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.
