Phuket water supply update

PHUKET TOWN: Addressing concerns that Phuket may not have enough water to get through the current dry season, the Phuket Provincial Irrigation Office (PPIO) has reported that the Bang Wad Reservoir in Kathu has water to last until May if not replenished with rainfall.

Mr Issara Anukool, who heads the PPIO’s water management department, said the reservoir currently hold 5.3 million cubic meters of water, about 73% of total capacity.

The PPIO supplies water to both the Phuket Provincial Waterworks Authority and the Phuket City Waterworks Authority, the island’s two main municipal supply systems.

He spoke during a meeting of the Phuket Provincial Water Strategy Committee held at the PPIO’s meeting room on Wednesday morning.

The meeting was chaired by Phuket Vice Governor Teerayut Eimtrakul.

Outlining the provincial water supply situation, Mr Issara said the PPIO currently has the capacity to collect, treat and transmit about 47 million cubic meters of water annually, which is less than the 51 million cubic meters needed to meet predicted requirements in 2010.

To make up the shortfall, the PPIO has four development projects planned.

Work on the long-awaited third reservoir at Klong Krata in Chalong will get underway ‘very soon’.

The PPIO has already signed a project contract worth over 460 million baht with the project contractor, he said.

To further augment supplies, the PPIO also plans build a new 2 million cubic meter reservoir at Klong Yon, with work to begin next year.

The agency also plans to increase capacity at the Bang Wad Reservoir by 3.3 million cubic meters annually and implement a ‘monkey cheeks’ storage project at the 7.2-million-cubic meter at Bang Neaw Dum in Srisoothorn reservoir to increase production there by 6 million cubic meters, on average.

Phuket Provincial Waterworks Authority Manager Sayan Wareearoonroj said his agency continues to survey private water resources and is prepared to spend over 50 million baht to private suppliers if they can provide water of a high enough standard.

However, many Phuket residents not served by the two municipal supplies are already suffering from shortages and having to rely on expensive supplies trucked in by water tankers.

For a recent report about the water supply situation in Cherng Talay click here.

— S. Nongkaew & S. Fein