Royal Thai Marines Lt. Col. Pramot Sri-Ondee and angry residents
complain to Village Chief Natthachai Sangsri about local water supply
problems.
Patcharapol Panrak
Residents of a Sattahip neighborhood are threatening
to take over a local water-pumping station if the district does not
solve long-running water-supply problems within a week.
Royal Thai Marines Lt. Col. Pramot Sri-Ondee and 30
angry residents of the Sattahip Country Hill development complained to
Moo 6 Village Chief Natthachai Sangsri March 4 that most homes have not
had tap water for a year and others only sporadically.
The problem has worsened in the past two weeks, with
running water available only once in that time. Residents have been
forced to buy water from trucks and they’ve had enough.
Natthachai said he would pass along their concerns,
but residents say they’ve filed a number of complaints, all of which
have gone unresolved.
As a result, Pramot said residents will give
authorities seven days to sort out the problem or they will take over
the water station by force, shutting it down for all district residents.
Sattahip Waterworks Manager Polpot Chenwittaya said
the Sattahip Country Hill area is served by a water tower and not a pump
system. Therefore pressure problems have prevented the flow of water to
many residents, particularly at night. He said alternate locations for
the tank were explored, but no budget was allocated for it.
Polpot pledged to investigate the pipe systems in the
neighborhood and correct any damage within a week. But if the problem
stems from low pressure, he said he can’t estimate when it will be
resolved.
