Well, as per usual, that particular problem is easily fixed. You just call the big water truck, and for $4 they show up and give you 1000 liters of pond water. (Just don't be surprised when a tadpole hits you on the head while you are taking a shower. Just kidding.)
So, of course, this story is rather well-timed! With all of the rain recently, flooding is once again a major concern in Pattaya. The mayor of Pattaya is desparate to fix the problem.
He seems to think that there just isn't enough drainage in the city. He's half right: The 50-centimeter pipes that they have put in lately cannot handle 4 inches of rain in an hour. The other major problem is that there is so much loose sand and dirt in this city (from all the empty lots and construction sites mostly) that when it rains, vast quantities of soil, sand, and mud go down into the sewers. Then all of that sediment deposits out and clogs the sewers.
(Oh, and another thing that is important to note is that the sand and sediment which doesn't wind up clogging the sewer pipes winds up in Pattaya Bay, Jomtien Bay, and Naklua Bay. The beaches are slowly being filled in. Remember my quip below about checking the tides before you go to the beach? It's not a joke. If the water is only 6 feet deep 300 yards from shore at high tide, and there is a 7-foot drop to low tide, how much wet sand and mud do you think you have to walk over to get to the shore line at low tide?)UPDATE:
I think I figured it out: I'm guessing that City Hall turned off the water supply to Pattaya from Maprachan Reservoir last weekend to ensure that the boats wouldn't run aground in the long boat competition. (Scoff if you want. This is Thailand, and this is a totally plausible explanation.)
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