The announcement came on Saturday (Jan 20) during an inspection of the pond and the canal where excess water from the pond flows across Karon Beach and into the sea, where tourists swim.
The work to expand the wastewater treatment facility will begin in April, and is scheduled to be completed by April 2025, Mayor Jadet said.
Despite his push to increase the facility’s capacity to treat wastewater, Mayor Jadet on Saturday remained adamant that the black water flowing from the pond and across the beach last week was not wastewater.
“It’s not wastewater. It’s sediment from the bottom of the canal. It does not affect the health of tourists, who can still play in the water and do water activities at the beach as usual,” he said.
Joining Mayor Jadet during his inspection of the pond and canal on Saturday was Sanan Rakdam, Director of Karon Municipality’s Engineering Division and Wastewater Treatment Office.
Mayor Jadet also called for reporters to join him during his inspection, during which he conducted water quality tests to prove the water was safe.
The water tested recorded a DO value (dissolved oxygen) of 3.38 parts per million (ppm), which Mayor Jadet said was considered “normal water”.
The Pollution Control Department considers DO recordings of less than 2.0 to be wastewater, he said.
“Therefore, it is scientific evidence that the water in the area is normal water and does not appear to be spoiled,” he said, five days after disturbing images of black water flowing across the beach went viral on local social media channels.
Of note, Mayor Jadet on Friday explained through a post on Karon Municipality’s official Facebook page that to help resolve the problem the municipality had already: dredged the canal to help the water flow from the pond more quickly; installed an aerator “to increase the circulation of water to create air circulation, which prevents stagnant water from spoiling”; and installed a water pump to remove any overflowing water from the treatment pond.
Mayor Jadet on Saturday refuted accusations that he was complacent over the issue, which was accused of endangering tourists’ health.
“I’m not complacent. Executives and members of the Karon Municipality Council along with a team of technicians and related officials went to inspect the area and ordered the use of an excavator to dredge the canal,” he said.
“It was found that there was a large amount of black sediment in the canal. They also tested the water quality by collecting water samples. It was found that the water had no odour and did not affect the health of tourists,” he added.
“So I can confirm that the water flowing into the sea is still of good quality. It does not have an effect that causes tourists to itch or affect the skin. Tourists can still play in the water at the beach as usual and we have not received any complaints from tourists,” Mayor Jadet said.
“However, we are still working on solving problems, and I would like the government and related agencies to help support the budget to solve the problem in a sustainable way in order to build a positive tourism image,” he added.
Mr Sanan explained that the wastewater treatment facility at Nong Harn currently has the capacity to treat 14,000 cubic metres of wastewater per day.
“During the time of the incident, it was found that there was a lot of water from wastewater treatment plants. In addition, there was a sea surge causing a large amount of water to push up on the sandbar until it collapsed and a large mass of water carried the sediment and flowed into the sea, causing the black water,” Mr Sanan said.
By dredging the canal, officials had excavated the sediment from the canal and created a small barrier to prevent water carrying sediment from flowing directly onto the beach. The sediment is now trapped behind the barrier, and removed by excavator from there, he said.
Five such ‘sediment barriers’ have now been created along the canal, Msr Sanan explained.
“Karon Municipality has a long-term plan for hotel operators to bring their wastewater into the system. And in the future, we will make one more ‘Monkey Cheek’ [weir], which if done, will be able to solve the problem to a certain extent,” he added.
“However, what Karon Municipality needs is sustainable wastewater treatment. About 14,000 cubic metres of wastewater enters the system per day. After being treated, it should not be drained into the sea, but should be reused through a recycling system,” Mr Sanan said.
“This will solve the problem sustainably and protects the environment,” he added.