Phuket residents warned about sewage dumping

[webfact]

Phuket residents warned about sewage dumping
Phuket Gazette


Untreated wastewater is being targeted in the latest campaign to clean up Phuket Town’s Bang Yai Canal. Photo: Irfarn Jamdukor

PHUKET: -- Governor Maitri Inthusut has warned residents and restaurant owners in the Soi Paniang area, north of Phuket Town, that they will be prosecuted if they are caught releasing untreated waste water into the Bang Yai Canal.

“If Rassada residents are so concerned about environmental standards, they shouldn’t release untreated waste water into a public waterway,” he told a community meeting on Saturday.

Governor Maitri called on officers to inspect houses and restaurants in the area to ensure they are fitted with septic tanks.

“Any persons found releasing untreated waste water into the canal will be warned. If they are caught a second time, they will be prosecuted,” he said.

Taking polluters to court was just one element in Governor Maitri’s strategy for cleaning up the canal.

“We must add EM [Effective Microorganism] balls to increase oxygen in the water. This will help to break down contaminants quickly,” he said.

“We must also install pump stations along the canal to ensure the water moves along and does not become stagnant.”

Governor Maitri explained that Rassada Municipality had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Wastewater Management Authority of Thailand (WMA).

The MoU empowers the WMA to begin studying pollution in the area in the hope of deriving clear solutions to the problem.

Karon Municipality, in combating its “black water” problem, signed a similar MoU with the WMA on March 13 (story here).

Rassada Municipality has set aside 14 million baht to build an overflow sandbag dam in the canal that would retain sediment, which could then be dug out.

“We must also secure a budget to build an approved waste water treatment facility to prevent further damage to the environment,” he added.

Phuket City Wastewater Treatment Chief Chakkrit last year was already considering installing waste water treatment plants to ensure that the canal’s water quality remained at safe levels. The plan arose after polluted water in the canal formed a stench so overpowering that it had made people physically ill.

Residents suffered serious headaches and bouts of nausea, with many of them vomiting (story here).

The project was likely to cost upwards of 60 million baht.

“We are aware of the problem and we are trying everything we can to solve it. We expect our project to be approved so that we can resolve it,” Mr Chakkrit said.

In February this year, Samkong residents again filed a formal complaint over a sickening stench emanating from the canal (story here).

That incident, initially blamed on a noodle factory, was later attributed to raw sewage from the Soi Paniang area being emptied into the canal.

“It is not from the private factories in the area,” said Jarun Nongsook, an engineer at the Phuket Provincial Industrial Office (story here).

After hearing residents’ complaints in February, the Governor proposed a multi-pronged solution to the polluted canal that included dredging drainage ditches and lining them with cement; oxygenating the water; putting EM balls into the ditches; enlarging sewer pipes in Rassada; and encouraging restaurants, companies and residents in the area to install their own waste water treatment tanks to help reduce the average biological oxygen demand in the water.

Those calls seem to have gone unheard, a factor Governor Maitri is now looking to rectify.

“Relevant officers should regularly inspect all water sources along Soi Paniang and consult with residents to gain local knowledge in finding sustainable solutions to keep the community clean,” he said.

— Woranut Pechdee

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Phuket-residents-warned-sewage-dumping/29296#ad-image-0


-- Phuket Gazette 2014-05-01

[Patje]

Only 2 pointers ? Can't be that bad ......

[clockman]

The golden tourists days are over. The ATM. Has to have some reinvestment. But. T.I.T.

[chooka]

If the natives think it's bad, I wonder what tourists think of the cesspit. I presume all this flows into the swimming beaches.

Edited May 1, 2014 by chooka

[Payboy]

Where's bloke supposed to take a dump these days?

[soalbundy]

A warning! yeah,that ought to help.

[stevenl]

If the natives think it's bad, I wonder what tourists think of the cesspit. I presume all this flows into the swimming beaches.

Presumption is the mother of all <deleted>.

[Pomthai]

Hmm, install more pumps to push the problem away somewhere else?

Proper treatment and preventing the release of untreated sewage in the first place.

s

Don't want to poo poo the idea but warnings are not going to stop people from dumping it. Just what is K.Somchai supposed to do after his warning? I find it rather doubtful he'll be running off to Homepro or Thai Watsadu to buy a septic tank, put together a team of laborers to dig a hole and install it, instantly complying with the rules and elimination the problem.

Perhaps the gov ought to look into spending some money on infrastructure and sewage treatment like the vast majority of the rest of the worlds destinations with the tourist volume and income that Phuket has.

The moneys here, it just not being put to use in the right places.

[Brevity]

“Any persons found releasing untreated waste water into the canal will be warned. If they are caught a second time, they will be prosecuted have to pay some tea money to the officer. If they are caught a third time, they will have to pay more tea money to the officer. If they are caught a fourth time, they will have to pay a lot of tea money..."

This seems to be a country of words, ceremonies, and MoU's but not of actions. "We had ritualistic ceremony, so everything will be okay now. We signed an MoU, so no action is needed now. We told them to stop, so I`m sure they will never do it again.

[cruela]

with the amount of tourists that go to Thailand you would think they could sort out the sewage situation, also the rubbish situation, Jonmtien bech is a disgrace, there is a road in Jomtien that leads down to the beach, two years ago this was a beautiful clean well kept road flowers ,trees, litter was picked up, now it is just one very big rubbish tip, tourists and people who actually live here have to walk and drive down this road to get to the beach WHAT WENT WRONG, there is a Beautiful new CONDOMINIUM THE ATLANTIS which is about to open, next to this road, all the people who have bought condos in the ATLANTIS also the resort Ban Far Rim Hadd which is next door to the ATLANTIS, will have to walk through this disgraceful big rubbish tip, some of the bht taxi drivers use this place as a toilet, some one in authority needs to do something about these situations other wise people will not want to come back to beautiful THAILAND. Thai people are wonderful friendly welcoming people, visitors to there country should make sure that they take there rubbish with them or put it into bins. PLEASE PLEASE some one do something about cleaning the sewage and rubbish up before tourists stop going to THAILAND.

[craigt3365]

We've got a "septic tank" in our house. It's basically a big barrel that just keeps the solid materials from flowing out. It's basically raw sewage that's going into the storm drains. A city wide waste treatment center is needed.

[ggt]

More than just sewage...stinks in Phuket...