Pattaya City Council members inspected storm drains and discussed flooding with Soi Buakaow-area residents fearing yet another water-logged rainy season.
Councilmen Vichai Rodpai, Somnuk Boonmachai, Nakhon Phonlookin, and Banjong Banthoonprayuk opened drain covers on side-street Soi Taengmo to check whether waste was stuck, creating obstructions for runoff. They ordered Chaluay Ditsadakarn, chief of maintenance for drainage pipes, to bring in vacuum trucks to suck out the pipes for 300 meters.
The city brought in heavy equipment to clean out the drains, but conceded that this is only a temporary measure.
Soi Taengmo, off Soi Buakaow, is a congested community located on low-lying ground filled with a couple hundred 30-year-old row houses. Residents say the street floods every rainy season, with water as deep as waist-high.
Somnuk said the vacuum trucks were only a temporary solution. However, the city currently has no money for the permanent solution: The replacement of small drainage pipes with large pipes, concrete blocks and two large pumps.
The council, he told residents, will have to debate and prepare a budget request before a long-term fix can be made.
