Pattaya’s main sewage treatment needs more than 30 million baht in repairs, a disclosure made only after wastewater streamed out of the Soi Nongyai facility down to Wong Amat Beach.
Pattaya officials admitted Dec. 15 that the 1.8-billion-baht plant has been processing only 20 percent of the 65,000 cu. meters of water it is supposed to be treating each day. The rest has simply been flowing out untreated and leaking from unmaintained pipes and storage tanks.
An inspection last week revealed substantial damage to the 10-year-old plant, which has been neglected since the 30-million-baht, three-year operating agreement with Wetgo International Co. expired.
Since then, city hall has hired a string of temporary private contractors who have been simply running the plant without doing any maintenance of the facilities.
In the interim, sewage continues to foul Wong Amat Beach, one of Pattaya’s finest shorelines, driving away tourists and filling the air with a putrid stench.
The 30 million baht needed for repairs will be requested from the city council.
