Union of Myanmar
Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation
Irrigation Department

Water and Waste Water Managementin Yangon, Myanmar

Mu Mu Than
Staff Officer, Irrigation Department
MyanmarMarch,2010

Socio-economical and natural
condition of Yangon

YangonArea

Former capitalcity

10,170 km²

5.56 million 2000‐2001

Population 6.32 million 2009‐2010(11 % of the total population)

Annual average
precipitation

2550 mm

Programme for access to save drinking water( MMDG)

1990

2000

Urban

RuralTotal

Urban

RuralTotal

38%

30%

32%

89%

66%

72%

Water Supply• Daily about 511030 m³/d are supposedly supplied
to around 60 percent of the population
Wastewater Treatment• The plant treats 12,300 m³/d of sewage from 6
townships in the downtown area which is for
population of about 325,000.

Situation of quantity and quality of the water sources
Name

Volume ofavailablewater(m³)

Surface water
Gyobyu Reservoir

Volume ofabstracted water(m³)
102,206 m³/d

Water Quality
within the highest
desirable level

Phyugyi Reservoir andHlawga Reservoir

219,553 m³/d

within the highest
desirable level

Ngamoeyeik Reservoir

170,343 m³/d

within the highest
desirable level

Surface water
Lower AyeyarwadyRiver Basin

8,5800m³/yr

Ground waterAlluvial, Irrawaddian
Peguan153,249m³/yrGround Water Quality•

Most common tests conducted usually are on color, turbidity,pH, hardness, iron and chloride

Iron Concentration• Evaluation on the chemical quality on tube wells in 17
townships Eastern Yangon indicates that about 34% of thewells tested have iron content in excess of 1.0 mg/l
Chloride• The presence of chloride concentration of more than 2000
mg/l may be attributed to the sea water intrusion sincepermeable formation outcrops are found along the bank of theYangon River.

Water Quality Standard
Highest Describe
Level

Maximum Permissible
Level

Colour (Platinum Cobalt Scale)

5 Unit50 Unit

Turbidity (Silica Scale Unit)

5 NTU

25 NTUpH value

7.0 to 8.5

6.5 to 9.2

Total Solid p.pm(mg/l)

500 mg/l

1500 mg/l

Total Hardness(as CaCO3)

100 mg/l

500 mg/l

Calcium as Ca

75 mg/l

200 mg/l

Magnesium as Mg

30 mg/l

150 mg/l

Chloride as C1

200 mg/l

600 mg/l

Sulphate as SO4200 mg/l

400mg/lTotal Iron as Fe0.3 mg/l

1.0 mg/l

Lead

0.05 mg/l

0.05 mg/l

Appearance
Odor

Total Alkalinity(as CaCO3)

OthersEffluent Quality
Standard

Pollutant or parameter

LimitpHBOD
COD
Oil and grease
TSS

9-Jun
50
250
1050Metals
Heavy metals, total
Arsenic
Cadmium
Chromium
Hexavalent
Total
Copper
Iron
Lead
Mercury
NickelSelenium
SilverZinc
CyanideFree
Total
Ammonia
Fluoride
Chlorine, total residual
Phenols
Phosphorus
SulfideColiform bacteria

0.1
110200.20.521<400 MPN/100ml

Temperature increase

<3°C

100.1
0.1
0.1
0.5
0.5
3.50.10.01
0.5
0.1
0.5
2aYangon City Development Committee Waste
Water Treatment Plant

Operating period
Ianuary,2005

Waste water ‐ Domestic
characteristic Waste
Water

Treatment process

Daily amount of treatedwastewater
Design‐ Activated sludge process with theintermittent aeration system‐ 12,300 m³/day

‐ In sub‐urban areas of Yangon City individual septic tanks
are constructed for homes in accordance with YCDC standards.

‐ Digested sludge accumulated in the tank is desludged byvacuum tankers of the YCDC or request with service charges
made on the amount of volume desludged.

Water Quality Protection• ‐ To control the direct discharge of wastewater fromfactories into rivers and streams( NCEA proposed effluent standards for proper disposal )• To ban the use of some toxic pesticides and encourage theutilization of conventional bio‐ fertilizers as a substitute forchemical fertilizers(MAS, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation)• Arsenic and other parameters have been tested incollaboration with the Water Resources Utilization
Department ( WRUD), Department of Development Affairs( DDA) and United Nations Children’s Fund( UNICEF). The
Environmental and Sanitation Division under the Ministry ofHealth is implementing a programme on water supply
systems with health institutions and also carrying out a Water
Quality Surveillance and Monitoring System Pilot Project inYangon.

Water Quality Testing• Reservoirs‐Irrigation Department• Ground water‐YCDC• Rivers‐

Department of Meteorology
and Hydrology

Development of Water Supply andSanitation Facilities
(i)
(ii)

(iii)

Incorporate sewage concerns when formulating
human settlement plans;
Build and maintain sewage treatment facilities
and other appropriate disposal systems inaccordance with national policies andcapabilities;
Locate coastal outfalls so as to maintain an
acceptable level of environmental quality and to
avoid exposing communities and marine
resources to pathogens;Continuous

(iv)

(v)
(vi)

Promote environmentally sound combined
treatment of domestic and compatible industrial
effluents;
Promote primary treatment of municipal sewage
discharged into rivers, estuaries and the sea;
Establish and improve regulatory and monitoring
programmes to control effluent discharge, using
minimum sewage effluent guidelines and water
quality criteria.

Conclusion
There are many water related sub‐sectors in Myanmar
such as irrigation and drainage, water for environment andecosystems, drinking water and water utilization forindustries and sanitation. These should be integrated toexchange views and promote understanding of the quality
and quantity of water use and the value of water in the social
sector and exchange of views.
Nevertheless, the Environmental Impact Assessment isstill weak in water resources management. Due to theongoing rapid industrialization in cities, these are so manyfactories around urbanized areas, and there is still a need todisseminate the knowledge about the proper disposal ofwastewater to control the problems of the direct dischargeof wastewater from factories into rivers or streams

continuous

Other weaknesses in water environment management
are a lack of appropriate monitoring facilities, proper andsystematic keeping of records, regular monitoring andsurveillance data for water quality control and basics
standards of water quality for drinking water.
Although there are many laws, acts, legislations andregulations related to water sector, most laws and acts forwater sectors still need to be modified. Therefore, these laws
and regulations should be reviewed to enact unified water
resources laws to promote a more effective legal framework
for coordination and management of water resources.