Phuket NSO Chief Onanong Senpaan called for people to help the 17 census takers currently attempting to collate data from the 196,000 registered households in the province at the “Governor Meets the Press” meeting held at the Ramada Plaza Chao Fah hotel on Chao Fa West Rd yesterday (July 25).
Ms Onanong explained that the NSO is collecting information in order to help develop policies for sustainable water management in 25 river basins throughout the country.
Major issues have been the increasingly inconsistent rainfall during the wet season and changes in water usage, Ms Onanong said.
"Higher numbers of tourists and new businesses will see water usage will rise by 36% by the year 2024,” she added.
“For sustainable water management. officials must ensure water reserves meet demand. Everyone, the Royal Irrigation Office, Department of Water Resources, Department of Groundwater Resources and so on, must check what information they have about water resources and water usage in every activity and every area,” Ms Onanong said.
“Deep, clear data matching what officials need is necessary for water management,” she added.
The NSO campaign to determine how much water is used by households in key areas was initially set to be finished by August this year, Ms Onanong explained.
“But the problem is that the we don’t have the human resources, so collecting the data has taken longer than planned,” she added.
“The deadline now has been extended to Sept 15 because we have been able to collect just 5% of the needed information, and we are looking for local people who are interested in collecting the information we need.
Census takers are to be paid B15 for each fully competed questionnaire per houshould, and just B5 for a partially completed questionnaire.
In order to volunteer to help the project, census takers are to be at least 18 years old. There are no educational requirements, but volunteers must be able to use a computer tablet and must have their own vehicle.
Certified census takers will be issued temporary ID cards to prove to the public they are collecting information on behalf of the NSO.
The questionnaire will take “just minutes” to complete, The Phuket News was told.
Among the survey questions are: the names and ages of the people living in the house; how much water they use; and how much they pay for water.
If the household uses more than average amounts of water, such as a farm, the survey is to mark which water resource used and how much water is used from that source.
The location of each house surveyed is also to be marked on the tablet.
“We assure you that the information will be treated as confidential,” Ms Onanong assured.
“The information will be useful in managing water resources so that water reserves meet how much water is used, and by keeping enough in reserve to prevent water-shortage disasters,” she added.
For more information about volunteering to assist in the NSO water-usage census in Phuket, visit the Phuket Provincial Statistical Office website (click here), call 076-211594 or email phuket@nso.go.th