FOLLOWING a Facebook post showing wastewater being discharged into the sea at Jomtien beach in Pattaya, the seaside city’s Mayor Mr. Poramet Ngampichet today (Feb. 3) confirmed that the seawater had now returned to standard level with legal action being taken against the irresponsible contractor, MNG Online and TV Channel 7 said.
The contamination occurred from a Jomtien beach landscape improvement project plus the construction of a drainage system and rainwater retention ponds to address flooding and coastal erosion issues.
Poramet explained that the ponds were for holding rainwater, not wastewater. However, sediment and wastewater accumulated during construction, requiring cleaning before handover with Pattaya City authorities having instructed the contractor to pump all the wastewater directly into the treatment system but this was ignored.
The contractor had excavated additional sand pits where wastewater was allowed to settle before releasing some of it into the sea. This had led to the seawater at Jomtien beach turning black and damaged the city’s tourism image.
Aside from filing a complaint at Pattaya police station to prosecute the contractor the Pattaya city authorities had dispatched a team of scientists to collect seawater samples for quality testing.
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Black wastewater at Jomtien beach and the project that released it. Photos – MNG Online
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