Pattaya has begun studying a proposal to lay an undersea pipeline to bring drinking water to Koh Larn.
Using part of its 135 million baht Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration allocation for 2012, the city commissioned an expensive research study to assess the construction contacts, purchases, operation procedures and company search.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome talks with reporters about Koh Larn’s drinking water conundrum.
Water supply has been a growing problem as the popularity and population of the resort island grows. The city has an existing contract with the East Water Co. to run a desalinization plant on the island, but demand has outstripped supply.
To supplement that, Koh Larn contracts with the Navy to ship water to Na Baan Pier and residents have collected their own rainwater to keep for use during dry season.
Desalinated water costs 75 baht per unit and imported water costs 200 baht per unit, Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome said. That compares poorly with mainland water supplies, which run 14-24 baht per unit.
“If the pipeline from Pattaya is successful, residents will not have to deal with high costs anymore and improve their economic conditions,” the mayor said.
