Projects

Samut Prakarn Wastewater Treatment Project Will Be Benchmark For Tackling Pollution In Thailand

News Release of Independent Review Panel, issued Bangkok, Thailand, 15 June 2001.

BANGKOK, THAILAND (15 June 2001) -- The design of the Samut Prakarn Wastewater Management Project is sound and will significantly reduce wastewater pollution in the upper Gulf of Thailand, according to the Report of the Independent Review Team commissioned to assess the project.

The report concludes that the centralized wastewater treatment approach taken by the project is the only viable option in addressing the pollution situation in the area. "Gross pollution from nutrients and heavy metals is already advanced and if the present trend continues, ecological collapse in the northern Gulf is inevitable," said Dr Kevin Boland, team leader of the Independent Review and author of the report.

In addressing this threat, Dr Boland said the US$750 million Samut Prakarn project has the potential to be a benchmark for the rest of Thailand and much of Southeast Asia in wastewater treatment and pollution reduction. Without it, the cost of effective enforcement of wastewater treatment by individual factories or through a large number of small wastewater treatment plants, would be prohibitive.

The project, aimed at cleaning up the most polluted province in the country, presents an opportunity to centralize wastewater treatment and for the Thai Government to institute effective regulation and enforcement, said Dr Boland.

While the project's design was sound, the report made several recommendations to further improve its design and operation. These include:

• Economic exclusion zone should be extended from 500 meters to 1,000 meters from the outfall to allow for a wider margin of safety
• Klong Dan community is highly polluted and should be connected to the project, thereby becoming a direct beneficiary
• Volume of mussel production and processing at Klong Dan is uncertain and further investigation needed for more accurate assessment
• Proposed sludge management plan should proceed with sludge safely managed to prevent environmental and health risks
• Ministry of Public Health should be more closely involved in the project, especially during monitoring of the projects operational phase
• Comprehensive study on the reuse of treated effluent should be undertaken to assess potential reuse of treated effluent and involve communities in the vicinity of the treatment plant
• A detailed monitoring system describing monitoring requirements for the treatment plant should be put in place and the heavy metals and
• Comprehensive operational, environmental and public health related report should be produced annually for at least the first five years of the operational life of project

The report, released today, follows a comprehensive 10-week review of the project including the draft Environmental Management Plan. The review was led by Dr Boland, an environmental and tropical water quality specialist. Other team members included Dr Pichai Songchaeng, marine ecologist and mussel specialist and Dr Scott Bamber, public health specialist.

The team made use of several sources including independent experts, academic sources, Ministry of Public Health officials, civil society, field visits to the Samut Prakarn area. A public workshop was held in early May where preliminary findings were presented to a wide range of stakeholders including members of the Klong Dan community, government agencies, academics and civil society.

The Independent Review was jointly commissioned in mid-March by the Asian Development Bank and the Government of Thailand. The Samut Prakarn Wastewater Management Project cost is estimated at US$750 million with funding from the Asian Development Bank (US$230 million), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (1,750 million Baht) and the balance from the Government of Thailand. The project is targeted for completion by December 2003.