Taps on Phi Phi have not dried up, say local authorities
A House committee has been assured that the popular Phi Phi island off the coast of Krabi is not suffering from drought as reported earlier.
Jakarat Puachuy, Palang Pracharat Party MP who chairs the House committee on water resources management, told the press on Friday that he had visited Krabi on Thursday and learned that tourists on Phi Phi island were not being affected by drought.
He said the deputy CEO of the Ao Nang Administrative Organisation and representatives from the Provincial Waterworks Authority had declared that there was enough water to keep the island supplied during the ongoing hot months.
Jakarat said he had been told that 60% of raw water was tapped from underground, while 40% came from private suppliers.
He said private operators previously drew water from their reservoirs to sell, but these had dried up due to a lack of rain. Hence, he said, many private operators had sought permission to pump water from underground, while others transported water on rafts from Phuket.
The House panel chairman said Krabi’s provincial administration had proposed a long-term plan to build a plant to turn seawater into tap water.
The Krabi administration is seeking funds from the 2025 fiscal budget to carry out a feasibility study, Jakarat said.
“Krabi governor Somchai Harnpakdeepatima has assured me that tourists on Koh Phi Phi will not be affected as most hotels on the island have their own underground wells,” he said.
Jakarat and members of his panel visited Krabi after hearing that the southern province had been hit with such severe drought that tap water in certain areas was only available every other day. This scarcity was blamed on the lack of rain since January.
Jakarat’s delegation met with representatives of relevant agencies at the Krabi provincial hall on Thursday. Those attending included representatives from the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Krabi Provincial Administration, the Krabi Provincial Administrative Organisation, the Tambon Ao Nang Administrative Organisation and the Krabi Waterworks Office.
Jakarat said he was informed that though the drought on mainland Krabi had affected tap water production, relevant authorities had come up with measures to deal with such scarcity soon.
Jakarat said the agencies had also found a new source of water, Klong Wai Lek Lake, which is on a 264-rai (42.24-hectare) plot in an old mine.
He said the lake is very deep and tests found that the water up to the depth of 15 metres was good for converting into tap water.
The provincial administration is also building a new tap water plant in Tambon Nong Thalay of Muang district worth 174 million baht, and spending 400 million baht to build a 22-kilometre-long pipe connecting the Klong Haeng reservoir to the Talad Kao tap water plant.
