Pump hitch sparks pollution scare

CHON BURI: The Pattaya City municipality has shut the water gate at pump station in South Pattaya to contain untreated water, some of which leaked out and polluted the beach near the Bali Hai area.

The decision to close the gate came after people complained about the discharge of dark, foul-smelling water along the beach. Yesterday, high-ranking officials from the province’s natural resources and environment office and the Pattaya City municipality inspected the beach and took water samples for lab tests.

Sompob Wandee, acting director of the Pattaya City Sanitation Bureau, said the pollution occurred due to a high tide on Sunday morning.

Water from the sea washed into the canal normally used for discharging treated water from the Bali Hai water pump station.

However, the old pump at the station, which receives untreated water from the entire South Pattaya area, had broken down.

It caused large volumes of untreated water to accumulate and some of it had leaked into the canal and emptied into the sea along the beach nearby when the tide receded, Mr Sompob explained.

Pictures of the polluted water, which were shared widely on social media, alerted the authorities to the problem.

Mr Sompob said the water gate connected to the pump station has been closed and a pump is undergoing repairs. The bureau expected the machine to be back in operation within 24 hours.

Anant Promdontree, head of the provincial natural resources and environment office, said water samples were sent to a lab for examination.

The results, which are expected to be known in two to three weeks, would determine how much the pollution had affected the local ecology and marine life.

In the meantime, Mr Anant has warned people to take precautions if they go for a swim in the area.

Earlier this month, the national park office filed a police complaint against business operators who were polluting the popular Had Mae Rampueng beach with untreated waterin Rayong.