The Upper Tapi river, the longest river in southern Thailand, with low levels of microorganisms & chemicals has been declared the cleanest river in Thailand.
ENVIRONMENT
Cleanest water in Thailand: Upper Tapi River in Surathani
Stretch of river cleanest seen in country in 5 years
12/11/2015
Apinya Wipatayotin and Piyarach Chongcharoen
The upper stretch of the Tapi River in Nakhon Si Thammarat province has been judged as having the cleanest water in Thailand, according to the Pollution Control Department.
The Tapi River is 232-km long and the largest river in southern Thailand.
The river runs from Luang mountain in Nakhon Si Thammarat to the city of Surat Thani where it enters the Gulf of Thailand.
WHAT MAKES THE RIVER CLEAN?
This stretch of river with the cleanest water in Thailand is located in a pristine location with little agricultural and industrial activity which makes it fairly unique compared with other rivers.
This stretch of river also had low levels of microorganisms and chemicals.
Five criteria are used to measure the quality of water: 1. dissolved oxygen concentration, 2. biochemical oxygen demand, 3. total coliform bacteria, 4. faecal coliform bacteria, and 5. ammonia.
There are also 17 "good" quality rivers, 26 "fair" quality rivers, 20 "deteriorated" quality rivers and one "very deteriorated" quality river.
The lower Chao Phraya River, which includes Bangkok, has the worst water quality due to chemical contamination from agriculture and industry.
This is the first time in five years that any river achieved a high enough rating as having 'best' quality water.
HOUSEHOLD WASTE DISCHARGED INTO RIVERS
Households discharging wastewater into rivers is a major cause of pollution in rivers as the water does not go through a waste water treatment system before reaching the river.
About 9.8 million cubic metres of wastewater is discharged each day nationwide, of which only 3.5 million cu/m are treated before discharging.
Here is a video recording a little journey along part of the Tapi river: