ONE of Phuket's largest local tessaban councils has announced plans for a 294 million baht water tratment facility.

The mayor of Rassada, which takes in a large slice of outlying Phuket City, says the project will go ahead on 15 rai on the east coast island of Koh Sireh, once environmental impact studies and planning has been completed.

Mayor Surathin Lin-Udom says that so far there has only been one objection to the outline of the council's proposal.

With new resorts and hotels, shophouses and condominiums going up in rassada, the time was right to make sure the environment was protected, the mayor said.

Rassada is also encouraging local residents and busineses to set up their own tanks for waste water, he said.

A company, Ecosystem, has been engaged to design and build the treatment plant. Work is expected to begin in 2012.

Plans for the new water treatment plant follow comments by the chief of the Natural Resources and Environment Department of Phuket, Ong-art Chanacharnmongkol, who believes environmental laws need to be enforced.

He said Vichit, Rassada and Phuket City councils all share a treatment plant currently operating at Saphan Hin, in Phuket City.

However, he told Phuketwan that he does not believe that all the waste water generated in those three zones goes into the treatment plant.