Video by Eakkapop Thongtub
Almost one year on, it seems they may have spoken too soon.
Yesterday morning (April 5) Bang Tao Long-tail Boat Club members met with their village head, Gaycha Kohleg, to demand yet again that Cherng Talay Orbortor solve, once and for all, the pollution in Klong Bang Tao, and do it fast.
Residents of Moo 3 Baan Bang Tao complain that the water in the klong is almost black, and it reeks.
They told The Phuket News that no one can swim or play on the beach near where the klong spills across the beach and into the sea, because touching the filthy water results in skin rashes and infections.
Both locals and some tourists have had allergic skin reactions.
For the boatmen it is a particular problem; this is where they moor their boats and wade out to them.
A spokesman for the local boatmen said the water pollution problem is not new. Phuket has been struggled to come up with solution for a long time.
Over the past week Mr Gaycha has been trying to tackle the filthy water and persuade the chief executive of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organisation (Orbortor), Ma’an Samran, to visit the area and help solve the problem.
One of the boatmen told The Phuket News that the noxious effluent was caused by a combination of no rain, causing the contents of the canal to stagnate, and “the on-going problem of the people, restaurants and bar-beers dumping rubbish into the klong
“Plus, hotels and resorts continue to releasing effluent into the klong,” he said.
The Phuket News called Thalang District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol, who said that he had ordered Cherng Talay Orbortor to find a solution, and had contacted Heath Department officials to investigate the contaminated water.
The recurrence of the problem is somewhat surprising since Cherng Talay Orbortor received a B320 million budget early last year from the central government to build a waste water treatment system.
It is also surprising that despite repeated warnings that local polluters face fines and closure if they continue in their smelly ways, not one has been penalised.
The first phrase of the water treatment project was scheduled to break ground on February 15 last year, with sewers being completed by the end of March 31 this year. But the construction company was unable to start on time. The project is now in progress, Orbortor officials said.
As for the polluters, they were warned by Vice-Governor Somkiet Sangkhaosutthirak in April last year, “Whoever is still draining sewage into the canal, please stop it. This is the last chance – the third step for those who continue to ignore our requests will be prosecution. We will knock on your door and follow the law.”
On May 17 last year, inspecting the klong at high tide after heavy rain, V/Gov Somkiet again warned, “If anyone is caught releasing untreated waste into the canal or the sea they risk arrest and the closure of their business.”
At the end of April last year Department of Natural Resources and Environment officials were sent in to identify the culprits.
Yet despite being identified as polluters and being told they will be prosecuted and closed down, the local businesses appear not to think they need to do anything differently.