Shamed into action by social media - Pattaya authorities and soldiers in hurried beach clean-up operation

[rooster59]

Shamed into action by social media - Pattaya authorities and soldiers in hurried beach clean-up operation

 

Image: T News

 

After damning reports that Pattaya beaches were an "environmental disaster zone" the local authority and soldiers swooped on the resort.

But concerns remain that the action is little more than sticking a plaster on a gaping wound.

Social media had been abuzz on Thursday with ghastly pictures of black water, sludge and mountains of rubbish across a large swathe of South Pattaya.

One foreigner posted a damning footage of pipes spewing effluent directly into the sea.

 

 

 

 

Yesterday it was all action as dozens of cleaners and soldiers moved to restore some pride to the beaches.

Tnews reported that after the clean-up operation there was much less rubbish and the sea was "a better color than the previous day".

Local council representative Wirat Jirasriphaithoon said that the authorities had acted swiftly.

He blamed overflow from the drainage system released into the sea to save the city from flooding. He also blamed storms.

However, Thaivisa notes that Pattaya residents are unlikely to be convinced that this is anything more than sticking a plaster on a large wound.

Many would like to see the underlying problems of dirty, untreated water flowing into the sea being properly addressed.

 

Source: T News

 

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-07-15

[champers]

This activity needs to be done daily rather than once or twice a week. Also, the root cause needs proper attention, not just the symptons.

I find the number of plastic bottles that wash up on the beach, every day, mindboggling. Where the hell do they come from?

[jaywalker]

1 hour ago, champers said:

This activity needs to be done daily rather than once or twice a week. Also, the root cause needs proper attention, not just the symptons.

I find the number of plastic bottles that wash up on the beach, every day, mindboggling. Where the hell do they come from?

You mean "Done daily, rather than once or twice a year".

 

Of course stamping it out at the source is the only long term solution.

 

Once upon a time everybody & their brother/sister/aunt/uncle/mother & father once smoked cigarettes in the USA.

 

Now it's a bit of social stigma (you are bad/stupid if you smoke).

 

Only bringing the same type of awareness to the populace can solve the pollution problem in Thailand.

 

BTW - I smoke....33 years smoking but I'm down to 5 ciggies a day now.

[jaywalker]

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Local council representative Wirat Jirasriphaithoon said that the authorities had acted swiftly.

Swiftly indeed!

 

50 years too late!

[darksidedog]

Let's face it. The water in Pattaya is more filthy than the towns reputation. A quick clean up of the beach is not going to solve floating turds from the pipes feeding into the sea and is not going to solve the bigger problem. The belated and basic actions yesterday were just like putting lipstick on a pig.

[gk10002000]

23 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Let's face it. The water in Pattaya is more filthy than the towns reputation. A quick clean up of the beach is not going to solve floating turds from the pipes feeding into the sea and is not going to solve the bigger problem. The belated and basic actions yesterday were just like putting lipstick on a pig.

yep.  the sewer and grey water and garbage infrastructure just is not there. All those hundreds of hotels and little restaurants and their sinks just run straight into the gulf of Thailand.  It is obvious to a casual inspection that the places do not connect up to anything useful as far as treatment.  I don't know how much effort it would take to pipe everything.  You would have to significantly dig up every street and repipe everything.  I grew up in the USA in a town with local septic systems.  I remember back in the 60s when the city came through and massively dug up every street in town, installed the caissons, box structures, big sewer pipes, dug up everybody's lawn and we all changed our connections from our cesspools to the sewer mains

[lamyai3]

Chop chop! 

[williamgeorgeallen]

pattaya is a victim of its own success and a lack of forward planning. the lack of septic treatment will limits its further growth. we are doomed to read this story over and over again in the future. for now it is nice to be able to go over to koh larn for a swim.

[klauskunkel]

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

He blamed overflow from the drainage system released into the sea to save the city from flooding. He also blamed storms.

and then he blamed online posters for making him get off his ass

[joepattaya1961]

The only solution will be a cleaning facilitiy right at the beach since it's the lowest point in the Pattaya valley. 

If I may suggest a location: The corner of Beach Road and Soi 9 will suit quite fine. 

[Emster23]

3 minutes ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

pattaya is a victim of its own success and a lack of forward planning. the lack of septic treatment will limits its further growth. we are doomed to read this story over and over again in the future. for now it is nice to be able to go over to koh larn for a swim.

 I agree with most of what you say, but do raise an eyebrow with assertion/hope "the lack of septic treatment will limits its further growth".... sane, logical, responsible decisions hasn't stopped them before, so why should it in the future?

[LennyW]

Need to start with Bangkok, most of the garbage tossed into the Chaiophraya river ends up on the beach in Pattaya due to the tides in the gulf, root cause!!

[williamgeorgeallen]

7 minutes ago, Emster23 said:

 I agree with most of what you say, but do raise an eyebrow with assertion/hope "the lack of septic treatment will limits its further growth".... sane, logical, responsible decisions hasn't stopped them before, so why should it in the future?

the internet is changing everything, including how people travel. even my own 72 year old mother checks everything on trip adviser  before taking her winter vacation. travelers will read people beach experiences in pattaya and avoid it.

[thailand49]

This is just a visual cleanup, it isn't a solution at all.  The video of the drain pipes seems to be a standard practice throughout Pattaya and most likely all over the country. 

While millions and billions are spent on transportation, digging of a tunnel, and future tunnels plan for Pattaya Tai, Theppasit, now a light rail line system it would be better to take some of the funding and build treatment plants that would be long term solution.

[Thechook]

So who's the lucky bugger that gets to go into the water with the poopa scoopa and collect all those floating logs?

[Dobredin Ghusputin]

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

black water, sludge and mountains of rubbish

I like it. Makes a good backdrop for that lovely town.

 

[masuk]

1 hour ago, jaywalker said:

Swiftly indeed!

 

50 years too late!

I can't help wondering what type of sewerage treatment system they have at Pattya.

Stage 1 treatment is filtering.  You can imagine what this picks up, as it's often seen floating in the water around JomTien beach.

Stage 2 is digesting:  These are large tanks where the effluent ferments, produces methane which is used to keep the effluent at a nice temperature.

Stage 3 is somewhat hopeful in Thailand, where phosphates etc are removed. 

The remaining sludge is sun-dried and used for agricultural purposes.

If you're trying to keep people away from beaches, you just run the untreated gunk directly into the sea!

[bkk6060]

7 minutes ago, Thechook said:

So who's the lucky bugger that gets to go into the water with the poopa scoopa and collect all those floating logs?

Maybe someone who wants to start a garden or farm.  Makes great mulch!

[phantomfiddler]

When they have the beach scene under control they should turn their attention to some of the streets just off Beach Road. Soi 13/3 (ex Pattayaland 2) has to be the worst in Pattaya, sometimes requiring a 4WD to get down it without scraping bottom, disgraceful !

[mikebell]

When will they clean up <deleted>Pattaya police station?

[jmacken306]

4 hours ago, champers said:

This activity needs to be done daily rather than once or twice a week. Also, the root cause needs proper attention, not just the symptons.

I find the number of plastic bottles that wash up on the beach, every day, mindboggling. Where the hell do they come from?

Go to the restaurants on the rivers, sit next to the railing by the river and watch a truck load of garbage float by in the lily pads by time you finish your meal!

[action]

I was on Jomtien Beach last week and as I passed a small motorbike shop just off beach road the guy was pouring used motor oil into the storm drain.  Imagine he does it on a daily basis.

[Muhendis]

Aren't I glad not to be a fish.

[gk10002000]

59 minutes ago, LennyW said:

Need to start with Bangkok, most of the garbage tossed into the Chaiophraya river ends up on the beach in Pattaya due to the tides in the gulf, root cause!!

yep.  being downstream is a significant factor.  But the local dumping I am pretty sure is worse.  It takes quite a while even if the Gulf was clean and open for crap from Pattaya to flow or diffuse out to the open Gulf waters

[Moti24]

2 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Let's face it. The water in Pattaya is more filthy than the towns reputation. A quick clean up of the beach is not going to solve floating turds from the pipes feeding into the sea and is not going to solve the bigger problem. The belated and basic actions yesterday were just like putting lipstick on a pig.

There's been a few posts lately that mentioned putting lipstick on a pig.  Is there a club somewhere that I'm missing-out on?

[Toshiba66]

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Tnews reported that after the clean-up operation there was much less rubbish and the sea was "a better color than the previous day".

Removing the rubbish from the beach changes the colour of the water?

 

Next they will be telling us they can walk on water.

[Thechook]

11 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

Aren't I glad not to be a fish.

If you were, don't worry nothing would want to eat you.  Why would anyone eat seafood coming from thai waters, just think of all the pathogen microorganisms.

[ironbark]

Pattaya is a seaside resort where you would never think of going into the sea. I won't even eat locally caught seafood, especially shellfish which are filter feeders.

[Lupatria]

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

He blamed overflow from the drainage system released into the sea to save the city from flooding. He also blamed storms.

Shouldn't it read: "shamed into doing their job"?

I wonder why, council representative Wirat Jirasriphaithoon, forgot to mention neighboring countries, foreigner, and evil spirits in his blame game, as we all know Thais could have never been responsible for this mess and 'inactive' consequences regarding clean up and prevention.

[jaywalker]

1 hour ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

pattaya is a victim of its own success and a lack of forward planning

The "P" in Thailand stands for "Planning".