Following complaints by local residents and tourists, Chonburi Governor Pakarathorn Thienchai led a team of officials on August 26 to inspect a sewer-polluted pool of water that had formed on a Najomtien beach.
The governor and his team cooperated with volunteers to help solve the initial pollution issue by dispatching 1000 EM (effective microorganism) balls into the accumulated water on Saikao Beach, with the aim of eliminating any dangerous pathogens contained therein. The water upon first inspection was black in color and muddy with a very bad smell.
The officials were informed by local municipal workers that usually the sewage was discharged out to sea, but due to recent strong waves and winds for the past 2 weeks, and had formed a dam wall to block the water and had led to the detritus and wastewater accumulating in an increasingly unpleasant puddle.
The governor said he wanted measures to be put in place to solve this problem permanently and to prevent untreated wastewater from nearby houses and business establishments flowing directly into the ocean, potentially damaging the local ecosystem.
