......Pattaya has long suffered from water supply problems and contamination which, although the authorities have done much to rectify, both problems still exist.
Recently, until the near-deluge conditions preceding Songkran, much of Thailand was suffering from a prolonged drought. These drought conditions are likely to reoccur more frequently in the future, especially with the impact of global warming and climate change.
Accordingly, it is very much in all our interests to adopt a considerably more greener approach to water use, here are some ways to do just that...
Watering the garden
On average, the amount of water used in gardens is a relatively small proportion of overall household water consumption. However, this usage tends to be in the dry season, when as much as 70 per cent of all water being used goes into gardens – from hose-pipes, sprinklers etc and, take heed, one should never use drinking-quality water on plants and lawns.
You can help reduce the amount of water used in your garden by:
l keeping water in the soil
l having plants that are drought resistant
l using rainwater and waste water.
Keeping water in the soil
Soil that contains a high proportion of organic matter will retain moisture better, so use an organic fertiliser such as cow, horse or water buffalo manure, or make your own compost.
Mulching, using a mass of leaves, bark, or compost spread around or over a plant for protection or to enrich the soil, reduces the rate of evaporation from the surface, encourages good root growth and will help prevent weeds absorbing too much water.
You can use bark or gravel (at least 5cm/2in thick), or cardboard, or use plastic mulching sheets.
Heavy soils that are capable of holding more water can be watered more heavily and infrequently, but if water penetrates more than 60cm
(2ft) into any type of soil, it will be wasted. If the soil at a spade’s depth is moist, then there’s no need to water, but clay soils will tend to feel wetter than they are and sandy soils will feel dryer.
Watering tips
l don’t water too sparingly, this encourages shallow rooting and water evaporation;
l use a watering-can to focus the water around the base of the stems, underneath the leaves;
l avoid hoses, they are extremely water intensive and may even damage soil structure;
l use a drip or trickle system to distribute fine droplets and economise automatic system.
l don’t use rain or grey water in a sprinkler spray, the airborne water droplets could pose a health risk if breathed
in.
l place thirstier plants close to the water butt;
l prioritise young plants and seedlings that would quickly die if neglected;
l water in the morning or evening to give the plants a chance to soak up the moisture in cooler conditions;
l edible leaves need to be kept watered, but established trees and shrubs are practically drought-proof;
l hanging baskets should have built-in reservoirs and shouldn’t be allowed to completely dry out, larger containers are superior to smaller ones;
l spike your lawn to reduce run-off by mitigating soil compaction and improving drainage;
l longer grass is less likely to scorch, and reduces water loss from the ground.
Harvesting rainwater
Collecting rainwater can save both energy and money. The simplest method is to use one or even two covered water butts connected to the down-pipe from the roof. A diverter pipe channels rainwater from your roof and will prevent overflowing.
Recycle
Think proactively by economising on water usage. For example, by putting a full, sealed one litre drinks bottle in an older toilet cistern, you can reduce the amount used to flush by one litre each time, or buy a retrofit device, replacing the existing flush handle and enabling the option of a full or half flush.
Flushing toilets with rainwater
A rainwater harvesting system to provide toilet flushing for a 3/4 bedroom house is relatively expensive, although a simpler gravity-fed system is cheaper and makes economical sense on a meter. These are most effective when integrated into new buildings. Collecting and treating rainwater is the best option if you’re not on mains water. Here is the calculation:
Roof area (in square metres) x Annual rainfall (in mm) x System efficiency x Run-off coefficient of roof (a pitched, tiled roof is 0.75) = Annual collection in litres (divide by 1000 to get a figure for cubic metres).
A tank would normally be sized to store about five per cent of this total. The water should enter the storage tank near the bottom, but not right at the bottom, as this will disturb the bio-film which collects there. The outlet should be midway up the tank so as not to collect pollen etc from the top. You also need to check that your roof is clean and not made of toxic metals, like asbestos, which is all too common in Thailand!
Treating rainwater to a high standard, suitable for bathing or even for drinking, is very expensive, and the impact of all the equipment that you would need will outweigh any environmental benefits of reducing mains water use. Small-scale water treatment systems use lots of energy in manufacture and use, and the filters need to be regularly replaced – so creating waste.
Using grey water
Grey water is the water from sinks, baths, the washing machine etc, but reusing it for any purpose other than garden watering is inadvisable. It can’t be stored for any length of time as pathogens will build up, very quickly starting to smell, thus requiring fairly heavy duty treatment. Research into the environmental impact of systems that treat grey water for domestic reuse have shown that the environmental impact of such systems (using chemicals and/or energy) usually far outweighs the benefits.
As always, it’s best to first reduce the amount of grey water you produce, by:
l using a shower rather than a bath,
l taking fewer showers and sharing them
l fitting spray-head taps and a low-flow shower heads
l using a water meter
l using washing machines less frequently.
Reusing waste water
Simple diversion kits allow shower and bath water to be channelled from the down-pipe into the garden. If you want to use water from the washing machine, use low-sodium detergents without phosphate, as sodium degrades soil and phosphate can cause algal problems in any ponds or watercourses it may enter.
Kitchen water is generally too dirty for reuse. If free from grease and too much food residue, cold dishwater can be used for watering larger and more established plants, but not for any edible plants. Pollutants such as salt, chemicals, oil and grease in grey water can be damaging if used for garden irrigation. However, reducing the levels of these substances is fairly easy, by:
l frying less
l reading the ingredient labels of detergents and washing powders, and buying only green products and avoiding chemicals
l using less detergents when washing up
l washing up less frequently
Water from the bath or shower is generally the easiest to re-use, as shampoos, soaps etc are fairly mild and well diluted. Liquid detergents usually contain less salt than powders. If you are building a new home in an isolated area with no mains water or drainage and your main water source is insufficient for anything other than drinking, cooking and washing, it’s worth considering recycling for some of your non-potable water uses.
Using water filters
Those of you on mains water have few real pollution problems, though because Pattaya water is very hard and high in calcium, causing kidney stones, it’s advisable to buy a mechanical drinking water filter and have it fitted professionally, or do it yourself. These cost in the range of Bt5-15,000. For those of you who live in more remote areas, off the main water supply, a well is often the only answer.
However, Thailand suffers from several forms of water pollution, which frequently show up in well water namely:
l iron contamination – brown-red discolouration
l heavy metals like manganese and zinc - cloudy, foul tasting water
l hydrogen sulphide – yellow discolouration and strong sewage-like smell
These pollutants often manifest as brown slime and sediment, which coat crockery and clothes after washing and form films on the skin after showers.
Bacteria is frequently present, often detectable in the foul smells resembling fuel oil, cucumber or sewage, especially in the morning, after extensive water use and in hot weather.
For something in the range of Bt50-60,000, a totally efficient and, in the long-term, effective water filtration system can be fitted to a well, which will filter out the majority of these contaminants.
Whichever of these methods of green water use you decide on, remember water is one of the most essential ingredients of life and must be conserved and treated with the utmost respect, sooner rather than later and it is most definitely an individual’s responsibility rather than that of some inchoate agency. Ω
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