The urban myth that Pattaya beach is "dirty"

[Carrabow]

the human waste is treated, that is what the plants do.

Yes, some of it is but most of it is not as the cotractors have to pay to dump their shit there, so to speak.

They would need billions of dollars to build a new plant or upgrade a plant big enough to handle the amount of waste the city produces as well as re-direct all of the city pipes back to that facility.

Well thats just a Sh*tty excuse

[Loy Toy]

Well thats just a Sh*tty excuse

Stinks,,,,,,,,,, I know.................

[socal]

Socal where the hell is this plant?

i dont know....

So you are part of the conspiracy crowd ?

[Loy Toy]

i dont know...

So you are part of the conspiracy crowd ?

[aging one]

I like Pattaya, especially Pratamnak hill, nice place to take the family for a weekend. But our water sports are the pool, and Lakeland cable ski. Would not find our family in the water mate. Bang Saray for seafood, an Indian joint we like just up the road, and throw in an hour at the Wat up by the radio station and all is well.

[Norton]

Does the current bestow it's gifts on Sihanoukvile, or peel off into the Gulf?

It does but pollutants much diluted so "cleaner" than Pattaya.

I dont know that much about the sewer issues in Pattaya. All I know is that they have fairly new modern sewage treatment plants, they have environmental standards and the businesses on the beach front have an interest in keeping the water clean. And they have the same old issues as any other busy beach.

I too have little knowledge of Pattaya sewage treatment so defer to folks who live there. Naturally the quality of Pattaya sewage treatment is a factor in polluting it's beach. Even if their sewage treatment is so good the output could be bottled and sold as Pattaya Pure Mountian Springs water, Pattaya beach would still have a significant pollution problem. Being "down stream", everything dumped into the Chao Praha River (industrial waste, sewage, city drainage water), Samut Prakan (industrial waste, pesticides, prawn farming waste) and Chon Buri (industrial waste and pesticides) ends up at Pattaya beach and everywhere else on the Eastern seaboard albeit somewhat diluted from the source.

There are plenty of regulations on the books in Thailand which regulate sewage treatment, industrial and agricultural waste. All look nice on paper but as with most laws in Thailand none are enforced. A quick walk in Bangkok quickly shows who well the 2,000 baht fine for littering is enforced. No enforcement at all unless a farang is dumb enough to throw a cigarette butt on the street. Now we are talking serious enforcement.

[Loy Toy]

There are plenty of regulations on the books in Thailand which regulate sewage treatment, industrial and agricultural waste.

Based upon my experiences, the head technical guy at the pollution control board, a Thai who studied in the US was absolutely brilliant and when he come down from Bangkok to look at my problem.

He was absolutely shocked when I showed him pictures of the number of residential sewerage pipes being directed straight into the storm water drains along Soi Siam Country Club Road whilst that Road was being constructed.

He had a mobile laboratory which showed massive amounts of human waste and other industrial chemicals in the water flowing across my property. This information and other evidence was taken to the council offices and we got immediate access to the top people to attend to this problem.

Hence the immediate decision to spend 45 million Baht and to solve my problem.

Mate, I wish more then anyone that this problem didn't exist but it is a huge problem for this resort town and only getting worse with the new developments going up daily.

The infrastructure across the board cannot handle this type of growth.

[The Ghost Of The Moog]

I work for Statoil in the Canadian oil sands. The amount of time and money these heavy oil operators spend on the environment is unreal, yet the same old oil sands bullshit rumors go around. No diffrent then this

Thats because your employers are forced to care - by law, and by the prospect of draconian compliance penalties.


Thai hotel owners might have a vested interest in a clean environment, but they have to deal with the physical infrastructure they have at their disposal.

[Loy Toy]

Another major problem in Pattaya is the fact that solid waste such as plastic bags and other hard objects clogs the drains up not allowing the sewerage to flow to the waste water stations that are in place.

I have seen council workers with Jack-hammers trying to clear these pipes out for weeks at a time. When finished they forget about the problem until the drains become blocked again (normally about 6 months) and the sewerage oozes out of the surface grates flowing into people's front yards.

[Travelmate]

Such a dreadful place Pattaya has become.

[The Ghost Of The Moog]

I stayed in the Siam Bayshore at Songkran - and one of those big drains flows through the resort.

It rained heavily and the whole thing flooded into the hotel - it was absolutely black, dank and stinking. The smell was awful even when the flow was normalised

What was in there? (it wasn't just storm run-off ) And where do drains like that flow to?

[Loy Toy]

Such a dreadful place Pattaya has become.

Have you been on Asoke when it has flooded mate?

Oh yes, that was your preferred place of residence.....

No wonder you know so much about shit, hookers and stuff.

[Travelmate]

Have you been on Asoke when it has flooded mate?

Unlike you, I made a decision and got out. No longer reside there. I live in a greener part of Bangkok now.

[hillbilly]

Such a dreadful place Pattaya has become.

Tis true that Pattaya has a few problems. No denying that.

However, there are many falangs who are saying "We have lived here for a long time with our families and we are trying to help the Pattaya community."

From my own personal experience with my family; if one does not go to the sexpats area then Pattaya is quite enjoyable.

[Loy Toy]

I live in a greener part of Bangkok now.

Where? On top of the old Klong Toey sewer near the Convention Centre?

Bangkok is a cess pit and the only difference with Pattaya is the air pollution is a lot worse.

By the Way Travelmate, been for a swim in the Chao Phraya River of late????????.......

[Travelmate]

I live in a greener part of Bangkok now.

Where? On top of the old Klong Toey sewer near the Convention Centre?

Bangkok is a cess pit and the only difference with Pattaya is the air pollution is a lot worse.

By the Way Travelmate, been for a swim in the Chao Phraya River of late????????.......

As already mentioned in my earlier post. In the "greener" part of Bkk.
Completely out of the Klong Toey area.

As for pollution it is quite widely spread, difficult to escape. Are you saying Pattaya got clean fresh air, clean beach, clean water?
Free of scum.....
Nope it clearly in abundance in Pattaya, concentrated even.

[Travelmate]

From my own personal experience with my family; if one does not go to the sexpats area then Pattaya is quite enjoyable.

A valid quote in days of yonder perhaps. But Pattaya is steadly getting worse as clearly highlighted by Loy Toy's posts.
There is no getting away from it. The unpleasant side of life is there to be seen and remain.

[OhOh]

This information and other evidence was taken to the council offices and we got immediate access to the top people to attend to this problem.

Hence the immediate decision to spend 45 million Baht and to solve my problem.

Connections, of the human kind, or the water department does act when a complaint is made?

[Loy Toy]

Connections, of the human kind, or the water department does act when a complaint is made?

Read between meaning of my words and make your own mind up mate.

[Norton]

The infrastructure across the board cannot handle this type of growth.

Same in Phuket where I lived for some time. I watched a relatively healthy coral reef just off shore on Kalim beach turn into a dead collection of coral heads with near no marine life over a short 7 year span. You want to assess the health of a beach area, put on a mask and go a few meters off shore. No need for a water analysis, the health of the marine environment will tell you the level of pollution.

[Loy Toy]

To be honest it's people like Socal who listen to the bullshit reports from people who want people sitting in their bars and restaurants spending up big rather then swimming in the sea who are the problem.

Socal, get your head out of your arse and come down here to lobby the Pattaya council rather than be pissed off because some prostitute wouldn't swim in the shit and piss with you.

[The Ghost Of The Moog]

some prostitute wouldn't swim in the shit and piss with you.

I like this quote, ...............its quite French and literary. Could be from 'Justine'.

[dirtydog]

Socall, if I build a house in Pattaya, or any where in Pattaya, there isn't a main sewage pipe or system I can connect to, I can build my cess pit or pits, I can run my grey water into the street drainage, now this is where the problems is, Pattaya could spend $590 billion dollars on a sewage treatment plant, it could spend twice that, but people will still run their shit into the street drainage.

[dirtydog]

Socall, if I build a house in Pattaya, or any where in Pattaya, there isn't a main sewage pipe or system I can connect to, I can build my cess pit or pits, I can run my grey water into the street drainage, now this is where the problems is, Pattaya could spend $590 billion dollars on a sewage treatment plant, it could spend twice that, but people will still run their shit into the street drainage.

[socal]

Another major problem in Pattaya is the fact that solid waste such as plastic bags and other hard objects clogs the drains up not allowing the sewerage to flow to the waste water stations that are in place.

I have seen council workers with Jack-hammers trying to clear these pipes out for weeks at a time. When finished they forget about the problem until the drains become blocked again (normally about 6 months) and the sewerage oozes out of the surface grates flowing into people's front yards.

I think in Florida, Cancun and Aruba, solid garbage tends to plug drains too.