The news became clear after The Phuket News began investigating complaints about recurring water outages in Wichit, an area afflicted with severe outages that have been recurring for years.
One resident on Sakdidet Rd, Wichit, told The Phuket News that at the beginning of October the water was off for most of the day, over five days.
Last week on Sunday (Oct 8) the PWA announced another shut off for the day. (See story here).
“We (residents) can totally understand water shortages in April and the weather has been hot with no rain for months on end, but this time of year, with the rain that we have had, it is unacceptable,” said the Sakdidet Rd resident.
“My partner has a hair salon business which she has had to close due to these shut-offs. Is that acceptable to the Phuket PWA? Are they prepared to compensate businesses that have lost money due to their incompetence?
“How are people to know that the water is going to be shut off if they cannot read Thai or if they don’t use Facebook (where notices are posted by the PWA). Is this really acceptable, and is this really how Phuket PWA treats its customers?”
“I would love Phuket PWA to do to tourist areas what they do to local people’s areas, but that is highly unlikely.”
Acting Phuket PWA head Somchai Kuntananat requested patience from residents as the finishing touches are completed to the long-awaited Khlong Katha Dam, which has suffered delay after delay for the past 15 years. (See story here).
Mr Somchai arrived on the island two weeks ago from his post as Krabi PWA Chief to take up the post as Phuket PWA boss after former Phuket PWA Director Pisak Choyalut retired on Sept 30.
“Please be patient for just another two months, or even less. We are finalising details for the Khlong Katha Dam. It is filling up with water to be used soon,” he said.
“We are in the process of beginning to switch our water supply to be supplemented from the (Chalong) reservoir. It is a large project,” he said.
“Also, this area (Wichit) suffers from water shortages due to having a lot of users. Right now, our only major source is Bang Wad Dam, so we struggle to supply water to this area sometimes,” he added.
“However, regarding the issue of English notices being unavailable prior to a water shut off, I will bring this up with our team. We will set up a Line group for each subdistrict that people can join, so they can to be notified directly in Thai and English,” he said.
“It will be ready in the coming weeks. I will let you know,” Mr Somchai said.
Mr Somchai also clarified that no compensation is offered to businesses that have lost trade through the shut-offs.
“We always notify people via our Facebook page and through audio announcements to personally collect water prior to a shut off,” he said.
“If you require water urgently, or your water has been off for four to five days, you can contact the PWA and we will bring trucks to provide you with water,” he said.
“We can help in this way, but we have never offered monetary compensation.”
The PWA can be contacted by calling 082-7901634 (a direct line to a PWA official) or 076-319173 (an automated answering system, press 0 for the operator to be directed to a PWA official). Alternatively, the PWA Facebook page is here.