Phuket black water problem to be taken on by Bangkok officials

PHUKET: In an effort to combat the black water debacle in Karon, officials signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to temporarily relinquish control of wastewater management in the area to the Wastewater Management Authority of Thailand (WMA).

“Municipality officers signed the MoU on March 13. It allows the WMA to take charge,” Director of Regional Environmental Office 15 Pornsri Suthanaruk told the Phuket Gazette yesterday.

Dr Pornsri presented the idea for the WMA to step in at a meeting with Karon officials on March 10 (story here).

“As an initial short-term solution, WMA officers led by Deputy Director Cheera Wongburana will run a study and determine solutions to the wastewater problem in the area, including ways to control the release of dirty water directly into the public canal.

“After they finish their study, they will begin to expand the Karon wastewater-management system using the budget provided by the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment office in Bangkok,” explained Dr Pornsri.

The push for solutions follows the discovery of black, rancid water that flowing across Karon Beach and into the sea on February 24 (story here).

— Saran Mitrarat