Authorities instruct the population of Koh Samui to use water sparingly. Rations have been in effect in various regions since the beginning of July.
Koh Samui – The popular Thai holiday island of Koh Samui has lacked sufficient water for months, as falling rainfall and increased water demand due to thriving tourism are taking their toll. According to media reports, authorities are scrambling to tackle water shortages that have left taps running dry for months. Because in different regions of the island, since the beginning of July, water has only come out of the tap alternately and on a daily basis.
The island, known for its white beaches and luxurious resorts, often struggles with a lack of fresh water during the dry season between March and May. Now it is feared that the El Niño weather phenomenon, which is accompanied by less rain, will lead to even greater water shortages this year. The News Page The Thaiger speaks of a “serious water crisis”. At the start of a water conference in New York, the United Nations drew an alarming picture and has already sounded the alarm in view of a water crisis threatening worldwide.
Many of the island’s water reserves have been drastically reduced
“The lack of rain and the resurgence in tourism have put a heavy strain on water supplies,” Sutham Samthong, Koh Samui’s deputy mayor, told the report THey Guardian. With careful management, he believes, the island is capable of surviving the next two months before rain is expected. “We don’t want the government to declare Koh Samui a disaster area,” the deputy mayor continued.
Like the newspaper Bangkok Post reported, many of the island’s water reserves such as Phru Na Muang and Phru Krajud reservoirs and Hin Lard Waterfall have seen a significant drop in their water levels. This decline disrupted the production of clean water as the total amount of available fresh water continues to decrease.
According to Ratchporn Poonsawat, chairman of the Koh Samui Tourism Association, hotel operators and other tourism industry workers may be forced to buy fresh water from private suppliers. This would result in an increase in operating costs, which in turn could affect holidaymakers’ holiday costs.
Water shortage on Koh Samui – according to experts also due to poor planning
The tourism association expressed concern about the looming drought impact on the island’s tourism sector in the coming month and the month after, which coincides with the start of the long-awaited high season in the second half of the current year. In the past five months, the famous tourist island has amid the current water crisis hosts at least one million international visitors. “A water shortage could cause tourists to change their travel plans or stay away from the island,” the British newspaper quoted the tourism association chairman as saying.
for dr Kannapa Pongponrat Chieochan, an assistant professor at Thammasat University, said the lack of water is also due to poor planning. The infrastructure has not been able to keep up with the island’s population, which has grown significantly with the influx of people from across Thailand to work in the growing tourism industry, the expert said. At the same time, the island has seen rapid development of resorts, hotels, golf courses and spas. They are the major water consumers on the island.
In order to solve the problem of the water crisis, a pipeline is currently being pumped from Surat Thani on the mainland to the island. Deliveries from the mainland started on Saturday and will be repeated every other day until the water situation returns to normal, Prateep Kusolwattana, director-general of the province’s waterworks, told the report The Guardians. (Vivian Werg)
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