Water 'unsafe' for Songkran
Water quality at Tha Phae, the most popular spot for water splashing in Chiang Mai, is substandard and needs improvement before Songkran, pollution officials say.
Water quality at Tha Phae, the most popular spot for water splashing in Chiang Mai, is substandard and needs improvement before Songkran, pollution officials say.
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A scene from last year's Songkran festivies at the Thae Pae gate. The Department of Pollution Control says the water there must be improved to make this year's water play safe. THITI WANNAMONTHA.
Chiang Mai water 'unsafe' for Songkran
Apinya Wipatayotin
Water quality at Tha Phae, the most popular spot for water splashing in Chiang Mai, is substandard and needs improvement before people can safely use it during the Songkran festival this month, the Department of Pollution Control says.
Tha Phae forms part of the moat that surrounds the ancient city's inner area and the water's oxygen level is below safe standards, according to Rapeesak Malairungsakul, the acting chief of the 1st Regional Environment Office in Chiang Mai.
On March 27 the department collected water samples from 10 spots around the city moat, where tourists gather to celebrate the Songkran festival, and found that four of them, including Tha Phae, have less than the standard of four miligrammes per litre of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water.
Tha Phae Gate is the main entrance to the old moated city and the roads around it are among the busiest in Chiang Mai. PEERAWAT JARIYASOMBAT
The moat's water quality needs to be improved so it is safe for tourists who will take part in Songkran festivities in Chiang Mai in the middle of this month.
The water could prove harmful if it enters the mouth, eyes or wounds of festival goers.
“We can say the water in Tha Phae has deteriorated and action is urgently needed to increase oxygen in the water before the festival starts,” Mr Rapeesak said.
His team found that the DO level in Tha Phae — to the east — is bad at 2.60 mg/l. But the worst area is in front of the Chiang Mai-Ram Hospital — a western part of the moat — where the DO level is 2 mg/l.
The other two spots are in front of Watanothai Payap School also to the west and Computer City to the north.
Water quality is good at the other six spots ranging between 4.6-7.53 mg/l.
Mr Rapeesak said waste water discharge into the moat is one cause of the problem and the water quality this year is not much different from last year's.
Department chief Wichien Jungrungruang said he will send the results of the tests to the Chiang Mai Municipality recommending it install equipment to increase oxygen levels in the moat.
Last year, the authorities successfully used microorganism balls to improve oxygen levels and water quality in the city's moat, which is popular among both local and foreign celebrants.
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