Environmentalist says Tha Phae water unsafe for playing Songkran

[AhFarangJa]

turn on all the fountains to aerate the water and stop people from dumping waste water in the moat in the first place.

What's the matter the local sewer is not working?

That is the local sewer.. ask any Chinese tourist..

Edited April 4, 2014 by AhFarangJa

[moe666]

He said the reason for pollution is waste water discharge into the moat.

Ok...all you Thai apologists...give this one your best shot...how has the hypocritical West...and hypocritical foreigners...contributed to this debacle...?

Why are you here it appears a bit of a chip on shoulder, haven't read anything blaming westerns for dirty water in the moat. I have seen Chinese and yes a few Thais using it for their daily relief

[attrayant]

Low O₂ levels are an indicator of excessive organic decomposing matter in water, however I'm at a loss as to how injecting more oxygen into the water is supposed to remedy this problem.

In other news, experts warn that snowballs are unsafe for playing Christmas.

[rebelplatoon]

Chiang mai just had its firts thunder storms which has increased air quality and will enhance water quality. A few more proper storms to come, some chlorine in the moat. Et voila! People who do not like it can stay away. I myself have the ' if you can t beat them join them' attitude. For two days, by choice, anyway. Happy Songkran!

[nomad127]

Not to mention how bad the water may be, it also smells like dead fish. I will totally avoid the water splashing this year around the moat and get doused by trash cans full of ice water elsewhere.

[tigermonkey]

It has been unusually hot in Chiang Mai for some time. Dissolved Oxygen (DO) goes down rapidly with the increase in water temperature. It is not unusual for stagnant ( not moving) water that is heated to 25 to 30 degrees to have a reading of 4.0 or lower, even if the water is otherwise of good quality. If you take the water sample from the top, it will be better since the surface absorbs more oxygen from the air - if you take the sample just below the surface it will be very bad, since the water is the hottest,

We have experienced the death of many fish in the small lake behind our dam in central Lamphun. Many fish species start to die when the DO falls below 4.0. It is not a great surprise, since the water temperature hit 31 and the DO was 2.8 . The water is otherwise good quality.

There is much more to the story than is told. Again, somebody is trying to grab a headline and 15 minutes of fame.

[laislica]

We just spent a couple of weeks in Chiang Mai and on a couple of days the smoke was so bad that it stung the eyes.

We were in the city and could only tolerate an hour or so outside. We returned to our hotel.

Tried the poolside but also too smoky there too.

I hope it's better for Songkran.

Have a good time whatever though.

Edited April 4, 2014 by laislica

[cardinalblue]

Why is this action not a permanent change from the time authorities discovered it?

No songhran no intervention and that is the mentality that bothers me about Thailand.

I will debate anyone...

[featography]

'Playing' Songkran? Participate in, join in, but certainly not 'playing'. Can one 'play' new year?

I am not sorry for caring about our language.

And anyway - was the water ever clean enough?

That.s Thaiglish. They play internet too.

[connda]

...water’s oxygen level below safe standards.

Crikey! I didn't plan on breathing the water!

Leave it to the Thai authorities to concentrate on the wrong elements. Try saying the obvious: "the water is full of dangerous bacteria!"

Can't do that...the tourist won't come and play water. Nope, it has dangerously low O2 levels! Good job pussyfooting around the real issues. The governor of CM should be proud of the bureaucratic BS.

[slipperylobster]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

OMG ..

all I hear nowadays is how polluted the air and water is in Chiang Mai !

Happy E-Coli in your ear from the splashing of crappy water...while you are choking on the traffic pollution and smoke.

Yeah, it is totally miserable here in Chiang Mai. Everyone cancel your trip and stay away. TRUST ME

Global, Please get the word out, between the air pollution, water pollution and the Chinese tourists squatting and crapping in the parks and sidewalks, Chiang Mai is not the paradise that all the travel blogs make it out to be One can hope that the growth in Chiang Mai can subside for a while at least I read a post here on TV that the Russians were going to boycott Thailand, now if the Chinese and Koreans would only follow suit then we could turn the clock back 30 years to a time when Thailand was really a fun place

It is the second largest city in Thailand...the traffic was unbearable. I could not walk across the street. It does have potential, city center has a lot of cafes and meeting places. Tons of hotels, guest houses and tourists...for that type of crowd. I had difficulty walking anywhere...and I love walking. Take the good with the bad, I suppose. Nice to visit...but would not like to drive a car there.

[dave2]

re

Not to mention how bad the water may be, it also smells like dead fish. I will totally avoid the water splashing this year around the moat

fear not people ....the moat water is ok

a miracle happend overnight and the four miles of the

moat has been cleaned of pollution

at least i think thats what this poster opposite chiang mai

ram hospital is telling us ?

dave2

ps .... im not a believer

[CMKiwi]

Hey Dave,

in the second photo is that a little nipper (Kid/Child) relieving itself behind the poster? Says a lot for what they think about it This year I think I`ll stay away from the moat and surrounding area. Went last year and the first day was ok but the novelty wore off rather quickly.

Hope the tourists that flock to CM get to enjoy it all without getting sick.

I`ll just stay out in Mae Rim till its all over.

[dave2]

re

in the second photo is that a little nipper (Kid/Child) relieving itself behind the poster?

nahh .. he / she ? saw something in the grass and was looking at it .... thats all

the poster must be true coz another one was put up on the

south east corner by the old peoples care centre

yesterday !

dave2

still not a believer

[BlackArtemis]

Basic info on aeration and how it can clean water.

http://water.me.vccs.edu/courses/ENV115/Lesson5_print.htm

[WinnieTheKhwai]

LIke I said earlier, they measure water quality every year, and then make improvements as needed, then measure again.

We can put this one to bed now, and all Songkran Grinches can climb back on their hill.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=701701673209399&set=a.159943470718558.35830.111227565590149

Edited April 9, 2014 by WinnieTheKhwai