Phasakorn Channgam
While government officials insist Pattaya has more
than enough water, actually getting it to people’s homes remains a
problem unlikely to be resolved until well into next year, the
Provincial Waterworks Authority says.
Speaking to a Dec. 2 meeting of angry, water-deprived
residents, PWA Pattaya branch manager Srit Osaneejarukjit repeated the
utility’s long-running line that it is working to install new pipes to
bring water to homes in north and east Pattaya and Pratamnak Hill. He
said all the pipe installation will be complete in about two months,
solving problems for those with no water.
Srit blamed Thailand’s flooding crisis for the recent
wave of water shortages to hit Pattaya. While the city was untouched by
the floods themselves, the rapid increase in population from evacuees
fleeing to Banglamung from inundated areas stretched the local
water-distribution system beyond its limits, he said. Thus many homes
and businesses suffered low water pressure or complete shortages.
The long-term solution, he said, is installation of
wider pipes to bring more water to outlying areas, particularly those on
elevations higher than sea level, where most the city’s heaviest water
users are located. However, he said, those pipes will not be laid until
next year when the Nongklandong water-processing plant is complete.
Until then, Srit said there is little that can be
done and simply offered an apology to those affected.
