Bangkok Residents Advised To Start Storing Tap Water

[Arkady]

Quote "Metropolitan Waterworks Authority governor Charoen Phassara yesterday described the tapwater situation "as worse than expected".

This entire situation is clearly going to be far worse than these incompetents expect. They cannot even locate their flood relief center properly.

Maybe this is indeed the real situation but later reports had the MWA governor saying that the tapwater situation is back to normal after the breach into Klong Prapa which supplies the water treatment plant was repaired and that what he meant was that people should be aware that their pumps won't work if electricity is cut.

I can believe he was somewhat misquoted but it is well to prepare because there is every possibility that the next flow of run off will find its way into Klong Prapa and it might not be so easy to repair. I assume MWA has nothing significant in the way of a disaster plan apart from airlift of its "puu yai" to a safe place out of Bangkok with plenty of tap water.

Edited October 25, 2011 by Arkady

[lounger]

I dont know why you bother answering that last post. If an idiot wants official directions before preparing for the worst then he is beyond help. Its like another poster wanted to know if his address was in the at risk zone. At risk of what?

My province, flooded, is stacked up with 20+ wheel lorries in convoys moving in both directions on minor roads trying to find routes through the flooded zones. Our Tesco Lotus food is now down to about 30%. The freezers are empty, dried food and tins are almost gone Stocks are not getting through. Bangkok is truly a disaster in the making. It could turn into a hell hole of anger, disease and hunger....

I thought I'd point out that he should actually read the article before complaining.

I'm in a non-flooded area (Ratchada/Thailand Cultural Centre), and the supermarkets have very little food left. They are running out of all drinks (of course water, but also soft drink and beer). There is very little dry food (including snacks), or canned food. I expect the restaurants to be running short of food soon.

Hi mate, I didnt mean to criticise you. Your help with the information was noble. As you pointed out the answer was in the article however if anyone needs source material he may be beyond help but we must help them if it saves lives...

Yes, half my province is dry and even so food is running out. The route 9 passing Suvarnabhumit is flooded and more and more dependence will be on Chiang Mai int airportwill . Being dry is 90% of the battle. The poor bu**ers in Bangkok dont know what is coming....

[zydeco]

There are two refrences to "Bangkok residents advised to start storing tap water" in the headline, the e-mail link was the same claim, yet nothing in the story backs this dramatic headline up. Is this a fact or sensationalism, speculation or what?

Bangkok residents are advised to stockpile tapwater, as the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority governor Charoen Phassara yesterday described the tapwater situation "as worse than expected".

I see in the General part of the TVF one of our members asking where to buy fresh drinking water as they have none. May be a bit worse than some of our knowlegable TV members think.

It's time to start rationing what food and water you do have.

[Arkady]

What frightens me is that the Government still blames the rain for this run-off and not spend a word on the release of huge masses of water from the dams in the north. Big rains have stopped falling but the dams (un-coordinated management from the authorities in opening the gates) should have been monitored in a better way and not coinciding with the spring tides in the sea, which are occurring twice a moon-month (28 days) for 2 or 3 days. This is what I call poor water management and clearly another manoeuver to cover up the real causes of this deluge! Using the inner canals and khlongs for draining the water (at a bare few hundreds of m3 per second, even not...) is deliberately flooding the city instead of temporary stopping the water release from the big dams. The Chao Phraya should have a drainage capacity of 6,000 m3/sec but has only 4,300 m3/sec. Adding 100 or 200 m3/sec from the khlongs is not a solution and the Government should have known it! Instead of listening to the technicians and read the reports from previous (excellent) studies on this issue, the Government issues regulations that they ONLY have the authority to decide on water release and operation of the sluices and watergates. Big brother Taksin, where are you now? Enjoying the good wine in Dubai restaurants? Your red shirts are soaking wet now and > 350 have died not from bullets but from water that your little sister has allowed to enter Bangkok khlongs! :bah:

I think maybe the Thais are correct in this instance when they say faranges dont understand Thailand. It seems clear that each province behaves like a separate state but what is surprising is the lack of any unifying authority. Its is astonishing that the different parties can legitimately claim autonomy. It is confusing to see officialdom cutting a path that at face value seems illogical. The overlap of personal gain and losing face against progress or human suffering is beyond belief. A graphic picture was described by the minister of communications who when asked when 3G would come said something along the lines of : steering the legislation is like riding the twin horns of a bull. The floods will have come and gone before this bull stops twisting its head.

The provinces don't have any autonomy at all, except Bangkok which has its own elected governor and the PM has the authority to override him, as she has demonstrated. The other provincial governors are all directly appointed by the Interior Ministry which treats the provinces as colonies to be governed by colonial governors transferred in from Bangkok with no knowledge of or interest in the province or its people. The dams are controlled not by the provincial governors but mainly by the Irrigation Dept which is part of the Agriculture Minister that was the fiefdom of Banharn's Chart Thai Pattana Party under the Abhisit government and still is under the Yingluck government. So there is continuity there and no one can complain they have only been in charge of the ID since this government took office. Some of the dams are controlled by EGAT which is a state enterprise directly owned and controlled by the Finance Ministry.

Edited October 25, 2011 by Arkady

[lounger]

I think maybe the Thais are correct in this instance when they say faranges dont understand Thailand. It seems clear that each province behaves like a separate state but what is surprising is the lack of any unifying authority. Its is astonishing that the different parties can legitimately claim autonomy. It is confusing to see officialdom cutting a path that at face value seems illogical. The overlap of personal gain and losing face against progress or human suffering is beyond belief. A graphic picture was described by the minister of communications who when asked when 3G would come said something along the lines of : steering the legislation is like riding the twin horns of a bull. The floods will have come and gone before this bull stops twisting its head.

The provinces don't have any autonomy at all, except Bangkok which has its own elected governor and the PM has the authority to override him, as she has demonstrated. The other provincial governors are all directly appointed by the Interior Ministry which treats the provinces as colonies to be governed by colonial governors transferred in from Bangkok with no knowledge of or interest in the province or its people. The dams are controlled not by the provincial governors but mainly by the Irrigation Dept which is part of the Agriculture Minister that was the fiefdom of Banharn's Chart Thai Pattana Party under the Abhisit government and still is under the Yingluck government. So there is continuity there and no one can complain they have only been in charge of the ID since this government took office. Some of the dams are controlled by EGAT which is a state enterprise directly owned and controlled by the Finance Ministry.

Good response Arcady. So the Separate provinces cannot be held responsible for the lack of water management and the Irrigation Dept is long in the tooth and should have developed a better policy based on irrigation-during-the-dry-season needs vv flood expectations.

The worst flood in 70 years has to be a one off for the planners but some coordination should be built into the random dykes ( highways and building projects) that spoil water run off. Who has been responsible for the miles of sandbag and mud dykes that appear to provide a solution but in reality are totally misplaced?

and then provided not an information system for flood victims actual and threatened?

[lounger]

I see in the General part of the TVF one of our members asking where to buy fresh drinking water as they have none. May be a bit worse than some of our knowlegable TV members think.

It's time to start rationing what food and water you do have.

Yes, Not only ration water but learn how to clean possibly tainted. I saw some temporary water filters that were two buckets ( one stood on the other) with a filter connecting them. I think they came from Macro. Someone posted about washing veg in certain chemicals. I cant quote what as it didnt seem effective to me.

Anyway back to the point. Our Tesco has no water for sale and we are 50% flood free. So some imagination and creative thinking is needed. Please share all ideas.

[tommyyoung]

Quote "Metropolitan Waterworks Authority governor Charoen Phassara yesterday described the tapwater situation "as worse than expected".

This entire situation is clearly going to be far worse than these incompetents expect. They cannot even locate their flood relief center properly.

Genius ! So, you are the competent one, why don't you go to propose your magic solutions, save the country and be the new national hero ?

it's easy to come to this country to systematically insult Thai people,while staying sit in a sofa.

Go and solve the problem than.

[SabaiBKK]

I'm living in Bang Kapi, and while filling various containers with water yesterday, I noticed that the water has a yellow tint. Not sure if it's normal, but I have never noticed it before. I also filled up my spa baht, which is white, and even there it looks slightly yellow...

I have now closed for the main water supply from the outside, so now we have around 3,000 l of water in our underground tank, which I hope is not too contaminated yet! (Used a bit of it yesterday for cooking before I noticed the yellow tint, and so far I'm alive).

All the water I have stored, got a few drops of chlorine in it, since I would rather use boiled chlorinated water than water filled with various microorganisms!

Have anyone else in the Bang Kapi area noticed yellowish water?

in rachada it is yellowish too noticed that yesterday evening

[slipperx]

Water is yellowish where I am too and has been so for the last five days. No drinking water to be found anwhere and things are going to get worse yet it seems clear. The water tastes disgusting even in Tea & coffee and smells equally disgusting. Obviously full of chemicals and my RO water filter cannot take out the smell. We are in trouble big time.

[tracy3eyes]

Water is yellowish where I am too and has been so for the last five days. No drinking water to be found anwhere and things are going to get worse yet it seems clear. The water tastes disgusting even in Tea & coffee and smells equally disgusting. Obviously full of chemicals and my RO water filter cannot take out the smell. We are in trouble big time.

Maybe safer to catch rain water should it rain and boil it well if can! Try and filter any water in any way possible then boil it twice over.

The biggest threat to health and life is water contamination from multiple sources. Sewage may well have already contaminated the flood water.

No clean water to wash, drink, prepare food. No food. Poor hygenics etc. Only a few weeks of this could result in outbreaks of disease! SCHTF.

[Crushdepth]

Quote "Metropolitan Waterworks Authority governor Charoen Phassara yesterday described the tapwater situation "as worse than expected".

This entire situation is clearly going to be far worse than these incompetents expect. They cannot even locate their flood relief center properly.

Genius ! So, you are the competent one, why don't you go to propose your magic solutions, save the country and be the new national hero ?

it's easy to come to this country to systematically insult Thai people,while staying sit in a sofa.

Go and solve the problem than.

Criticising the government is not the same as "insulting the Thai people". Most people here are familiar with the internet browbeating debating "technique", give it up.

[Tanaka]

What frightens me is that the Government still blames the rain for this run-off and not spend a word on the release of huge masses of water from the dams in the north. Big rains have stopped falling but the dams (un-coordinated management from the authorities in opening the gates) should have been monitored in a better way and not coinciding with the spring tides in the sea, which are occurring twice a moon-month (28 days) for 2 or 3 days. This is what I call poor water management and clearly another manoeuver to cover up the real causes of this deluge! Using the inner canals and khlongs for draining the water (at a bare few hundreds of m3 per second, even not...) is deliberately flooding the city instead of temporary stopping the water release from the big dams. The Chao Phraya should have a drainage capacity of 6,000 m3/sec but has only 4,300 m3/sec. Adding 100 or 200 m3/sec from the khlongs is not a solution and the Government should have known it! Instead of listening to the technicians and read the reports from previous (excellent) studies on this issue, the Government issues regulations that they ONLY have the authority to decide on water release and operation of the sluices and watergates. Big brother Taksin, where are you now? Enjoying the good wine in Dubai restaurants? Your red shirts are soaking wet now and > 350 have died not from bullets but from water that your little sister has allowed to enter Bangkok khlongs! :bah:

Do you really believe she has done anything without first consulting the fugitive criminal?

[tracy3eyes]

Disease Risks

http://www.who.int/hac/techguidance/ems/flood_cds/en/

[kutjebu]

Someone please kick those morons out.....

Agree this brainless morons.

[Semper]

Quote "Metropolitan Waterworks Authority governor Charoen Phassara yesterday described the tapwater situation "as worse than expected".

This entire situation is clearly going to be far worse than these incompetents expect. They cannot even locate their flood relief center properly.

Genius ! So, you are the competent one, why don't you go to propose your magic solutions, save the country and be the new national hero ?

it's easy to come to this country to systematically insult Thai people,while staying sit in a sofa.

Go and solve the problem than.

He would need a WP for doing that.

[tracy3eyes]

Quote "Metropolitan Waterworks Authority governor Charoen Phassara yesterday described the tapwater situation "as worse than expected".

This entire situation is clearly going to be far worse than these incompetents expect. They cannot even locate their flood relief center properly.

Genius ! So, you are the competent one, why don't you go to propose your magic solutions, save the country and be the new national hero ?

it's easy to come to this country to systematically insult Thai people,while staying sit in a sofa.

Go and solve the problem than.

He would need a WP for doing that.

Not before he's had a disease test!

[plumeria]

What frightens me is that the Government still blames the rain for this run-off and not spend a word on the release of huge masses of water from the dams in the north. Big rains have stopped falling but the dams (un-coordinated management from the authorities in opening the gates) should have been monitored in a better way and not coinciding with the spring tides in the sea, which are occurring twice a moon-month (28 days) for 2 or 3 days. This is what I call poor water management and clearly another manoeuver to cover up the real causes of this deluge! Using the inner canals and khlongs for draining the water (at a bare few hundreds of m3 per second, even not...) is deliberately flooding the city instead of temporary stopping the water release from the big dams. The Chao Phraya should have a drainage capacity of 6,000 m3/sec but has only 4,300 m3/sec. Adding 100 or 200 m3/sec from the khlongs is not a solution and the Government should have known it! Instead of listening to the technicians and read the reports from previous (excellent) studies on this issue, the Government issues regulations that they ONLY have the authority to decide on water release and operation of the sluices and watergates. Big brother Taksin, where are you now? Enjoying the good wine in Dubai restaurants? Your red shirts are soaking wet now and > 350 have died not from bullets but from water that your little sister has allowed to enter Bangkok khlongs! :bah:

Right, so ... as I've said before, the expertise and experience are out there and available. Flooding in Thailand has needed management since Thais moved here from China. There must be plenty of locals good at it.

Thais know how to handle floods.

This is not an act of God. The flooding cannot be UNcontrolled and accidental. This is a man-made disaster.

Who is doing this and why?

WHY turn away free US-expertise?

Mixed signals and lies and misinformation and disinformation from the start to present?

What are the odds that could be accidental? Cmon. Defies belief.

Minimize use of the army? The statistical odds of the PM randomly getting something right sometimes is higher than the actual.

I'm dumbfounded the opposition hasn't called it treason and at LEAST submitted a no-confidence motion (or does somebody have confidence in the PM) and get the situation under control.

Bangkok GOV alone cannot do much alone with only the BMA staff.

When will Thais say enough is enough and we will not stand it any long??

Don't want to scare the tourists?

Don't want to scare foreign investors?

I am ALREADY looking for better investments and safe havens.

I'm ALREADY somewhere else.

That has already happened so maybe NOW somebody can get concerned about the millions of THAIS.

I've put up with all kinds of silliness and nonsense and shenanigans and mafia and coup d'etat and bought elections and racism for nearly half a century.

But this is too much even for me. This is NOT cultural.

Why would anyone be worrying about foreigners in this situation when hundreds of their own people are DEAD.

And uncountable numbers of other THAIS are sick, injured, homeless, workless, hopeless.

This shows the Thai govt really HATES the average Thai and only cares about INVESTMENT and tourist DOLLARS.

How is what they are doing to their own country and to their own people NOT treason?

No enemy or neighbor could have done this to the country so effectively.

Classic Sun Tzu Art of War tactics. In fact the ULTIMATE Art of War tactic.

No need for a long blood invasion.

Thais are doing it to themselves.

This is the ultimate manifestation of "nothing matters but who gets to be PM".

[plumeria]

PS: And we built a pool for water storage years ago. The hand writing was on the wall.

[plumeria]

Water is yellowish where I am too and has been so for the last five days. No drinking water to be found anwhere and things are going to get worse yet it seems clear. The water tastes disgusting even in Tea & coffee and smells equally disgusting. Obviously full of chemicals and my RO water filter cannot take out the smell. We are in trouble big time.

Maybe safer to catch rain water should it rain and boil it well if can! Try and filter any water in any way possible then boil it twice over.

The biggest threat to health and life is water contamination from multiple sources. Sewage may well have already contaminated the flood water.

No clean water to wash, drink, prepare food. No food. Poor hygenics etc. Only a few weeks of this could result in outbreaks of disease! SCHTF.

Water is life.

Protecting your water is protecting your life.

I don't know if boiling twice is the answer.

I believe 20 minutes of boiling will kill anything dangerous.

But what about the chemicals and benzine and heavy metals and fertilizer and pesticide in the water?

Although a water expert responsible for water testing for the government once told me she boils rainwater (many years ago) because it is also not clean, in this situation rain water MUST be better than any other source, regardless of air pollution.

Catch and save!

And chlorine evaporates so not a bad way to kill nasty stuff in the water.

Just uncover the water and leave it for awhile before boiling and using.

[cloudhopper]

Water is yellowish where I am too and has been so for the last five days. No drinking water to be found anwhere and things are going to get worse yet it seems clear. The water tastes disgusting even in Tea & coffee and smells equally disgusting. Obviously full of chemicals and my RO water filter cannot take out the smell. We are in trouble big time.

If it is at all possible you need to replace the semi-permeable membrane and change all the filters in your RO unit. A properly working RO will remove any contaminants (unlike boiling) that could smell bad. Boiling filtered water is the next best alternative and although it may taste bad probably won't have anything sufficiently harmful for the limited time this will be necessary..

[Arkady]

Disease Risks

http://www.who.int/hac/techguidance/ems/flood_cds/en/

Thanks for that. I feel much better after reading this section:

"Risk posed by corpses

Contrary to common belief, there is no evidence that corpses pose a risk of disease "epidemics" after natural disasters. Most agents do not survive long in the human body after death (with the exception of HIV -which can be up to 6 days) and the source of acute infections is more likely to be the survivors. Human remains only pose health risks in a few special cases requiring specific precautions, such as deaths from cholera or haemorrhagic fevers."

[ThaiKiwi]

It's strange how there is no mention of this "tap water" story in the Thai news.

It has been all over the news in the last few days regarding the colour of Bkk tap water. They decided to add more chemicals to ensure it doesn't carry any microorganisms when it leaves the pumping station.

The lack of food and water supply in Bangkok and surrounding provinces is mainly due to the superstores distribution centres being underwater. They are not set up to distribute direct from source to the individual shops. As the flood water is going to be around for a while, they really will need to sort out the logistics and supply routes if they wish to keep the stores that are open stocked with produce.

[dancw3]

How do you like THAT folks? From predictions of 20 cm or a little more to "mega waves". And the preparations amount to diddley, What happened to that US Marine flood assessment team from last week? They must have dropped in, seen the nuthouse at Don Muang, and skidaddled back to their aircraft carrier, saying "no hope".

"Mega Wave"??? I see that in the headline, but I'm not aware of any official or anyone else saying it. Probably something some reporter coined to make for a dramatic headline. All the predictions I've seen are for 50 to 100 cm (might have been one of as much as 150 cm, I can't remember). Hardly a mega wave, but hey, I don't know exactly what a mega wave is. I don't particularly like it when the press sensationalizes things this way, particularly when it can scare people.

[partington]

How do you like THAT folks? From predictions of 20 cm or a little more to "mega waves". And the preparations amount to diddley, What happened to that US Marine flood assessment team from last week? They must have dropped in, seen the nuthouse at Don Muang, and skidaddled back to their aircraft carrier, saying "no hope".

"Mega Wave"??? I see that in the headline, but I'm not aware of any official or anyone else saying it. Probably something some reporter coined to make for a dramatic headline. All the predictions I've seen are for 50 to 100 cm (might have been one of as much as 150 cm, I can't remember). Hardly a mega wave, but hey, I don't know exactly what a mega wave is. I don't particularly like it when the press sensationalizes things this way, particularly when it can scare people.

Well, "hey", now you do:

Yingluck said the public and private sector are working together to divert water into the Thajeen River in the West. In the North, the Rangsit Canal is being utilized to its full capacity as water is channeled into the lower Hok Wa Canal.

However, with these mechanisms in place, some areas of Bangkok will inevitably see flooding. She stressed that, as eastern Bangkok is traditionally a flood way for the city, areas such as Meenburi and other eastern districts could see water of as high as one to 1.5 meters.

Residents in the North and West can expect to see 50 centimeters of flood water.

The possibility of inner city Bangkok floods will depend on if flood barriers hold. In the worst case scenario, the prime minister said that business districts would see 10 centimeters to 1.5 meters of water depending on the area.

[jbhh]

it sure is nice to own a machine that makes water from air, seeing all shelves empty that used to contain drinking water Imagine having to drink tab water, or these big plastic bottles they deliver on the back of a pickup in the blasting sun...