Thailand is among world's 10 biggest water users

[webfact]

Thailand is among world's 10 biggest water users



BANGKOK: -- Thailand is among the world’s top ten countries with high usage of water for agro-industrial and food production purposes, Dr Somchai Harnhirun, director-general of the Industrial Economics Department said.

He said the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has conducted survey of the water resources management of countries in the world with the result showing ten countries have the highest usage of water and Thailand is among them.

He said Thailand came after India, China, the United States, Pakistan and Japan for highest consumption of water, mostly for agro-industrial and export-oriented food production.

The survey showed that Thailand has inadequate water resource management particularly the implementation of the international standard water footprint calculator or water consumption measurement device.

The FAO’s survey showed water footprint for a Thai consumption is 2,131 cubic meters per person per year, he said.

He said as in near future water footprint will be used as a trade barrier in world trade with regard to environmental protection, and Thai industry has to adapt itself with the change.

The higher water footprint or water consumption of a country will show its irresponsibility in utilizing the water resource and it may be used as a measure of trade barrier, he said.

Growing trend of water shortage in the globe due to drought will surely bring about measures of trade barriers in international trade and therefore Thailand needs to have proper water resource management for sustainable growth of the food production industry of the country.

He said that the Industrial Economics Department will cooperate with the food institution to launch a sustainable water management through the development of water footprint method in export-oriented food production industry.

Under the cooperation, water footprint concept will be introduced to a group of 24 food production manufacturers to measure water use so as to achieve the most efficient utilization of water for production industries.

He said that the next plan is to allow manufacturers to display water footprint assessment figure on the label of the product to show their social responsibility to the environment, and also sent a message to both local and overseas consumers of how much water is used to produce the product. This is aimed at reducing cost, and also preparing for future’s trade barrier to be imposed.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/thailand-among-worlds-10-biggest-water-users/


-- Thai PBS 2014-04-04

[Carib]

It`s because of Songkran..

[noitom]

Thai should be costing out their use of water and start charging a tax for it. Tax revenue from water would help Thailand turn its fiscal shambles around. Thailand should also start taxing property. property tax would be opposed by the elite but it would provide needed tax revenue for infrastructure and public projects to benefit the ordinary Thai people.

[nicton]

The water related industry has the intention to make money by selling desalinator to produce more water or the governments are interested to build new dams.

But by constructing new dams it is guaranteed, that the water is coming from the heaven? - No and no!

A foundation has a different approach and can prove and install simple pieces in houses and appartment. Millions of liter of water/not going down the toilets. Expensive water!

But the toilets are cleaner as normal ones. All existing in basic systems hundreds of years ago.

[MaxLee]

Don't worry, Thailand will have plenty of water again during rainy flood season in August September, October and a little bit of November,... wanna bet????

[nicton]

Thai should be costing out their use of water and start charging a tax for it. Tax revenue from water would help Thailand turn its fiscal shambles around. Thailand should also start taxing property. property tax would be opposed by the elite but it would provide needed tax revenue for infrastructure and public projects to benefit the ordinary Thai people.

But from where is coming the water? From the Tax Revenue Department? Wrong approach from a modern human beeing!

[huanga]

Take out the soapy establishments along the Ratchada and Phetburi Road, then all of a sudden, Thailand will fall out of the top 10.

[tkramer]

"world's 10 biggest water users"

That should read..."water wasters"

[noodle]

 

Thai should be costing out their use of water and start charging a tax for it. Tax revenue from water would help Thailand turn its fiscal shambles around. Thailand should also start taxing property. property tax would be opposed by the elite but it would provide needed tax revenue for infrastructure and public projects to benefit the ordinary Thai people.

Anyone who believes that a tax can solve a problem is delusional.

[gabruce]

There may be more to this than is apparent. I would note as well that different countries have different amounts of water available (contrast Saudi Arabia to Thailand for instance). The US is facing a water shortage. They are always looking to lock Canada into long agreements to supply the US with water. So, if it becomes more expensive to manufacture in the US because of water costs, then they will be needing protection. What better way than to introduce regulations to penalize companies in other countries that use more water than a company in the US. Purely speculation. At the same time, it's sensible to not waste water, just as it's sensible to not waste electricity and I am sure that there is much improvement possible in Thailand during drought season. Not so sure about water conservation needs during rainy/flood seasons.

The point is that it's not reasonable to have a global water usage standard.

[slapout]

What is more telling tha the volume used/consumed, is the % which is recycled,and put back into the system for use by the public.

[martijn12345]

So Thailand get's a lot of rain, and is struggling to deal with it. If it then tries to utilize this water to grow food, in stead of simply letting it flow to the sea, it get's slapped on the fingers? I really do not see what the problem is. There might be some local problems in and around BKK where too much water is being pumped out from the ground. But I think it's really fair enough that Thailand uses the rainwater that falls here anyway. How will the world become a better place if Thailand produces less rice ? Weird article.

Edited April 4, 2014 by martijn12345

[zaZa9]

I realize that the article is about agro usage etc , but I have often wondered whether Thai water usage was especially high.

Thai ladies taking 6 long showers a day , street kitchens washing dishes in flooded buckets running water 24/7 , my neighbours running ( free ?) water across the gravel roads all day through the dry season.

Anyone ever stayed at the Nana Hotel and seen the pressure and volume of the showers there?

With all the new bores going in around here ( Phuket ) and all the new little tanker trucks rushing around , water restrictions/governers/conservation measures are inevitable.

Not much of the huge amount of monsoon rains that fall here are actually stored...

[chrisdom]

We are in a developing phase and predictions suggest that within 50 years nations will be fighting serious water wars. Now petro-chemical needs dictate international policies but increasingly, in the future, it will be water needs dictating these.

We already see inter-nation conflict when the construction of a dam to conserve water in one country, restricts the flow to bordering countries and thus conflict.

Effective de-salination is the only viable long-term solution and countries that lead in this field will become water independent and economically self-sufficient.

Thailand needs to see this as a top priority.

Management of existing resources is only a start and much more long-term planning is needed.

[trainman34014]

I blame all the Farang using water pistols at Songkran. After all; it can't be Thailand's fault can it !

[Misterwhisper]

I think Thais in general are big water wasters all year round, and regardless whether its during a drought or in the rainy season.

When my maid fills a bucket to wash the car port's floor tiles, she just walks away while the tap running. It eventually overflows and does so until she returns to go about her task.

Likewise in the bathroom. She turns on all the faucets and even the shower and keeps them running while she's scrubbing the floor - or having a chat with the neighbor. In the kitchen, she habitually turns on the tap in the sink to wash dishes, then walks away doing something else.

In short, whenever she turns on a tap she just keeps it running and running and running.

When I confront her and point out how much water she's wasting, her only reply is, "But water is so cheap". I've tried time and again to reason with her and explain that this is not the point. She just doesn't get it. She grew up in a culture where water never was an issue, where everyone traditionally used as much as they liked without needing to be concerned that there might be a shortage.

Yes, Thailand is one of the most water-rich in the world. But while where there was plenty of clean water available for everyone in the past, most locals just don't realize that the population has exploded in the last 50 years and that the agricultural and industrial sectors have expanded enormously also.

On another note: Despite the maid's water wasting, our household consumption still must be quite small. I once had the guy from the Metropolitan Water Works ring the bell. When I showed up, he looked surprised. He said he just wanted to check whether anyone was actually living in the house, because when reading the meter he had noticed that there was "very little water usage every month" and he thought this might be just "due to a leaky water main".

Edited April 4, 2014 by Misterwhisper

[skorchio]

Staggering number, 2131 cubic meters per person per year. A cubic meter is 1000L, that is a 1 x 1 x 1m cube of water. 2.1 million litres per year. I would have thought my own consumption to be less than a quarter of this but as the stat includes so much non-personal use, in the agri and industrial sectors, it seems impossible to improve this number by making changes at home.

[ginjag]

I think Thais in general are big water wasters all year round, and regardless whether its during a drought or in the rainy season.

When my maid fills a bucket to wash the car port's floor tiles, she just walks away while the tap running. It eventually overflows and does so until she returns to go about her task.

Likewise in the bathroom. She turns on all the faucets and even the shower and keeps them running while she's scrubbing the floor - or having a chat with the neighbor. In the kitchen, she habitually turns on the tap in the sink to wash dishes, then walks away doing something else.

In short, whenever she turns on a tap she just keeps it running and running and running.

When I confront her and point out how much water she's wasting, her only reply is, "But water is so cheap". I've tried time and again to reason with her and explain that this is not the point. She just doesn't get it. She grew up in a culture where water never was an issue, where everyone traditionally used as much as they liked without needing to be concerned that there might be a shortage.

Yes, Thailand is one of the most water-rich in the world. But while where there was plenty of clean water available for everyone in the past, most locals just don't realize that the population has exploded in the last 50 years and that the agricultural and industrial sectors have expanded enormously also.

On another note: Despite the maid's water wasting, our household consumption still must be quite small. I once had the guy from the Metropolitan Water Works ring the bell. When I showed up, he looked surprised. He said he just wanted to check whether anyone was actually living in the house, because when reading the meter he had noticed that there was "very little water usage every month" and he thought this might be just "due to a leaky water main".

Is the Thai lady in question more than your maid ??? because normally you would give her a week, if no change get another one.

She sounds more like your mother in law---confrontations with a MAID ???

I don't have a maid, as I wish to do all the cleaning myself, then I know that it is done well. I move fridges-chairs-tables to clean. Each to his own but sorry I would not stand head to head with a maid time and time again, She will only do what she wants and you pay her for that.

My reply is not personal as I don't know you, only your post made me frown. do not entertain her, if you pay you instruct to your way.

[bassman]

_{Thailand is a water rich country with most provinces receiving over a meter of rain annually and some provinces closer to two meters. This is not a water poor region and desalinization would be a great waste of money. What Thailand needs more of is water management to cut waste and infrastructure to get stored reserves to needed areas when necessary. There is no method in the country where agriculture water is metered and charged to the end user. This results in excessive waste where the closer you are to the irrigation canal the more water you take while those farther down the line get little or no water. Leveling of paddies, more diversification of crops in the dry season into soy beans, wheat and corn which are now imported would require far less water and give farmers a decent off season income. With a two year supply of rice in warehouses why is so much being grown in the dry season?}

[KimoMax]

Thailand will not learn to respect Conservation without Abusers having Huge Fines levied for Waisting Water Resources and Incentives for Conservation.

Just take a look at the upcoming Sonkran Festival. The Thai Authorites actually promote and encourage the all out water waisting madness for several days, if not weeks in some places.

And this Promotions of waisting water during a Drought time makes no sense.

Thai people don't care unless it hits them in the wallet

[ginjag]

I may well not be average, but my monthly bill is around 250 bht. I have an auto washer, large garden that I water every day, 2 shower rooms, cleaning and wash up as per normal.

My soapy clothes wash water I remove into buckets and use to wash exterior tiles widow sills etc. the rest is then used to swill down any concrete paths.

Just think how much water Thais could save if they put a cheap shower head in their outside shed/loo instead of ladling scoop after scoop over their heads.

Broken PVC pipes in villages with farm vehicles running over them, instead of burying the pipes to save breakage--laziness I think is the most important loss of water, and mai pen rai-attitude.

[Thai at Heart]

The higher water footprint or water consumption of a country will show its irresponsibility in utilizing the water resource a

Growing rice and Songkran will do this. Farmers will one day pay for water.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Thai at Heart

[sabaii69]

It is all the dam showers you have to take unless, of course, you're Indian or arab

[DavoTheGun]

I may well not be average, but my monthly bill is around 250 bht. I have an auto washer, large garden that I water every day, 2 shower rooms, cleaning and wash up as per normal.

My soapy clothes wash water I remove into buckets and use to wash exterior tiles widow sills etc. the rest is then used to swill down any concrete paths.

Just think how much water Thais could save if they put a cheap shower head in their outside shed/loo instead of ladling scoop after scoop over their heads.

Broken PVC pipes in villages with farm vehicles running over them, instead of burying the pipes to save breakage--laziness I think is the most important loss of water, and mai pen rai-attitude.

Do you know what the cost is per litre. I have been trying to find out, without success!

[stickylies]

my monthly H2O bill (single farang guy): 87 THB

my neighbour's H2O bill (single thai guy): 200+ THB

[ginjag]

my monthly H2O bill (single farang guy): 87 THB

my neighbour's H2O bill (single thai guy): 200+ THB

Just depends on your property, how you was your clothes, bath or showers---cleaning--garden-car motor bike, for 87 bht per month you will NOT be using on the things I just mentioned.

[bander]

Thailand the Asian hub of water using

[Mentors]

Thais should stop to put icecubes in a glass of red wine or beer.

Problem solved!

[tkramer]

"When I confront her and point out how much water she's wasting, her only reply is, "But water is so cheap"."

'Rice in the field and fish in the stream...'

Edited April 4, 2014 by tkramer

[bander]

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Thai should be costing out their use of water and start charging a tax for it. Tax revenue from water would help Thailand turn its fiscal shambles around. Thailand should also start taxing property. property tax would be opposed by the elite but it would provide needed tax revenue for infrastructure and public projects to benefit the ordinary Thai people.

You must be naive if you think any tax income will help Thailand's economy when in the end of the day it all end up in the corrupted government officials pockets

Edited April 4, 2014 by bander