Regional water-management officials reassured Pattaya business leaders the city is not facing any sort of shortage, despite the nationwide drought.
Speaking at the July 8 Pattaya Business & Tourism Association meeting at the Grand Sole Hotel, Boonsom Yutidhampinyo, head of water management and irrigation system improvement for the Royal Irrigation Department, explained that the raw water supply remains sufficient for Pattaya’s needs.
Pattaya, he said, gets its water from three main sources with five reservoirs: Nong Klang Dong, Huay Sapan, Khunjit, Mabprachan, and Chak Nok.
Currently those lakes have 16.2 million cubic meters of water, about 40 percent of their 39.9 million cu. meters of capacity.
Mabprachan has 4.2 million cu meters, and Chak Nok has 1. 3 million cu. meters.
Boonsom Yutidhampinyo, head of water management and irrigation system improvement for the Royal Irrigation Department, explains that, despite drought conditions in other parts of the kingdom, the raw water supply here remains sufficient for Pattaya’s needs.
If necessary, Boonsom said, 200,000 cu. meters of additional water can be brought from the Nong Plalai reservoir in Rayong and Prasae reservoir in Chanthaburi.
He said, therefore, that the city has more than enough water to last through to the high point of the rainy season in October.
Pattaya also draws raw water from processing plants run by the Provincial Waterworks Authority at the Bang Pra and Nong Kho reservoirs in Sriracha. However, those lakes are running lower than normal, which can create production problems.
The irrigation department has supplied raw water from both reservoirs with raw water from the Bangprakong River and lower part of Chao Praya River around the Rapeepat Canal to support drought-ravaged Padriew. Hence, both reservoirs might not be able to support Pattaya.
