1. WASH Monitoring Symposium Addis Ababa , Ethiopia, April 2013
Monitoring Rural and Small Towns Water
Supply in Thailand: A Focus on Water Quality
Suree Wongpiyachon
Director, Bureau of Food and Water Sanitation
Department Of Health Ministry of Public Health Thailand

2. Water Supply in Thailand: A short history
Thailand has been developing its water supply for over 100 years:
1897-1926: King Rama V assigned Metropolitan to provide a
waterworks in Bangkok
1927-1956: Health Management Model, Rural Health Promotion and
Survey and Ground Water Development
1957-1986: Local Health Development Project began, Comprehensive
Rural Health Project, water supply program for rural areas
throughout the Kingdom, Metropolitan Waterworks Authority,
Provincial Waterworks Authority state enterprises were established
1982 to 1991: The Decade of Clean Water Supply and Sanitation to
Rural areas in Thailand
1987-2000: Extension of rural waterworks systems to cover 70%
percentage of all villages
2003: Rural Water Supply Division, DOH restructured and transferred to
the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
2003-Present: Bureau of Food and Water Sanitation in Department of
Health is responsible for Drinking Water Quality (Survillance and
Monitoring )

3. Drinking Water Category in Thailand (%)
Tap water
Bottle-packed 23.9%
Water 31.5%
Natural water/
Well water/
Rain Water Others 10%
34.6%
Source : National Statistical Office

4. Water Supply Services in Thailand (2009)
Villages With Water Villages Without Water
Supply System Supply System
Mil. Households Mil. Households
~21 Mil. People) ~ 6.5 Mil. People)
32% 10%
Provincial Waterworks
25% Authorities
Mil. Households
18% 15% ~ Mil. People)
Municipalities Metropolitan Waterworks
Mil. Households Authority
~12 Mil. People) Mil. Households
~10 Mil. People)
Source: Community Development Dept. (Ministry of Interior)

5. Royal Thai Government
Safe Water Supply
Ministry Of Ministry of Public
Policy – Goal: Health
Natural Safe drinking water coverage
the whole year round of all
Resource And households.
Department of
Environment Health
Bureau of
Food and Water
Sanitation
Drinking Water Quality Development Section
1. Surveillance on Drinking Water Quality
2. Research and Development Quality and Technology Management of
Drinking Water
3. Certification of Safe Drinking Water for Tap Water Supplies
4. Technology Transfer and Human Resource Development
for households, public places, hospitals, schools, child care, health center,
drinking water distributors, emergency incidence and vulnerable areas

6. Drinking Water Quality Situation of All Types
of Drinking Water in 2010
100 Bacteria Color
Turbidity Fe NO3 pH Zn
80 96.5% Bacteria -
Turbidity As Mn
80.0% Color F-
% 60 Bacteria Fe
Bangkok 56.7%
40
Province
Municipality
20
Urban Rural
Unsatisfactoy
Satisfactory
In accordance with DOH’s Drinking Water
Quality Standard (Dept.of Health, 2000)

7. Cause of Water Quality Problems
1. Minerals or heavy metals are
naturally present in groundwater.
2. Contamination of Bacteria and
impurities
3. Hygienic behavior especially no
hand-washing, cleanliness of water
container ,tank, jar , vessels for
drinking

8. Safe Drinking Water Promotion Project 1:
Certification Process
 Six qualifications before approval
1. Water sample collection at 6 areas public place, school,
temple, market, households)
2. Number of water samples
3. Frequency of water sampling
4. Quality test
5. Result of quality test
6. Certified period
 Four qualifications after approval
1. Water sample collection at the connection point of pipeline
system
2. Water sample collection at the end point of pipeline
system
3. Result of quality test
4. Random checking result documents from Item 3. If any
water quality is found under Drinking Water

9. Certification Process for Safe Drinking Tap Water
Application to joining improvement
the Process
Check Water Quality (Physical, Chemical,
Bacteriological)
Assessment of: - at the beginning (of water supply system) and
• Potable Water Supply - at the end of pipes (household)
System - Sampling: 1 sample for each increment of 5,000
• Structure populace
• Operation
• Maintenance
1st Not Satisfied
to the Improvement
Analysis
Standard
Standard Satisfaction
2nd /3 rd Analysis
Every 2 months
Standard Satisfaction
Certification / Approval Inform the (analysed) Result
Certificate to Health Center (Region 1 –
by the Dept. of Health 12)
Declaration : of Being Safe Drinking Tap Water
Dissemination Continuous Surveillance of Water Quality

10. DOH & PWA Declare Safe Drinking
Water Supply System

11. Safe Drinking Water Promotion Project 2:
Development of Network Potential for
Surveillance of Safe drinking Water in
Community and Households
Network • Water Supply System Operators
• Volunteers
Process:
1. Source of Drinking Water Survey in Community and
Household
2. Sampling and analyze for water quality
3. Evaluation with The DOH’s Tap Water Quality Standard
4. Training (of network, water Supply System operators,
volunteers)

12. Training Details
 Importance of safe water and
health effect
 Hygiene and Sanitation
 Using Test kit
 Role of network on pioneer
and counseling
 Practice on test kit
 Network meeting and
planning to safe water in
community
 One and three months later :
follow up and monitoring of:
water supply, test kit and
role of volunteers

13. Structure
Community
Participation
Government Natural
Resource
Rain
Water
Shallow-well
water
Village
Water works Bottled
System Water
Volunteer
Village Villager
worker
Household
Community For Community Test kit

14. The Kingdom of Thailand
Land of Smiles

15. Extra Slides

16. About Thailand
- A country in Southeast Asia
- Total area 513,115 km2
- Total population 65.5 millions
Male 32.1 millions
Female 33.4 millions
- Tropical climate

17. Vision
By 2012, with the effective cooperation of all related agencies, all Thais people
will get access to safe and adequate consumption water, basic hygiene, and good
sanitation.
Mission Statement
1. Promote all Thais to get access to safe and adequate consumption water.
2. Support the works on basic hygiene and good sanitation.
3. Encourage people participation in form of networking.
4. Create knowledge base in order to disseminate correct information
on water, hygiene, and sanitation
Target
1. Thais get access to safe and adequate consumption water.
Urban area – 100% of households get access to tap water
Rural area – Access to tap water for villages which already have waterworks
system and safe water from water sources for the rest.
2. Thais have good hygienic practice.

18. Village Safe Drinking Tap Water
Water Quality Surveillance
at the end (household) of pipes:
Survey : - Physical , Chemical, Bacteriological Project
Tap Water Examination at least once a year Follow Up
Drinking - Chlorine Residual Checking every
Behavior week
Standard Satisfaction Not Satisfied
to the Standard
Data Analysis &
Progressive
Reporting
Public Information (of the Improvement :
Water Quality) the Potable Water Supply Systems
Promotion on the Encouraging of Popular
 Reliability Assurance in
Tap Water Drinking
Safe Drinking Tap Water
- Knowledge & Practices
Quality.
Transferring
 Favor Safe Drinking tap
- Dissemination of Information
water among villagers.
- Campaign
- Rewarding

19. Chlorine

20. Knowledge

21. Expansion
Village Village
Network A
(Villager)
Village Village

22. Health Education
-Personal Hygiene
- Clean Jar

23. Water Treatment
• Boiling
• Filtration
• Chemical Treatment
Chlorine – Solution 2

24. Millennium Development
Goals
MDGs :
Reduce percentage of population with no access to
safe water source and hygienic toilet to half by 2015.
MDG Plus :
Thailand has set a more ambitious goal in improving
percentage of population with access to safe drinking
water.