Updates of Water Environment Governancein Thailand
Dr. Chanan Tiranarat
Director of Water Quality Management Division
Pollution Control Department (PCD)
Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment (MoNRE)
30 January 2024
The 19th Annual Meeting in Hayama, Japan1

Content01
02
03
04
0506

Water Quality Standard

State of Water Quality
Sources of Water Pollution

Laws, Standards and Measurement
Water Quality Problems
Challenges and future plans2About Organization: Pollution Control Department

PCD
Water Quality Management Division (WQM)
Inland Water Subdivision
Marine Water Subdivision
Administrative Subdivision

Domestic Wastewater Subdivision

Environment and Pollution Control Office 1 -16(Regional across the country)

Industrial Wastewater Subdivision
Agricultural Wastewater Subdivision
Planning and Evaluation Subdivision

Responsibilities : water pollution control and management
Establish water pollution control policy
Formulate water quality standards and strategies
Monitor water quality & water pollution
Provide water pollution advice

Responsibilities : water pollution control and management
Create a local environmental pollution management plan.
Suggest standards based on local sources.
Monitor and report on local water quality and environmental
conditions and Provide water pollution advice
301 Water Quality Standard
Surface Water Quality Monitoring433433 General Monitoring Stations
48 Main Rivers❑ 6 Standing Surface Water Resources (lakes)❑ 4 times/year❑

160160 Automatic Monitoring Stations

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Quality Standard
01 Water
Surface Water Quality Standard
The surface water quality standards are classified into 5 classes as follows:

Class 1

Extra clean for conservation purposes

Class 2

Very clean used for (1) consumption which requires ordinary water
treatment processes (2) aquatic organism conservation (3) fisheries,and (4) recreation

Class 328 Parameters
ColorOduor

pHTasteTemp

Medium clean used for (1) consumption but passing throughan ordinary treatment process and (2) agriculture

BODDONH3TCBFCBClass 4

Fairly clean used for (1) consumption, but requires special treatment
process and (2) industry Class

Heavy Metals Pesticides

Class 5Waters are not classification in class 1-4 which is no water quality
requirement and used for navigation* N=natureRadio actives

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Thailand Water Quality Index
The Water Quality Index (WQI) indicates the general water quality, derived from 5 water quality parameters, namely
1) Dissolved Oxygen (DO),2) Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD),
3) Total Coliform Bacteria (TCB),
4) Fecal Coliform Bacteria (FCB), and5) Ammonia - Nitrogen (NH3-N).

Interpreting WQI Results
The WQI is classified as follows:
Excellent (91 - 100):
Good (71 - 90):
Fair (61 - 70):
Poor (31 - 60):
Very Poor (0 - 30):

Signifies water of the highest quality.
Generally safe with minimal pollution
Moderate pollution levels with some concerns.

Indicates high pollution and potential health risks.
Represents extremely poor water quality.

602 State of Water Quality
Current Situation
Surface Water Quality Standard
Proportions of Water Quality Meeting and Not MeetingStandards in Thailand (2022)

2022, Results of water
quality monitoring of majorwater sources werecompared with surface
water standards
59 water sources found that47
12Not meet standard

water sources(81%) did not meet the Surface
Water Quality Standards.

Meet standard

water sources(19%) that meet Surface
Water Quality Standards.

02 State of Water Quality
Current Situation
WQI Results

100%

90%
80%

228

29

34

3428

41

46

55

4670%

Excellent
GoodFair

Poor
Very Poor

23239484318
2019404344411814162020

2021

2022
860%
50%
40%

49

49

4530%
20%
10%

23

22252013

2014

2015

20

172016

2017

0%

92018

03 Sources of Water Pollution

4.4(Agriculture Wastewater)

17.8(Industrial Wastewater)

14.5(Domestic Wastewater)

M.cu.m./day

M.cu.m./day

M.cu.m./day

04 Laws, Standards and Measurement
Acts and Responsible organizations• Enhancement and Conservation of National
Environmental Quality Act (NEQA)

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment(MONRE) (Pollution Control Department)• Building control Act

Ministry of Interior (Department of Interior)• Public Health Act

Ministry of Public Health (Department of Health)• ACT on the Maintenance of the Cleanlinessand Orderliness of the Country

Industrial Estate Authority, Ministry of Industry• The Factory Act• Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand Act

Ministry of Interior (Department of local
administration, Municipalities)
Ministry of Industry (Department of IndustrialWorks)

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04 Laws, Standards and Measurement Mitigation
Mitigation 1

Prevent and Reduce
wastewater at sources

Mitigation 2

Control wastewater discharge

Mitigation 3

Increasing efficiency inwastewater management• Promote and enhance Green industry and Ecoindustry such as Zero discharge, Reuse andRecycle• Minimize domestic wastewater at source such as
install high performance onsite system, promote
products which design for environment (DfE)• Modify or Improve process for minimizing
agricultural wastewater generation such as SMART
farm, promote Good Agriculture Practices (GAP)• Prevent pollution from water transportation suchas develop safety standard for watertransportation (reduce oil leakage from accident),
develop oil spill monitoring system in coastal
areas

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04 Laws, Standards and Measurement Mitigation
Mitigation 1

Prevent and Reduce
wastewater at sources

Mitigation 2

Control wastewater discharge

Mitigation 3

Increasing efficiency inwastewater management• Install more central wastewater treatment inprioritized and sensitive areas such as highpolluted area, tourist area and special area
• Rehab for current central wastewater treatment• Collect wastewater treatment fee• Propose and implement Permit system• Enhance law enforcement, integrate among
regulation (minimize the gap)12

04 Laws, Standards and Measurement Mitigation
Mitigation 1

Prevent and Reduce
wastewater at sources

Mitigation 2

Control wastewater discharge

Mitigation 3

Increasing efficiency inwastewater management• Enhance wastewater management by Public
Private Partnership (PPP)• Big Data – integrate water quantity and quality,
point source database, monitoring system, warningsystem• Promote green products and services• Raising awareness for all stakeholder

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05 Water Quality Problems

Lack of effluent
standard or
mitigation for somepoint sources such as
small factories, or
non-point source

The increase inwastewater volume
due to population
growth and city
expansion

Enhancing the Private
Public & People
Partnership (PPPP)

Regulatory conflictsof interest14

06 Challenges and Future Plans
Establishing new standards and regulations to correspondwith the impact of Climate Change.
Supporting the reuse recycle and reduce water (3R)
Estimating fees for household wastewater treatment services.
Updated standards for specific parameters.
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CONTACT US
Water Quality Management Division
Pollution Control Department

ADDRESSPHONEFACEBOOKWEBSITE

92 Soi Phahon Yothin 7Phahon Yothin Rd., Phayathai,Bangkok 10400, Thailand

02 298 2000

https://www.facebook.com/PCD.go.th

www.pcd.go.th

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