New water tunnel from Surat Thani to Koh Samui
Koh Samui is one of Thailand’s most popular destination from tourists around the world thanks to its beautiful ocean that surrounds the island. Koh Samui is an island that is close to Surat Thani and has always had the issue of water deficiency for the use of its people, similarly to other islands. In order to solve the long going issue, the local waterworks has proposed a plan to connect the water that Surat Thani produces to Koh Samui since 2011. In that year, there was backlash from environmentalist on the negative effects that the water tunnel would cause to the environment.
Photo : prachachat
Last year, in 2017 the plan was finally approved by the current government. The plan has been carried out since then and is near finished and should be up and running within November of this year. The water is quality approved tap water by WHO, as the goal is to successfully deal with the water deficiency issue that gets worse as dry season arrives in Koh Samui. The water tunnel will also help with the tourism of Koh Samui, as it has been a long going issue that affects many aspects of the island.
The tunnel of approximately 125 kilometers is placed on the bottom of the ocean floor from Surat Thani to Koh Samui with a portion of the tunnel on land to transport the water from the site of production to the tunnel on the ocean floor, with another 13 kilometers extending on to the land of Koh Samui. The material of the tube has been carefully tested in order to fully withstand the ocean water. The project uses over 4 billion THB, with special researches to make sure that the construction of the water tunnel will not affect any coral reefs and the environment around the area.
FB Caption: A 4 billion THB solution to Koh Samui’s water deficiency
Source: Pracharat
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