Tap water supply in Mae Sai has been 80% restored, Sai River arsenic level remains high

The Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) in Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai has restored the tap water supply to 80%, but the arsenic level in the Sai River, which is the source of raw water, was found to be 28 times the safety standard.

Chiang Rai governor Chucheep Pongchai, the Mae Sai district chief officer and officials of the Chiang Mai-based Environment and Pollution Control Office went to the Hua Fai community in Mae Sai district yesterday to follow up the water situation in the Sai River.

He said that, even though tap water supply is almost fully restored, he has urged authorities concerned to accelerate testing of water quality and to gather information about the sources and activities inside Myanmar that contribute to contamination of the river.

The governor talked about the provincial administration’s tap water development plan, to develop water sources in Chiang Saen district for tap water production to supply Mae Sai district. Moreover, the Department of Underground Water Resources plans to develop an underground water system and storage tanks to act as a reserve source, in parallel with the development of water sources in Chiang Saen district.

Piyanuch Suangkham, director of the Water, Air and Noise Quality Office, said they have tested more water samples from the Sai River and found that the arsenic level is 0.25ml, which exceeds the 0.01ml safety standard, but she attributed this to rain upstream in the past few days, which has washed heavy metals into the river.

She disclosed that the Pollution Control Department has been testing the water since August and that every time samples from the Sai River were tested, the arsenic level was higher than standard.

Komsan Sammana, manager of PWA office, Mae Sai branch, said that he is concerned about the safety of the tap water and would like consumers to be aware of the risk.

This month, the level of turbidity in the river was measured at 10,000 NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Units) and 14,000 NTU, said Komsan, adding that the turbidity will reduce after a while and water from the river can be drawn to make tap water.

In the dry season, the turbidity levels in the Sai River typically range from 800-1,200 NTU, but the PWA’s filtration system can handle up 6,000 NTU.