Wastewater poisoning Phuket canal

Yesterday (August 22) officials from the Environment Office Region 15 Phuket and others inspected the Mudong canal.

Residents said the water is black and has a bad smell all along the canal. Dead shrimps, crabs and fish have been found floating on it.
The environment office’s Kanchit Sunthornkarn said: “At this stage we have found that wastewater is coming from sewage produced by the community. There are housing estates, restaurants and houses. 

“We have to control the wastewater problem from the original sources. The law must be enforced by officers. We still don’t have the technology to solve wastewater in the canal once it has made its way into the canal system. If we add more microorganisms, it will be worse.

“For a short-term solution, we have to use natural treatment because the black water in the canal is caused by the drains. For a longer-term solution, we have to find the original sources. Wastewater has to be treated before being released into the canal.”