The Public Works Division at Karon Municipality were notified of the black water spilling onto the beach at 2pm, explained engineer Chatpon Jareonwech.
“By 3pm, we were on-site and had shut down the plant to make emergency repairs,” Mr Chatpon told The Phuket News.
Although the pumps were still working, the filtration system was not removing sediment and other contaminants from the water, he explained
“Plus, it had been raining heavily. This added extra load onto filtration system, meaning more untreated water passed through the plant” he added.
Municipal engineers worked through most of the night to ensure the plant was operational as quickly as possible, Mr Chatpon explained.
“Everything was back up and running, and there was no more black water on the water by Friday morning,” he said.
In the meantime, extra pumps have been fitted to the Kata treatment plant to help avoid future spills.
“This is only a short-term solution. I will report this case to the municipality meeting on November 23 and hopefully we will have a long-term solution soon” Mr Chatpon said.
At the Nov 23 meeting, Mr Chatpon will suggest two new cesspools be added to the treatment plants near the Karon Municipality office and near the Saiyuan intersection.
“I will also ask for two more cesspools to be added at the Kata plant,” he said. “With luck, the project might be approved as early as next month and there will not be any future spills like this.”