Tourists shocked as Phuket beach water turns rancid again in Karon, this time black

[NamKangMan]

If you abuse your environment for greed what do you expect. Once you have destroyed it completely you will be left sitting alone and asking the question, why don't the tourists come any more.

Problem is, it takes more than that to scare Russians away. More and more of them pour relentlessly into Pattaya and Phuket each year, as they now feel more at home there than the Thais do - it's actually worth seeing once as it's so overwhelmingly absurd.

Have the Russians taken over, it was once an Aussie place, well they made up the largest number of tourists. Bali and Phuket.

Anyway who cares about both places. My wife and I catch cheap flights to the west coast of Australia 75 Aud per person ex bkk 4 hours and you have nearly 2000 kms of prestine coast line. No deck chairs, no soi dogs or garbage and hardly a person to be spotted. We hire a camper van for a week and it beats Phuket hands down and all for around the same price overall.

I come from the east coast so I am not promoting W.A

Phuket is becoming Pattaya 2.

As Pattaya became a city by the sea - Phuket will become an island city.

With that, brings all the social problems. Eg. crime and drugs.

The environmental problems. Eg. pollution, particually to the beaches and ocean.

Also, infastructure problems due to the large constructions, with a higher population, and no money spent on maintenance or upgrades. Eg. town water, roads and electricity.

So, what Phuket used to have over Pattaya, namely, nicer beaches, will slowly change, and then all that will be left here is the sex trade, the higher prices and all the collusion BS from the Thai mafia. Eg. taxis and tuk-tuks.

It will hardly be a nice place to spend your retirement in.

[The Usual Suspect]

It seems as though Thailand's number is almost up and it's not going to be pretty, no sir!

[LALes]

The last few times I swam at Karon were 2005, 2007 and 2010. Each time, I felt some kind of itch or bite.

I'm thinking it was sea lice, which was an occasional problem at the beach I used to swim at in Honolulu.

Water has been polluted for some time, now, and is only getting worse.

[Benmart]

I honestly can't understand how Thailand manages to have as many tourists as it does. Surely return tourism must be a thing of the past?

I believe Thailand maintains tourism by slick advertising and resting on the laurels of its faded past as a tropical paradise. Those tourists that experience a less than stellar visit most likely will share their experiences via the Internet which has far reaching consequences.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Cheat a tourist, assault a tourist, contaminate a tourist and the reaction will most likely be negative.

"The Land of Smiles", sadly, is being slowly replaced by the "Land of Unfavorable Winds". Nearby countries, which have not yet succumbed to the greed, dishonestly and hostility that often accompanies increased tourism, will reap the harvest.

[siamjimi]

[ Kamnan Winai alleged that the Karon Municipality was aware of the problem, but had taken no steps to fix it. ]

The reason for Karon Municipality not taking steps is bcoz they are the ones that most likely purged their tanks full of excrements into the canal to begin with - I can say with confidence that I am sure they have been doing this since they build the farce of a treatment facility to begin with.

[attrayant]

It's not black water but shit from the toilet.

That's what black water means.

On the other hand, the relatively darker seawater south of Karon beach doesn't inspire confidence:

Is it due to deeper water or deeper something else?

I believe that's indicative of underwater flora. At shallow depths, light can reach the ocean floor and vegetation thrives. If you cruise around Google Earth, you'll notice that's true pretty much everywhere on the globe in temperate climates.

And the satellite images aren't real time. Google Earth reports April 24, 2013 as the most recent image of the Phuket region.

Edited February 25, 2014 by attrayant

[chooka]

I honestly can't understand how Thailand manages to have as many tourists as it does. Surely return tourism must be a thing of the past?

I believe Thailand maintains tourism by slick advertising and resting on the laurels of its faded past as a tropical paradise. Those tourists that experience a less than stellar visit most likely will share their experiences via the Internet which has far reaching consequences.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Cheat a tourist, assault a tourist, contaminate a tourist and the reaction will most likely be negative.

"The Land of Smiles", sadly, is being slowly replaced by the "Land of Unfavorable Winds". Nearby countries, which have not yet succumbed to the greed, dishonestly and hostility that often accompanies increased tourism, will reap the harvest.

They are still showing the same promotional photos from 40 yrs ago to lure in tourists

[IrishIvan]

This is definitely effluent from the big hotels in the area

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[connda]

The answers simple: Stop going to Phuket. It's a pit.

[herb59]

If you abuse your environment for greed what do you expect. Once you have destroyed it completely you will be left sitting alone and asking the question, why don't the tourists come any more.

and the next is Koh Samui!

[andreandre]

From PW ;

The highly esteemed Governor Maitree..

First ....He splashed a little water on an arm but felt no urge to itch, had a sniff of the broad canal and reported no smell, then said it was ''clearly not a risk problem,'' despite the black color.

Later he said of a three part plan he had one of which was this...

.. the canal would be dredged wider, so the water could escape more quickly into the ocean.

Comical at best, but this guy is serious..

[IsaanUSA]

How would anyone be shocked by this?

[kaveh]

this is septic from hotels for sure. i saw it by myself last year in july and said to locals ans TAT guy, but heard only 'MAI PEN LAI' at the last!

[TPI]

The problem seems endemic in Thailand! Not one city, town or village appears to have an efficient sewage system? How can large hotels and resorts clear their tanks without dumping into the nearest river? Farmers are so indoctrinated by chemical suppliers that they flatly refuse to take human waste for fertilizer?

Thais are about to drown in their own waste and they have no one to blame but themselves!!

It's really very sad.

[FireMedic]

I love how it says "tourists shocked"....the headline "no one else is" wouldn't work.

[LivinginKata]

Off topic posts removed.

[tetleythedog]

Something fishy is going on here.

The effluent is the residue of all the BS from the Govt. mayhap !

[Maggusoil]

had to go to phuket on business a couple of years ago, why anyone would go there for a holiday amazes me.

Good point. The reality is that the quality of the tourists changes. The higher end, with higher expectations stop coming.

I know friends of mine have stopped going there. . . and they just look for newer dumber markets. . .

[Thai at Heart]

The waters around Pattaya are the same or worse.

Beginning this year, me and my girlfriend went to Pattaya to visit 4 good friends from France. They planned to stay a couple of days in Pattaya before traveling down to Cambodia. We stayed at the Mountain Beach Resort (loaded with Russians) and together with 2 friends we decided to take a dip in the sea nearby while the girls stayed at the poolside.

Three weeks later our friends came down to Bangkok after their journey through Cambodia before returning to France a week later. I suffered with a slight illness and my body was covered with skin rash and blisters. I went to the Bangkok Hospital before, they thought about an alleric reaction and got some creams and an antibiotic. It didn't help. Meeting my 2 friends in Bangkok, learning that they were suffering with the same. While the girls didn't have any thing.

We all went to the Bangkok Hospital and they tested us all, blood test and skin tests. Result:

a Staphylococcus Aureus infection due to contaminated water. While the doctor asked us if we went swimming somewhere we told him, the 3 of us went swimming near Mountain Beach in Pattaya. The doctor told us it was a very common infection due to swimming near the Pattaya waters. He has advised us not to swim in the sea near Pattaya or Phuket while the waters there are extremely contaminated but using a pool at a resort.

Still having skin rash but it is getting better by the day now, using Fucidin cream.

Pattaya and the whole eastern seaboard is infinitely worse

[shaurene]

They should check 1st what if any factory is close to the river/canal or which is common a disposable wagon dumping it's load so not to pay money to dispose it at the official disposal place. They will get it tested and go from there.

[MK1]

No doubt associated with someone’s criminal mind set of environmental terrorism, but needless to say, Environmental Impact Assessments(EIA), as part of planning, has been around for while now so depending upon the will and power of local authorities they should be able to eliminate this problem. Septic waste is also traceable but that is also subject to authorities approving funding for a bunch of poo-busters to investigate.

[FNQ]

Did khun winai, take a sample to assist in possible prosecution ?

Hang on !!!!!!! What was I thinking ?

[eezergood]

This is definitely effluent from the big hotels in the area

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Someone with a brain may want to follow the trail.......

Edited February 26, 2014 by eezergood

[slipperylobster]

Jet ski mafia changing the oil ???

[slipperylobster]

Some may not be aware...but dumping stuff in the ocean can sometimes backfire. I once has a bad case of diarrhea..(local food) and made an emergency offload while swimming uptide. To my amazement, there was not one portion of the beach that did not contain remnants. If one man can do that..think of what a whole community can do.

[monkeycountry]

Many if not most beaches in Thailand have black untreated sewage water ruuning straight into the bays from the nearby canals. On an average day the sewage water may be diluted enough to make it invisible, but the pollution is still in the water, and the tourists are still swimming in it and getting sick from it. Other days the inevitable happens as evidenced at Karon beach. What sometimes happen is the sewage water will stay in the canal for a while, and get more and more concentrated due to lack of rain, then it will start to rain, and all the now concentrated black water will be flushed into the sea, much like if you go to the toilet 10 times without flushing it, and then suddenly flush.

Sadly, as mentioned by the kamnan above, sewage treatment is not a priority in Thailand.

[FM505]

That would be sewage...

[monkeycountry]

To be fair, creeks are often blocked by sand at their mouth, and for a while the water grows increasingly putrid.

Eventually the dam breaks and the putrid water rushes out to sea.

But admittedly this is much worse if the creek is used as a sewer!

Are any creeks in Thailand not used as sewers? I have yet to see one of those!

[attrayant]

Is there a good reason why septic tanks aren't used in resort areas? In downtown I can understand, because there would be no septic field for the run-off.

[chris1101]

So if you rush from your hotel toilet to the beach... You can have your poo and eat it too?

Is that not what Queen Marie Antoinette said, "Let them eat cacky"?