Pattaya: Pattaya City has ordered legal action against a contractor for discharging wastewater into the sea. The deputy mayor of Pattaya has directed the contractor to urgently address the issue and has filed a police report following the contractor's unauthorized release of wastewater into the sea at Pattaya beach.
According to Thai News Agency, a video has emerged showing wastewater being released into the sea in front of a hotel on Jomtien Beach, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province, which led to the seawater turning black. The video, posted by a foreign tourist on Facebook, rapidly gained attention online. Inspection of the site at Jomtien Beach identified it as part of a landscaping project, where the contractor was installing drainage pipes and cleaning pipes within rainwater manholes to handle heavy rainfall.
Mr. Manoch Nongyai, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya, explained that the incident took place during the final stages of the Jomtien Beach landscape improvement project. The contractor was expected to complete the work by the end of February. During the cleaning of long-operational rainwater retention ponds, sediment and debris were improperly pumped onto the beach, causing some to flow into Jomtien Beach and discolor the seawater. This raised public concern and impacted the city's tourism image. Pattaya City has instructed the contractor to retrieve the sediment and wastewater for appropriate treatment and has filed a lawsuit against the contractor for the violation.
This morning, Pattaya Mayor Parames Ngampicheth inspected the incident site at Pattaya Beach and had a team of scientists collect seawater samples for testing. The mayor noted that the Jomtien Beach improvement project included building a drainage system and rainwater retention ponds to manage flooding and erosion, clarifying that the ponds were meant for rainwater, not wastewater. During construction, sediment and wastewater accumulated, necessitating cleaning before the project's handover. Pattaya City directed the contractor to pump all wastewater into the treatment system.
However, the contractor breached instructions by creating an additional sand pit and allowing wastewater to settle before partially releasing it into the sea. This improper action caused discoloration of the seawater at Jomtien Beach, harming Pattaya's image as a tourist destination. Consequently, a complaint has been lodged with the Pattaya City Police Station to pursue legal action against the contractor.