“We have installed 20 water tanks that each can contain 2,000 litres of water in the area, as people are facing water outages because the water pressure is not enough to deliver running water,” Mayor Somjai explained.
The tanks will be refilled at 10am and 6pm each day, she added.
The water outages in Hatchana Niwet began as the council was forced to reduce water mains water pressure throughout the town yet again in the hope of making water reserves last as long as possible.
Phuket City Municipality first reduced water pressure throughout Phuket Town in January, with water supply reduced from 9am-5pm and from 10pm to 5am each day. (See story here.)
The lates reduction in water pressure move comes as the council worries about water reserves running low at the five main sources used to supply Phuket Town residents.
Mayor Somjai explained that water reserves for Phuket Town were currently as follows:
- Bang Wad Reservoir – 1,542,069 cubic meters
- Pond near Phuket City Municipality office – 404,560 cubic meters.
- Pond in King’s Park (Suan Luang) – 122,894 cubic meters
- Pond near Vachira Phuket Hospital – 54,716 cubic meters
- Pond in Soi Paniang – 60,000 cubic meters.
“We expect that reducing the water pressure even more can leave us with enough water to last until the end of April, and we have been looking for new water sources,” she said.
Meanwhile, water trucks have also been posted at three locations in Phuket Town where residents can collect emergency water. The water trucks have been posted at the DDPM office on Kra Rd; the DDPM office on Soi Paniang; and the Phuket City Water Treatment Plant at Suan Luang Park.
Any Phuket Town residents in need of emergency water supply can call the DDPM hotline 199 or Phuket City Municipality Waterworks Division at 076-212457 or 076-211130 (24 hours).
“We urge people to use water sparingly and to be prepared in case water supply stops. Keep water in containers in the house so you can use it when you need to,” Mayor Somjai said.