WASTEWATER TREATMENT PROJECTS STILL BOGGED DOWN IN RED TAPE

Phuket beachgoers should ready themselves for another bout of untreated wastewater flowing into the sea at Phuket's main tourists-popular beaches. It has been one year since the China Water Environment Group (CWEG) signed an agreement to begin work on new wastewater treatment plants at key locations across Phuket and still nothing has been done.

- Natnaree Likidwatanasakun

New wastewater treatment systems at Karon and Kamala were proudly touted as CWEG's first priority - two beaches that have long suffered from black, rancid wastewater flowing across the sand and into the sea where tourists swim.

The stinking runoff, which reappears after almost every rainy season, remains an annual embarrassment for Phuket's tourism image and a recurring health risk for swimming in the water at key Phuket beaches. Yet despite signed agreements, planning and multiple site visits, no construction has begun.