Rainy season first real test for artificial reefs
Tanpisit Lerdbamrungchai
The Nation
Phetchaburi



CHA-AM: -- The rainy season will be the first real test for the artificial reefs placed in shallow waters along the coast of Phetchaburi's Cha-am district as they begin their mission of preventing coastal erosion. The reefs, which are partially made from lignite fly ash, were placed along the coastline on Wednesday.

"This artificial reef will have to prove itself," community leader Chairat Tabtong said, adding that though he welcomed the initiative, he still had reservations.

"Let's see how it will fare in the rainy season, which usually runs from May to October," he said.

Under a project initiated by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), rows of artificial reef built using lignite fly ash - a by-product from the Mae Moh power plant in Lampang - were placed in shallow seawater along the beach in Cha-am district on Wednesday.

"As per our lab tests, these artificial reefs are well placed to work against coastal erosion," the project's chief researcher Dr Payom Rattanamanee said. Payom is a lecturer at the Prince of Songkla University.

"They can become home to sea creatures and become a shelter for their young," he said.

He added that if this project proves to be a success, similar artificial reefs will be placed along the shoreline in Pattani, Krabi, Trang and Satun provinces. Payom is a lecturer at the Prince of Songkla University.

Egat governor Sutat Patmasiriwat said his agency had decided to award a Bt10.67-million grant to the university for the five-year project, which began in June 2009. "Coastal erosion has caused damage to the economy, tourism, industries, farmland and fisheries," he said.

"I am glad that Egat has stepped in to help solve the problem," Ban Huai Sai Community's chairman Somjai Noisa-ard said.


-- The Nation 2013-05-17

Hope it works.

looks cool, I am sure there will be allot of happy fish staking their claim on a new condo.

In a couple years should make for great snorkeling sites as well!

or an industrial waste dump

At first it sounds destructive but "chains of car tires " bolted together does a similar job if correctly weighted down

They should check with the Surfrider foundation on all the artifical reef mateials and construction. Having been a part of the California reef building program, i saw the benefits. Sand was restored and the shorlines stopped retreating, good habitat that drew in fish amd seaweed and all the marine life. The surf was our goal and these reefs works good for some coastlines.

At first it sounds destructive but "chains of car tires " bolted together does a similar job if correctly weighted down

I understand this is not recommended anymore after incidents were tires came lose and then destroyed the surrounding reefs in collisions. There is a very well known case in the Southern Indian Ocean.