Shortage?

[mufcsamui]

Read in the Gazette or Express about power outages and water shortages, well no power for a short time yesterday and no water (so far) all day today (now 6pm).

Anyone else having any issues, i am in Chaweng noi.

[Tropicalevo]

Quite a few folks that I know are only receiving government water every other day. This is in various locations at the north end of the island.

In the area where I live (NE end of the island) one or two of the deep wells are starting to struggle to provide a continuous supply.

No power today for at least 6 hours - the electricity board was carrying out preventative maintenance. (Tree cutting and reapairs.)

[mufcsamui]

Ah the water is back on and its a nice shade of brown, Samui water company your a disgrace

[mamu]

Wish i had some brown water,

i live @ Bophut (close to bigC), and (jing jing) did not have water for almost 2 months now,

(every 2 or 3 days some water at night time for like an hour or so). Have a small business but

water department charge me for a big business (T3), should be T2. 300 Bth for no water,

and if i try ask or complain all they say is 'u can quit contract for gouvernment water'

Think i might do that, cause Nathon : Before thinking about a bridge from Don Sak to Samui,

or a second airport, take care your infrastructure first, water is one of the first essential need for humans

(and dogs, cats, cows whatever !)

[ThailandBert]

I will never understand why on an island that suffers from a water shortage that all the rain water we get goes to waste. Guttering and a tank is cheap and easy to install yet very few people have it. Even if you dont want to go the whole hog and install a full system then a water tank is cheap and with water priced at 500 Baht for 6000 litres it isn't what you call expensive.

[Tropicalevo]

I will never understand why on an island that suffers from a water shortage that all the rain water we get goes to waste. Guttering and a tank is cheap and easy to install yet very few people have it. Even if you dont want to go the whole hog and install a full system then a water tank is cheap and with water priced at 500 Baht for 6000 litres it isn't what you call expensive.

Bert - all things are relative. You are suggesting a 'simple' solution to a complex problem. There is a lot of history/culture as to why most houses on Samui do not have gutters/water tanks. As an aside, there is a large outbreak of Dengue fever on the island. Mozzies LOVE poorly fitted gutters where there is standing water.

If you are lucky enough to have a job on Samui - then for most people the salaray is 300 baht a day or less, and Samui is an expensive place to live for Thais.

Water tanks are not cheap for Thais and nor is good guttering.

500 baht for a water truck is expensive. Many locals and businesses rely on government water. Many properties do not have water tanks - nor do they have space to put them.

Unfortunately, rain is either feast or famine here.

It is only recently that Samui has had it's own budget for infrastructure. Before that - all of the money went to Suratthani - where they have lovely roads and better infrastructure. Mostly thanks to Samui.

The current local government is making major inroads into improving things - but it all takes time.

Power cuts are common. Everyone complains about roads. Flooding is common in rainy times. Water shortages such as the one that we are experiencing now are only every 10 - 12 years. So - with limited funds - guess what is being fixed first.

Because of the lack of investment in the past, and due to the recent rapid population/hotel growth and increasingly more and larger swimming pools on Samui - the water holding areas are inadequate. So - most of the rain runs into the sea or goes underground.

It is on the list to be fixed.

[ThailandBert]

Could you tell me which of the posters here are Thai and complaining about the lack of water ? I have never heard a poor Thai complain about the water or lack of it. My post was aimed at the farangs here and offering a solution. I also have never seen a house where a small 2000 litre tank could not be fitted and used as a back up.

I have always said that there are only two types of people in the world.

Those who see problems and those that see instead solutions.

[Tropicalevo]

Could you tell me which of the posters here are Thai and complaining about the lack of water ? I have never heard a poor Thai complain about the water or lack of it. My post was aimed at the farangs here and offering a solution. I also have never seen a house where a small 2000 litre tank could not be fitted and used as a back up.

I have always said that there are only two types of people in the world.

Those who see problems and those that see instead solutions.

Sorry Bert - I have no idea of the Nationality of posters on this thread.

All of my staff, and most of the Thais that I deal with on a day to day basis are complaining about lack of water at their properties.

Perhaps you should get out more. Many small Thai businesses/houses are built to the boundaries.

Most Thais on Samui do not own the property where they live, so - there you are renting a small 'box' to live in for 1,000 baht per month. How do you convince the landlord to put in a water tank?

As to the Farangs - I do not know the percentage of rented/owned properties, but I would guess that very few Thai landlords would want to go to the expense of installing water tanks without increasing rents.

Of course - the canny ones do have water tanks installed, and charge more rent.

I doubt that there is a farang owned house being built anywhere on the island that does not have a water tank.

Your solution is realistic - if the owner of the property allows the renter to install the tank and if the renter is prepared to pay for the installation (not likely for short time renters). The last water tank that I bought was 6,900 baht. (An above-ground fibreglass one.) That is a significant amount of money to a lot of people.

[BigC]

Could you tell me which of the posters here are Thai and complaining about the lack of water ? I have never heard a poor Thai complain about the water or lack of it. My post was aimed at the farangs here and offering a solution. I also have never seen a house where a small 2000 litre tank could not be fitted and used as a back up.

I have always said that there are only two types of people in the world.

Those who see problems and those that see instead solutions.

Thais do complain but not on this site because it is a site for forang

I agree nothing wrong with offering solutions to the problem be it weather one can afford it or not but I agree there it is ok moan if people if think of ways to improve the situation

It is ok to see that something is not right but the question is what is suggested someone does about it or what is the point in moaning fudge sake of moaning

[ThailandBert]

Could you tell me which of the posters here are Thai and complaining about the lack of water ? I have never heard a poor Thai complain about the water or lack of it. My post was aimed at the farangs here and offering a solution. I also have never seen a house where a small 2000 litre tank could not be fitted and used as a back up.

I have always said that there are only two types of people in the world.

Those who see problems and those that see instead solutions.

Sorry Bert - I have no idea of the Nationality of posters on this thread.

All of my staff, and most of the Thais that I deal with on a day to day basis are complaining about lack of water at their properties.

Perhaps you should get out more. Many small Thai businesses/houses are built to the boundaries.

Most Thais on Samui do not own the property where they live, so - there you are renting a small 'box' to live in for 1,000 baht per month. How do you convince the landlord to put in a water tank?

As to the Farangs - I do not know the percentage of rented/owned properties, but I would guess that very few Thai landlords would want to go to the expense of installing water tanks without increasing rents.

Of course - the canny ones do have water tanks installed, and charge more rent.

I doubt that there is a farang owned house being built anywhere on the island that does not have a water tank.

Your solution is realistic - if the owner of the property allows the renter to install the tank and if the renter is prepared to pay for the installation (not likely for short time renters). The last water tank that I bought was 6,900 baht. (An above-ground fibreglass one.) That is a significant amount of money to a lot of people.

Tropical you are missing my point totally.

I fully understand that THAI'S can't afford a fraction of what we can. This isn't a Thai forum. My suggestions were and are aimed at Farangs here who may be suffering through lack of water. I don't need to get out any more thanks. I already help and assist the locals often. Complain they do but never once heard them moan about lack of water.

Nearly every house I have lived in even the rented ones I have put in a small tank and pump. I fully realise that the place I have chosen to live isn't like back home so I make preparations. The water pressure / supply is poor no matter where you go in Thailand. Hence the tank and small pump. The electricity is erratic to say the least here hence the generator.

Less than 10,000 Baht will keep the water flowing when the Government has none or the pressure is poor.

In the rented houses I have put them into the landlord has never objected and I simply leave them in situ when I leave. Maybe that is why I always have my deposit returned

As said you either see problems or solutions.

[samuijimmy]

Some good points from both Thailandbert and Tropicalevo...

Driving around the island off the main roads especially one sees huge water holding tanks being built out of concrete. Waiting for the rain to fill them? unless they are set up to the main water "grid".... I am not sure.... so, slowly things are improving.... never as fast as people would like...

Also lately around Maenam at least (maybe other areas) there are I would guess 500 litre dark blue water tanks being set up... They have lids... I assume they are being filled with water from the district. Available for locals (perhaps anyone) to fill buckets when their wells have run dry.... several around me have be just about dry for a few months now... The little bit of rain lately has not helped.

Many of the poorer Thai's use a 45 gallon drum or two, for their "showering" and dish washing.... buying a large tank is out of the question, as already stated.

As for Big C's comment : There are Thai's who read and contribute to this forum.... one is a fairly regular contributor... I've meet other Thai's who read here too.... some wanting to improve their English spelling too....

[Tropicalevo]

Bert - I'm sorry.

I thought that the heading of this thread was about a water shortage on Samui. I apologise if it was only intended for foreigners, although I think that you are doing most foreigners here a disservice if you think that they have not already worked out for themselves that they need water tanks.

You have twice spouted your philosophy on life about two types of person in the world. Again, an oversimplifacation. However, your 'solution' does not solve the problem. It is about as effective towards solving Samui's water shortage as putting a band-aid on on someone with a slit throat! You might stop the bleeding in a small area, but the person will die without a proper solution.

You suggest water trucks as a solution. Well done. Do they manufacture the water? No - it comes from wells. The same wells that are drying up! As the wells dry up - the cost of the trucks will increase. The cost of water trucks has doubled in price since I came here. Ooops - rain must be getting more expensive.

The ONLY realistic solution to Samui's water shortage, is more water holding areas - as I stated in my first post. There are other alternatives (de-salination etc) but these are more costly on an on-going basis, although more sustainable in the long run. And guess what - the local powers that be have said that they need to increase these water holding areas, but - there are budget constraints at the moment.

So - the solution for us farangs - is to keep the pressure on the powers that be to do this. We can do this by lobbying and keeping this topic in the news. We also need to keep paying our taxes to enable the money to be available. So - come on people. Keep drinking alcohol and putting that petrol in your big trucks and SUV's. We can then all be a part of the solution