A CONCERNED hotelier has urged the local government to issue guidelines on water conservation to hotels in the face of serious water-shortage threats. Roland Henkel, general manager of the Amari Palm Reef Koh Samui, said continuous hotel and residential development could lead to a shortage of natural water even during the rainy season.
“Clear guidelines are lacking for which hotels should be forced to desalinate water from the sea and, for generating electricity, use solar panels or wind power. There is a lot of money involved but there is more money involved in rebuilding a destroyed tropical paradise like Koh Samui,” Mr. Henkel said.
Henkel said the guidelines or laws should outline measures to help prevent water shortage. “This could start with a simple step of forcing them to use efficient showers and taps, introduce rain-storage system for toilet flushing or watering.”
“I also believe there should be a clear statement from the government that further destruction of forests by real estate and hotel development must stop. If this island is to be kept alive, steps have to be taken fast,” he added.
He pointed out that the Amari Palm Reef asks its guests to cooperate in reducing water consumption by reusing towels or bed linens. The hotel is also building a new wastewater- treatment system for watering gardens and installing efficient showers and taps. These measures would reduce its water consumption by 30-40 percent, he said.
Meanwhile, Swedish Mark Osterwut, a resident of Choeng Mon, said that there had been many complaints about water shortage but that nothing was done to make the water situation better. “I learned that the local government has allocated a big budget to solve the water shortage, but the problem has never been solved. It is high time the central government looked into this,” he said.
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