2.12 Thailand
1 | Country Information

2 | State of Water Resources

Table 2.12.1 Basic indicators
Land Area (km2)

510,890 (2016)

Total Population

69.625 million (2019)

GDP (current USD)

543.65 billion (2019)

GDP per capita (current USD)

7,260 (2019)

Average Precipitation (mm/year)

1,718.1 (2016)*

Total Renewable Water Resources (km3)

438.7 (2017)**

Total Annual Freshwater Withdrawals(billion m3)

57.3 (2014)

Annual Freshwater
Withdrawals
by Sector

Agriculture

90% (2014)

Industry

5% (2014)

Municipal(including domestic)

5% (2014)(Source: World Bank 2020, *Thai Meteorological Department 2016,**World Data Atlas 2017)

Based on geographical characteristics, Thailand can bedivided into 25 river basins. The total volume of waterfrom rainfall in all river basins is estimated at morethan 800,000 million m3, of which 75% is lost throughevaporation, evapotranspiration and infiltration, andthe remaining 25% constitutes the runoff that flows into
the rivers and streams. The available water quantity is
about 3,300 m3/capita/year (Office of National Water
Resources Committee 2000).
According to ADB (2013), Thailand has abundant
water resources with an estimated 126 billion cubic
meters (m3)/annum exploitable, considerably more than
the reported national demand for water of 50–56 billion/m 3 /annum (excluding navigation and ecosystem
requirements). Of these water resources, groundwater isimportant as it supplies 20% of public water supply and
75% of domestic water. The groundwater system ismainly recharged by rainfall of about 40,000 million m3
and seepage from rivers. It was estimated from previoushydrological balance studies that about 12.5 to 18% ofrainfall reaches aquifers. Both the government and theprivate sector have undertaken more than 200,000
groundwater well projects with a total capacity of about
7.55 million m3/day (information from the WEPA focal
person in 2012).

3 | State of Ambient Water Quality
3.1 Surface Water

Figure 2.12.1 Chao Phraya River in Thailand

118

According to the 2019 water quality monitoring results
published by the Pollution Control Department ofThailand in 2020, of the 65 major water sources acrossthe country, in terms of water quality, 2% were foundto be very good (excellent), 34% were good, 46% werefair, and 18% were poor. The ‘very good’ water source
was the Upper Tapi River. Surface water quality in thenorthern, central, north-eastern, and eastern regions
was worse than in the previous year, and water quality inthe central region was worse than other regions. When
compared to the surface water classification criteria,
only three sources, representing 5% of water sources,
met the water quality. The majority of water sources
over the past decade (2010–2019) tended to be stable,with water quality ranging from fair to good.

Chapter 2: Country Profiles of Water Environmental Management in WEPA Countries

90

15

25

18

22

23

9

17

20

25

Cambodia

%
100

18

80
70

45
48

43

50

46

41

49

49

Poor

46

55

Fair

40

Good

20

34

32

10
0

34

2

2010

2011

2012

28

29

34

34

2013

2014

2015

2016

Excellent

46

34

28

2017

2

2018

2019

34

25
20
15

27

30

27

5
0

20
18
11
0.7
10

20

27

25
20

21

22

16
13
9
1.4
11

20

19
11
0.9
12

20

17
14
1.4
13

20

18
12
0.9
14

20

32

29

28

20

19

18
15

18

1.5
15

20

14

27
26
25

21
20
19

23

18
11

12

0.5

0.2

27

BOD

18
18
18

DO

17

Total Coliform Bacteria

Faecal Coliform Bacteria

NH3-N

Myanmar

10

31

32

Heavy Metals
0.9
16

20

17

0.3

18

20

19

20

20

(Source: PCD 2020)

Meet standard

Do not meet standard

NH3-N

81%

19%

Faecal Coliform
Bacteria

77%

23%

Total Coliform
Bacteria

81%

19%

BOD

75%

25%

DO

79%

21%

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100 %Figure 2.12.4 Results of surface water quality monitoringin the Central region compared to the surface water(Source: PCD 2020)
quality standard - Class 3

Viet Nam

10

Thailand

0.1%

Sri Lanka

99.9%

Philippines

Heavy Metals

0

Nepal

Figure 2.12.3 Percentage of parameters that do not meet the surface water sources classification during 2010–2019

When assessed using the water quality index, thatthe water sources of highest quality were 1) the upper
Tapi River, 2) the Kwai Noi and Kok River, 3) the upper
Phetchaburi River, 4) the Lee and Kwai Yai Rivers, and 5)
the Tradd River. The most deteriorated water sourceswere 1) the lower Ram Tahong River, 2) the lower Chao
Phraya River, 3) the lower Tha Chin River and the upper
Panglad River, 4) the lower Rayong River and the Lopburi
River, and 5) the Sakae Klang River. The causes of poor
water quality were municipal wastewater, industrial
sewage, and agricultural and livestock runoff discharging
into major water sources, as well as inefficientwastewater treatment systems and inadequate
wastewater collection and treatment (PCD 2020).

Malaysia

34

Lao PDR

30

29

percentage of heavy metal values that exceeded thesurface water source classification ranges from 0.2–1.5%;
meanwhile, for BOD and DO values, they range from 19–
36% and 19–31%, respectively, with a slight downward
trend.

Republic of Korea

36

35(Source: PCD 2020)

Japan

Figure 2.12.2 State of surface water quality across the country during 2010–2019

From the analysis of surface water quality data, it
was found that main parameters such as DO, BOD, Total
Coliform Bacteria (TCB), Faecal Coliform Bacteria (FCB),
Ammonia-Nitrogen (NH3-N) and Heavy Metals (HMs), did
not meet the required standard for surface water sourcesclassification during 2010–2019. More specifically, theIndonesia

30

40

China

49

60

119

Over the past 11 years (2009–2019), the water
quality of most water sources was fair. None have beenfound to be of very poor quality since 2009, and water
sources in general are undergoing a transformation
towards good water quality. Sources that haveconsistently retained ‘good’ status are Upper Tapi, Khwae
Noi, and Lum Chee. Conversely, some sources tend to beof consistently poor quality, requiring close monitoringand problem solving, which are the Lower Chao Phraya,
Lower Tha Chin, Lop Buri and Lower Lumtakong.
For the purposes of water quality monitoring andevaluation, water samples are collected four times a
year, and analysed in accordance with surface water
quality standards issued under the Enhancement andConservation of Natural Environmental Quality Act 1992.
The 23 parameters analysed include temperature,
Acidity/Alkalinity (pH), Dissolved Oxygen (DO),Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Coliform
Bacteria (TCB), Faecal Coliform Bacteria (FCB), NitrateNitrogen (NO3--N), Ammonia-Nitrogen (NH3-N), heavy
metal group such as Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Manganese(Mn), Zinc (Zn), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Lead
(Pb), Mercury (Hg), Arsenic (As), and chlorinatedpesticides such as DDT, Alpha-BHC, Dieldrin, Aldrin,
Endrin, and Heptachlor Epoxide (PCD 2014).

Koh Lann, Phrao Bay (Samet Island), Ban Son Bay, and
Koh Phangan; however, the Gulf of Thailand at themouths of the Bang Pakong, Chao Phraya, and Tha Chinrivers continued to have poor to very poor water quality.
There were 26 red tide events (over four times theamount in the previous year), presumably caused byfactors such as municipal wastewater discharge,
industrial and agricultural drainage, oil spills from drilling,
oil transport, navigation, and rapid phytoplankton
production (PCD 2020).
The trend of coastal water quality in the period of
2010–2019 also showed that, in general, most of thecoastal water quality has been at a fair to good level, thepercentage of coastal water locations with poor and very
poor quality have reduced, and the percentage of coastal
water locations with fair and good quality has increased,
especially after 2015.
Coastal water samples have been collected twice ayear and evaluated using the Marine Water Quality Index(MWQI). This tool was developed by the Pollution
Control Department for assessing marine water quality
in a range of 0–100 (0–25: very poor; 25–50: poor; 50–
80: fair; 80–90: good; 90–100: excellent). The MWQI is
calculated from the coastal water quality data acrosseight parameters: Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Total Coliform
Bacteria (TCB), Phosphate - Phosphorus (PO43--P), Nitrate- Nitrogen (NO3--N), Temperature (Temp.), Suspended
Solids (SS), Acidity - Alkalinity (pH) and Ammonia Nitrogen (NH3-N). However, if levels of pesticides andtoxic elements such as Mercury (Hg), Cadmium (Cd),Total Chromium (Total Cr), Chromium Hexavalent (Cr6+),
Lead (Pb), Copper (Cu), Cyanide (CN –) and PCBs arefound to exceed the Marine Water Quality Standards,
the MWQI is recorded as “0” by default (PCD 2017). In
general, the main parameters indicating coastal water
quality problems are bacteria (Total Coliform Bacteria,
Faecal Coliform Bacteria and Enterococci), as well as
chemical contaminants, i.e., phosphates (phosphorus)

3.2 Coastal Water
According to the Thailand State of Pollution Report 2019,the coastal water quality is generally fair to good. While
tourist beaches have excellent coastal water quality,
some coastal areas are consistently defined as poor,
especially in the Inner Gulf of Thailand.
In 2019, the coastal water quality monitoring results
showed that 2% of samples were of very good quality,
59% were of good quality, 34% were fair, 3% were poor,and 2% very poor. Coastal water quality over the past 10
years has tended to improve since 2016 and remained
stable through 2019. ‘Very good’ coastal waters were
%
100

5

3

1

90

6

9

6

13

80
70

34

36

50

60
40

0

2

8

7
30

23

1
3

1
5

2
3

35

35

34

HighlyDeteriorated
Deteriorated

72
35

47

20
10

4

78

50
30

1
13

Fair

52

60

58

8

2

15

16

11

16

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

1

2

2017

2018

2019

1

2016

Good
Excellent

36

Figure 2.12.5 State of coastal water quality across the country over 2010–2019

120

59

61

(Source: PCD 2020)

Chapter 2: Country Profiles of Water Environmental Management in WEPA Countries

Malaysia
Myanmar
Nepal
Philippines
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Viet Nam(Source: Department of Groundwater Resources 2019, PCD 2020)

Lao PDR

Figure 2.12.6 State of groundwater quality in Thailand

Every day it is estimated that 9.7 million cubic metersof domestic wastewater is generated across thecountry, which is managed by 105 centralised municipal
wastewater treatment plants operated by local
government agencies and wastewater management
authorities. Currently, 95 treatment plants are in
operation, with a treatment capacity of 2.6 million cubic
meters per day (27% of total wastewater volume). In
big cities like Bangkok, ratios of treated wastewater are
higher, estimated at 45% (PCD 2020). The main reason
for the low ratios of treated domestic wastewater acrossthe country is the lack of budget to cover investment aswell as operation and maintenance system expenditure
at the local administrative organization level. The
treatment technology used for wastewater mainlycomprises stabilization ponds, aerated lagoons, andactivated sludge systems.
Houses and all other buildings are required to install

Republic of Korea

Domestic wastewaterJapan

Rapid population growth and the lack of propercollection, treatment, and management of domestic
wastewater are the main causes of water quality
degradation in surface and coastal waters. In 2019, thetotal population increased from 66.41 million (2018) to
69.63 million, and numbers of foreign tourists entering
the country increased from 25.83 million (2018) to 26.56
million (PCD 2020). Consequently, the total amount ofgenerated wastewater has also increased. Meanwhile,wastewater is discharged into water resources fromvarious sources, including local businesses, factories,
and agricultural activities, often exceeding the carrying
capacity of the concerned water source, especially insome important river basin areas, major waterways, andtourist destinations. Activities such as related to industry,
ports, tourist attractions, and aquaculture are also
increasing each year.
Although both surface and groundwater pollution
derive from various sources, the main sources of waterpollution can be divided into three types: domestic
wastewater with a total generated amount of about 9.7
million m³/day, industrial wastewater with a total volumeof 17.8 million m³/day, and agricultural wastewater witha discharged volume of 4.9 million m³/day (only for pig
farms and aquaculture operation) (Chaiyo 2019).

Indonesia

In 2019, groundwater quality and groundwater levelchanges were monitored from 1,162 observation wells
at 2,098 sites distributed across 27 basins/watersheds.
The results showed that groundwater was generally of
good quality and within the standard, according to the
Groundwater Act B.E.2520. However, in some areas,
concentrations of iron and manganese exceeded thestandard due to geographical or hydrological conditions.
Also, in the Gulf of Thailand and areas along Lake
Songkhla, the salinity level of groundwater has increased.
Heavy Metals (HMs) and volatile organic compounds(VOCs) exceeding the required standard for groundwater

4 | State of Wastewater Treatment

China

3.3 Groundwater

have been detected in samples at some waste disposalsites, industrial waste disposal sites, and industrial parks(PCD 2020). Therefore, groundwater use needs to becarefully monitored for possible contamination.

Cambodiaand nitrates (nitrogen), mostly from communal andtourist areas, and agricultural and industrial activities.
Areas where water quality was found to be of poor tovery poor quality are areas of the Inner Gulf of Thailandand estuaries of the Bang Pakong River, the Chao Phraya
River, the Tha Chin River, and the Mae Klong River (PCD
2015, PCD 2017).

121wastewater treatment systems for primary treatment to
reduce the contamination of wastewater before it isdischarged into water sources.
Large buildings such as hotels, condominiums,
hospitals, department stores, markets, restaurants,
schools, dormitories and office buildings are required to
install wastewater treatment systems and treat
wastewater according to standards. Monitoring and law
enforcement are regularly implemented to manage
wastewater treatment, especially in important river
basin areas, major canals, and attractive beaches. Survey
results revealed that 62% of large buildings are incompliance with the law (PCD 2020).

Industrial wastewaterIndustries discharge processed wastes including byproducts from industrial operations as wastewater.
At present, many industries are located in areas ofhigh population density or within residential areas incities. Across the country there are more than 120,000
industrial establishments of various sizes in 77 provinces,carrying out a wide range of activities, located within the
Inner Gulf. Meanwhile, there are approximately 87,000
small or community factories in Thailand, contributing
6% of the BOD load in main rivers (Wangcharoenrung2017). The total amount of generated industrial
wastewater was estimated at 17.8 million m3/day (Chaiyo2019). Laws and regulations are being strictly enforced
for small/community, medium-sized and large factories,
industrial plants and industrial estates, which were all
required to have wastewater systems complying with theeffluent standards set by the Government of Thailand.
General standards for controlling effluent fromindustry, industrial parks, industrial zones and specificstandards for producing fresh water from seawater
reverse osmosis plants, leather mills, pulp and paper
mills have been issued.
Many industries, such as dyeing, textiles, pulp andpaper, tea, coffee and beverage industries, small andmedium-sized enterprises (SMEs), have transferred tousing clean technologies to reduce waste, water and raw
material use, energy, greenhouse gas and CO2 emissions,and have achieved effluent standards in both production
processes and discharge lines. During 2011–2018, about
34,000 plants were certified as green industrial plants.
Industries that generate large volumes of wastewater
are obliged to install equipment and tools to measure
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical
Oxygen Demand (COD) parameters, and report such to
local authorities via computer networks to ensure theirtreated wastewater meets the standards.

122

Agricultural wastewater
Agricultural activities such as the use of chemicalfertilizers, pesticides and animal wastes from livestock
farms (e.g., pig farms) all produce wastewater. A large
portion of the fertilizer used for rice paddy fields iswashed away by irrigation water and flows into rivers,
estuaries, or other bodies of water, which causes
eutrophication and encourages water hyacinth growth.
This unwanted plant grows very quickly, and smothers
major areas of water bodies.
Standards for controlling water discharge from pig
farms and aquaculture have been formulated, andmonitoring systems are in place to ensure wastewater
treatment plants operate within the standards. Farmers
are assisted in managing wastewater efficiently andproduce in an environmentally friendly manner.
Currently, there are 18,118 aquaculture farms, which are
GAP (Good Aquaculture Practice) certified (PCD 2020).
To both raise awareness and develop environmental
management of pig farms, including of waste treatment
and recycling in order to reduce the impact of odour andpolluted water problems, a project named “Farm Rak
Sing Waed Lom” (Environmentally Friendly Farm) was
launched, aimed at farmers.

5 | Frameworks for Water
Environmental Management
5.1 Legislation
The Constitution of Thailand (RTG 2017) stipulates
that the Thai people have the duty to cooperate inand support the conservation and protection of theenvironment, natural resources, biodiversity, and cultural
heritage (chapter IV, section 50-8). Meanwhile, the State
has the responsibility to “conserve, protect, maintain,
restore, manage, and utilize or arrange for utilizationof natural resources, environment, and biodiversity toattain benefits in a balanced and sustainable mannerand shall allow the people and communities in theconcerned localities to participate in and benefit fromthe implementation herein described as required by
the law” (chapter V, section 57-2). The Constitution also
stipulates that the Thai people have a right to use theenvironment, but that they also have a duty to conserveand protect the environment.
Meanwhile, the Enhancement and Conservation of
the National Environmental Quality Act (NEQA) of 1992
is the basic law for environmental conservation in the
country and defines the authorities and responsibilities
regarding environmental protection. Some key featuresof NEQA are as follows:Chapter 2: Country Profiles of Water Environmental Management in WEPA Countries

which resources will be drawn to solve
environmental problems in priority areas.

• Formulation of a National Environmental(NEB) to declare Pollution Control Areas (PCAs) orConservation and Environmentally Protected Areas
when justified from an environmental point of view.

Committee for pollution control matters, including
enactment of discharge standards.

In terms of control and management of water quality
issues in Thailand, the regulations can be grouped into
three categories as follows:

standards such as industrial effluent standards,
domestic effluent standards, and effluent standards
for pig farms and fish/shrimp farms.

- Regula�ons of Industrial Pollu�on Control Facili�es
THE PUBLIC HEALTH ACT
THE HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES ACT
THE PUBLIC CLEANSING ACTBUILDING CONTROL ACT

Figure 2.12.7 Legislative chart for water quality
management(Figure was prepared by IGES based on information from the official
website of Thailand Pollution Control Department: http://www.pcd.
go.th/about/en_ab_mission.html)

Sri Lanka

An overview of the legislation related to water
environmental management in Thailand is shown in
Figure 2.12.7.

THE FACTORIES ACT

5.2 Institutional Arrangement
sources in order to meet ambient environmental quality
standards.

5.3 Ambient Water Quality Standards
The first standard for ambient water quality wasestablished in 1994, and comprised 28 items underfive categories of water bodies, designated according

Viet Nam

Surface water quality standards

ThailandAccording to NEQA, PCD and the Office of Natural
Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning(ONEP) under MoNRE are responsible for wastewater
management through conducting national and regional
water quality management planning as well as facilitating
local authorities in their responsibilities for wastewater
management. Under the EQA, the PCD establishes
effluent standards for pollution control from point

Philippinesclassification based on the state of water quality,
socio-economic aspects and availability of treatment
technologies.

OTHERS LAWS, REGULATIONS RELATEDTO WATER QUALITY CONSERVATION

Nepal• The ambient water quality standards and- Groundwater Quality Standards- Water Characteris�cs Discharged into Deep Wells

Myanmar• The establishment and application of effluent

GROUNDWATER ACTMalaysia

assessment (EIA) to determine the impact andmitigation plan for development projects of various
types and sizes such as dams with a storage volumeof 100 million m3 or more, irrigation projects of
12,800 ha or more, hotels or resorts with 80 rooms
or more, thermal power plants with capacities of 10
MW or more, and mining projects of all scales.

- Industrial Eﬄuent Standards- Building Eﬄuent Standards- Housing Estates Eﬄuent Standards- Municipal Wastewater Treatment System
Eﬄuent Standards- Eﬄuent Standards for Pig-Farm- Gas Sta�on and Oil Terminal Eﬄuent Standards- Eﬄuent Standards for Coastal Aquaculture- Eﬄuent Standard for Blackish Aquaculture- Eﬄuent Standard for Inland Aquaculture- Water Characteris�cs Discharged into
Irriga�on System

Lao PDR• The application of the environmental impact

EFFLUENT STANDARDS

Republic of Korea• Recognition of the Polluter Pays Principle.

- Surface Water Quality Standards- Coastal Water Quality Standards- Groundwater Quality Standards

Japan• Establishment of a multi-agency Pollution Control

AMBIENT WATER QUALITY STANDARDS

Indonesia• Provision for the National Environmental Board

ENHANCEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF NATURALENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (NEQA 1992)

China

Management Plan, executing duties of government
agencies to implement the plan and for provinces toprepare action plans.

CONSERVATION OF WATER QUALITY IN PUBLIC WATERS

Cambodia• Establishment of the Environmental Fund, from123

to water usage as shown in Table 2.12.2. The General
Water Quality Index was established as an indicator topromote people’s understanding of water quality, which

was calculated with the values of eight parameters (pH,DO, BOD, TS, FCB, NO3 , TP, SS). These standards are thenational minimum standards.

Table 2.12.2 Surface water quality standard classification
Class

Description/Condition

Beneficial Use

Class 1Natural water resources without
wastewater from any activities

Water is safe for consumption, sanitized, and appropriate
for propagation and ecosystem conservation.

Class 2

Very clean fresh surface water resources

Water resources for conservation, fishery, swimming,
water recreation and consumption (with basic treatment).

Class 3Medium clean fresh surface water resources

Water resources for agriculture and consumption(with general treatment).

Class 4

Fairly clean fresh surface water resources

Water resources for industrial work and consumption(with special treatment).

Class 5

Sources which are not classified into classes 1-4

Water resources for transportation.
(Source: PCD 2015)

Coastal water quality standards

5.4 Effluent Standards

The coastal water quality standards comprise 30
parameters designated in six classes, determinedaccording to usage (six classifications). Different
classifications are applied for the west coast of Phuket
Island.

Based on the NEQA (Section 32), a series of effluent
standards have been set up as follows:

Groundwater quality standards
The parameters included in groundwater quality
standards are divided into four groups: volatile organic
compounds (15 parameters), heavy metals (10parameters), pesticides (nine parameters) and others(four parameters).

Water quality monitoring framework
Under the EQA, the government conducts monitoringof the receiving water quality to maintain quality. The
Water Quality Management Division under the Pollution
Control Department - Ministry of Natural Resources
and Environment (MONRE) is responsible for regularmonitoring of both inland (surface and groundwater)and marine water. There are 368 general and 75
automatic monitoring stations across 48 main rivers andsix standing surface water resources (lakes) within the
country. Water quality samples from general monitoring
stations are taken four times/year during the wet anddry seasons (Chaiyo 2020), and the methods usedshould follow the Standard Method for the Examinationof Water and Wastewater (1998) (Yolthantham 2011).
Monitoring results of ambient water quality, conductedby the Pollution Control Department, are summarized
and made available to the public through online
publications annually (e.g., Thailand State of Pollution
Report).

124

a. Industry
Industrial effluent standards
Standards are applied to factory Group II and III
categories and all industrial estates under the Factory
Act B.E. 2535 (1992). Standard values are designatedfor 15 parameters and 12 heavy metals. This standard
has been used since 3 January 1996. The standard also
provides some exemptions for certain industries such as
related to chemicals, starch, and animal foods. Recently,
a new Decree on Industrial Effluent Control Standard B.E.
2559 (2016) was announced by the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment of Thailand, on 6 June 2016,
to take effect from 6 June 2017. Under the new standard,no exemptions are permitted. The standard is comprisedof two parts – a general effluent standard (consisting of
15 parameters and 16 heavy metals), and type-specificeffluent standards.
Regarding effluent quality control, the Regulations ofIndustrial Pollution Control Facilities (1982) stipulates
that specific industrial plants are obligated to havesupervisors and machine operators responsible forpollution prevention. Such industrial plants include thoseusing heavy metals in production processes anddischarging wastewater in quantities above 50 m3/day
containing designated quantities of heavy metals.

b. Domestic and commercial
Building effluent standards
Effluents from each type of building, namely apartments,
hotels, hospitals, schools and academic buildings, public

Chapter 2: Country Profiles of Water Environmental Management in WEPA Countries

factories in 77 provinces but only three inspection
officers per province for Ministry of Industry and 40
officers for Pollution Control Department.

• Insufficient monitoring tools: lack of equipment andlaboratory facilities for monitoring and analysis.

• Data exchanges between government agencies is

There are four parameters in these standards, namely
pH, COD, SS, and fat, oil, and grease.

• Lack of environmental awareness/honesty of• Water Characteristics Discharged into Deep Wells
Around 10 years ago, under the Environmental Army
Project (2005–2007), over 25 universities across Thailand
took part in a large-scale survey to support the inspection• Low Capacity for Environmental Management

Group: Those which do not treat wastewater, suchas SMEs and community factories. The survey
conducted in 2014 showed there are approximately
87,000 small and community factories, contributing
6% of the BOD load of main rivers in Thailand.
Possible reasons: ( i ) factories lack funding andViet Nam

Effluent inspection procedures

challenging to comply with the effluent standard,such as the starch industry, textile, pulp and paperindustry and leather tanning industry. Possible
reasons: (i) one general effluent standard cannot fit
all types of factories; (ii) only concentration-based
standard exists; (iii) lack of knowledgeable persons
for wastewater treatment plant operation.

Thailand

System• High Pollution Industry Group (2): Those finding it

Sri Lanka• Effluent Standards for Brackish Aquaculture• Effluent Standards for Inland Aquaculture• Water Characteristics Discharged into Irrigation

accidents, such as in the petrochemical industry,ethanol industry, sugar industry and cold storage
industry. Possible reasons: (i) lack of qualified/welltrained safety and environmental officers; (ii) lack ofaccident prevention training.

Philippines

There are several effluent standards for aquaculture andothers as follows:• High Risk Industry Group (1): Those with frequent

Nepal

d. Others
Effluent standards for coastal aquaculture
and others

Problematic industries, which often fail to comply
with the effluent standard are classified into three types(Wangcharoenrung 2017):

Myanmar

In consideration of the contribution of pig farms to waterpollution such as in the Tha Chin River and Bang PakongRiver, standards were established in 2001. Parameters
designed by the standards include pH, BOD, COD, SS,
and TKN and different values are applied to Type A (morethan 600 livestock units) and Type B (60–600 livestock
units).

factories; profit is considered paramount.

Malaysiac. Agriculture
Effluent standards for pig farms

not common thus much duplication exists.

Lao PDR

Gas station effluent standards andoil terminal effluent standards

Republic of Korea

This is a new standard, established in 2010, and contains
six parameters, namely pH, BOD, SS, TN, TP and fat, oil,and grease.

• Limited human resources: Approximately 120,000

Japan

Municipal wastewater treatment systemeffluent standards

Indonesia

These standards regulate effluent from housing estates,
which are classified into two types: those with over
100 but less than 500 units, and those over 500 units.
Regulated parameters include pH, BOD, suspended
solids, settleable solids, total dissolved solids, sulfide,
TKN and fat, oil, and grease.

China

Housing estate effluent standardsof about 120,000 factories in the country, which was
aimed at building a wastewater database for better
planning and management of industrial wastewaterin the future. The data collected includes: ( i ) Contact
address; (ii) GPS Coordinates; (iii) Photos of front door
and effluent points; (iv) Boiler’s exhaust opacity with
Ringelmann Scale; (v) Effluent wastewater quality.
According to Wangcharoenrung (2017), under asurvey carried out by the Environmental Army Project 10
years ago targeting factories, the results showed thatcompliance statistic was almost the same after 10 years.
In addition, a number of challenges in monitoring havealso been pointed out, including:Cambodiaand private offices, department stores, fresh markets
and restaurants, are regulated under these standards.
Regulated parameters, depending on building size,
include pH, BOD, suspended solids, sulfide, TKN, and fat,oil, and grease.

125

knowhow for wastewater treatment; (ii) small site
inspections are impossible or too challenging.
In 2016, statistics related to pollution complaints
from various responsible offices showed that there were
10,422 complaints, a drop of 9% from the previous year.
The types of pollution problems included air pollution(foul odours, dust and smoke), noise levels and vibration.
However, most of the complaints received by the PublicService Center, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Prime
Minister Office concerned municipal solid wastes,
sewage wastes, and hazardous wastes (PCD 2016).

Effluent monitoring
The NEQA requires the owner or possessor of point
sources of pollution designated under the act to monitor
the quality of effluent and collect statistics and data, as
well as submit notes and reports (Section 70 and 80). The
types of effluent to be monitored are categorized into
four groups: sewage-swine farms; land development,
industrial estates and industrial zones, and Class A
buildings (hotels, hospitals, condominiums, department
stores, markets and restaurants). The point sourcesof water pollution were also monitored in three river
basins: the Chao Phraya, Tha Chin, and Bang Pakong.
If the capability to treat or dispose of wastewater
fails to meet applicable standards, the owner has a duty
to make modifications or improvements to reachconformity with the pollution control official’s directions.
Fees, fines and civil liability and penal provisions areapplied if violations are found or the owners refuse tocomply. It is a promising trend that all sectors are willingto comply with the standards, and it can be advantageous
for securing business agreements as well as lead to
improved quality of the environmental and by extension
quality of life.
Meanwhile, the Pollution Control Department has
the authority as pollution control office under the
National Environmental Quality Act B.E. 2535 (1992) toinvestigate wastewater effluent from various pollution
sources. According to the PCD (2015) in 2015, 1,392
pollution sources consisting of industrial factories,
industrial estates, certain types and sizes of buildings,
gas service stations, swine farms, municipal wastewater
treatment systems and allocated lands were underinvestigation, of which 404 sources did not meet thestandards. While notification to officers in the Factory
Act was required for industrial factory and industrial
estate sources, administrative orders were issued topollution contributors or possessors other than industrial
factories and industrial estates to make changes,

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corrections, or improvements to their pollution
treatment systems to meet the required standards within
designated time durations.

5.5 Other Policies on Water Environmental
Management
The Government of Thailand has, over time, invested
over 83 billion THB in constructing centralized
wastewater treatment facilities. As per Section 23 andSection 24 of the Decentralization Act, 1999, Provincial
Administrative Organizations, Municipalities, Tamboon(sub-district) Administrative Organizations and the Cityof Pattaya may receive income from fees collected fromusers for the public services provided in order to operate
and maintain the facilities (Bao et al. 2020).
Similarly, under the National Environmental Quality
Improvement and Conservation Act of 1992, local
governments may collect fees from service areas where
centralized wastewater treatment facilities were built
and operated as public works using government funds.
On 4 December, 2006, the National Environmental Board(NEB) agreed to collect wastewater management fees
based on the “Polluter Pays Principle” and the type ofwastewater treatment system. According to a recent
study, only around 17 local government agencies haveadopted user fees for wastewater collection across thecountry (Bao et al. 2020). For various reasons, most local
government agencies do not impose user fees or service
charges for wastewater collection and treatment, which
has resulted in insufficient funds to operate and maintainexisting treatment plants.
Despite the many economic tools or instruments
available, which have also been successfully applied inother countries, none have been successfully applied in
Thailand. As a basic guiding rule, to effectively address
the issues surrounding water pollution, the principle of‘polluters pay principal’ should therefore be adopted
nationwide. It should be noted that, based on the lessons
learned from other ASEAN countries, economic
instruments can be successfully implemented whencombined with other measures, such as stricter
environmental standards, guidelines on alternativetechnologies, and environmental awareness raisingmeasures.

6 | Recent Developments inWater Environmental Management
The 12th National Economic
and Social Development Plan
On 13 September 2016, the 12th National EconomicChapter 2: Country Profiles of Water Environmental Management in WEPA Countries

Nepal
Philippines
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Viet Nam

The water environmental management in Thailand hashistorically been a priority for the country, especiallysince 1992. Legislative frameworks have since beendeveloped and improved to promote implementation,and over the last 25 years, the overall picture of the

Myanmar7 | Challenges and Future Plans

Malaysia

Also taking place in 2016 was the Ministry of Interior’s
drafting of the Maintenance of the Cleanliness andOrderliness of the Country Act (No. 2) B.E. 2560 (2017),
which was approved by the Cabinet on January 12th,
2016. It states that local administrative offices in eacharea are to be responsible for the collection and disposalof sewage waste and municipal solid waste. The Ministerof Interior is to issue a ministerial regulation as follows: (i)set up a specific fee for sewage and municipal solid waste
management, (ii) assign the responsibility and authority

Lao PDR

Maintenance of the Cleanliness and Orderlinessof the Country Act (No. 2) B.E. 2560 (2017)

Republic of Korea

On 28 December 2016, the National Environmental
Board gave its approval for the 20-Year Pollution
Management Strategy prepared by MONRE, with goals inthree phases: (i) Phase 1: in the first five years, improve
the pollution management system; (ii) Phase 2: in years
10–15, produce and consume environmentally-friendly
products on a daily-life basis; and (iii) Phase 3: within 20
years, gear the country towards becoming a low carbon
and zero waste society.

MONRE in cooperation with Ministry of Agriculture andCooperatives drafted the Strategy for Water Resource
Management Act B.E. 2558–2569 (2015–2036) which
was approved by the Cabinet on 7 May, 2015. The
strategy set a policy framework for unified and integrated
prevention of and solutions to water resource problems,
including the scarcity of water, flooding and water quality
issues. The vision of the strategy states that “Every single
village has clean water for household consumption as
well as for stable production. Damages from flooding
are mitigated. Water quality meets the standard. Water
resources are sustainably managed with balanced
development and participation of all sectors”. This
Strategy consists of six sub-strategies, each focusing on adifferent target area: (i) Strategy for Water Managementfor Household Consumption, (ii) Strategy for Creationof the Stable Water Supply in Production Sector (bothagricultural and industrial sectors), (iii) Strategy for
Flooding Management, (iv) Strategy for Water Quality
Management, (v) Strategy for Conservation and
Mitigation of Impaired Watershed Forest and Preventionof Soil Erosion, and (vi), Strategy for Management.

Japan

20-Year Pollution Management Strategy

Strategy for Water Resource Management Act
B.E. 2558–2569 (2015–2036)

Indonesia

Also occurring in September 2016 was the National
Environmental Board’s approval of the Pollution
Management Plan for the 2017–2021 period, preparedby the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment(MONRE), which contains four strategies, two of which
cover pollution management. One is a strategy for
managing the quality of the environment in a good state,i.e., such that it is protected, rehabilitated and restored.
The other focuses on increasing the efficiency of usageof natural resources in a worthy and sustainable manner,which can be used to gauge whether all stakeholders
are aware of the value of natural resources, utilize themefficiently, as well as mitigate any potential environmental
impact and thus enabling economic development on thebases of sustainable bio-resources.

China

Pollution Management Plan for 2017–2021 period

to Local Administrative Organizations concerning waste
collection, transport and disposal, (iii) those who wish
to conduct businesses around sewage and waste
collection, transportation and disposal must apply for alicense from the local administrator, (iv) the Department
of Local Administration has the duty to propose, advise
and support the Local Administrative Organizations
to conduct plans for the Waste Management Project
to be in-line with the provincial development plan,
prepare a budget for local administrative organizations
requiring budgetary support drawn from the National
Budget, state the penalties under criminal law for those
conducting unauthorized business operations around
waste collection, transportation and disposal, as well as
for those who infringe local laws. This Act was announced
in the Royal Thai Government Gazette No. 134 Section
5A on 15 January B.E. 2560 (2017), and went into effecton 16 January B.E. 2560 (2017) (PCD 2016).

Cambodiaand Social Development Plan was approved by the
Cabinet, which contains 10 strategies, two of which
focus on pollution management: (1) a strategy onan “environmentally-friendly growth for sustainable
development”, and (2), strategy on “the developmentof the various regions, the cities, and economic areas,
with the goal of conserving and restoring natural
resources and the environment in order to sustain anenvironmentally-friendly growth and the people’s goodquality of life”.

127country’s state of pollution shows some improvements,
due to the cooperation of various stakeholders, including
governmental and non-government actors. However,many issues still need to be addressed, such as the steadydegradation of water quality in many cities and areas due
to rapid development of communities, especially thoseliving next to waterways, and impacts from agriculturaland industrial activities. Many cities also still lackappropriate sewage collection and treatment systems.
Based on the current challenges and above
discussion, it is recommended that the following
measures be considered to further improve water quality
and more effectively control water pollution in Thailand
in the coming years:• Use of less capital-intensive solutions, to avoid• Effective implementation and enforcement of• Development of appropriate guidelines andrelevant laws and strategies on water pollution
prevention and protection of water resources,
including National Water Quality Management Plan
under the 20-year Pollution Management Strategies,
Strategy for Water Resource Management (2015–2036); 20-year Marine and Coastal Resources
Management Master Plan (2017–2036), theNational Water Quality Master Plan (2018–2037),
and the 20-year Groundwater Resources
Management Strategy (2017–2036).

• Effective application of economic measures in thepollution permitting system to reduce discharges towater sources and maintain acceptable water quality
level.

• Establishing specific effluent standards, taking into

account the sensitivity of the surrounding area andthe assimilative capacity of the receiving water body.

• Regular monitoring of ambient water quality,

investigation of water quality changes, and inventoryof pollution sources, which play an important role instrategies for effective water quality protection andmanagement.

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constructing costly centralized wastewater
treatment plants and raise the ratio of wastewater
treatment. Decentralized wastewater treatment
systems can be integrated as an effective means to
supplement centralized systems, due to theircompetitive advantages of cost, area availability andjust-in-time nature, thereby improving wastewater
management, especially in urban and peri-urban
settings. There should be zoning of areas fordifferent sanitation system schemes, i.e., on-site/
decentralized/centralized or combinations thereof,
considering various local factors such as population
density and land availability.
procedures for the collection of water protection
fees, to ensure that the full cost of operating andmaintaining the wastewater treatment system isrecovered.

• Promotion of environmental awareness, bycollecting wastewater treatment fees in the service
areas of water quality management facilities so thatthe citizens benefitting from these facilities canparticipate in a holistic and sustainable solution to
the problem, based on the polluter pays principle(PPP).

• Replication of knowledge dissemination andawareness programs on environmental measuresacross the country for all polluting sectors, especially
agriculture and aquaculture. Environmentally friendly
agricultural practices for farmers should be further
strengthened to reduce the impact of environmental
problems such as odours and wastewater.

• Creation (by government) of an enabling

environment for private investment in the water andwastewater sector, ensuring good returns, whilefurther encouraging private sector involvement incorporate social responsibility.