Sihanoukville officials have prioritised cracking down on businesses that allow sewage to drain into the sea, deputy governor Chhin Seng Nguon said yesterday.

Provincial authorities are fining violators and getting them to build small reservoirs for their waste, Nguon said. While sewage in the seawater has long been a problem in Sihanoukville, the problem has gotten worse lately, according to the local office of rights group Licadho.

“When we see [the violation], we will fine,” said Nguon, adding that locally owned businesses are responsible for most of the sewage pollution. Nguon did not say how many hotels and restaurants have been fined recently.

He added that most of the waste near the beach flows into a purification reservoir that had been funded by the Asian Development Bank. However, Licadho member Boun Narith said that the reservoir is uphill from multiple businesses and their sewage flows in the opposite direction – into the sea.

“Sihanoukville used to have beautiful beaches, but now it is not beautiful,” said Narith. “Tourists are starting to avoid the beach and go to Koh Rong or other places.”

Samut Sothearith, the head of the provincial environment department, added that Sihanoukville authorities are looking for companies to build another joint aquifer to store dirty water. In the meantime, Nguon said that polluting companies are being asked to build their own...

In the absence of proper drainage and purification systems, raw sewage is being illegally pumped into the ocean off Sihanoukville’s beaches by restaurants, hotels and casinos...

Raw Sewage Pumped into Ocean
Khmer Times/Pav Suy
Thursday, 26 May 2016


In the absence of proper drainage and purification systems, raw sewage is being illegally pumped into the ocean off Sihanoukville’s beaches by restaurants, hotels and casinos, according to Licadho provincial human rights monitor Bun Narith.

“Mostly, the restaurants, casinos and hotels pump the sewage into the sea because there is no sewage system. It seems like the authority has no plan to do anything about it,” Mr. Narith said.

He added that the specific businesses responsible for pumping sewage into the ocean include the Holiday Palace Casino and Resort as well as multiple guesthouses along Ochheuteal Beach.

“If we need a new filtering system, it costs a lot. Last year, the Asian Development Bank came to research a new filtering system, but the land for it was too expensive, so the plan is now paused. And that’s why they are still pumping sewage into the sea as normal,” he added.

“The fact that sewage is pumped into the sea is known by the authority and environmental officers, who see it with their own eyes, but take no action. We don’t know if [the businesses] pay the authority or what. The biggest culprits of pumping are restaurants, hotels and casinos along the beach. Small vendors contribute a small part,” Mr. Narith said.

Provincial governor Yun Min acknowledged that the practice of pumping untreated sewage into the ocean was a problem, but brushed off accusations that the authority had done nothing to curb it. He claimed to have already dealt with all offenders.

“There are some cases in which they are pumping [sewage] into the sea, but we have already dealt with them and we have closed a number of sewage pipes. Now, we are forcing them to stop doing that, or they will face their businesses being closed. We need the people to cooperate with the authority,” Mr. Min said.

“For the long-term solution, we are working with the ADB to construct a filtering system that may cost $20 million to $30 million, to be finished in 2018. However, at the same time we are also trying to solve the problems we are facing now ourselves too,” he added.

Last year, the Asian Development Bank came to research a new filtering system, but the land for it was too expensive, so the plan is now paused. And that’s why they are still pumping sewage into the sea as normal,” he added.

frank lee bent wrote:I wonder how Kuta Beach solved this problem.
It was just the same as SV decades ago

Cam Nivag wrote:Cracking down on sewage in Sihanoukville? What's next, cracking down on snow in Alaska?