The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority ( Abrv: MWA; , ) is a Thai state enterprise under the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...

. Its mission is to produce, distribute, and sell treated water in Bangkok,

Nonthaburi Nonthaburi (, ) is the principal city of the district and province of the same name in Thailand. On 15 February 1936, Nonthaburi town municipality ('' thesaban mueang'') was established, which only covered Suan Yai subdistrict (''tambon''), j ...

, and

Samut Prakan Samut Prakan (, ) officially the City of Samut Prakan (, ) is the capital of Samut Prakan province in Thailand. It is located south from Bangkok. The city established in 1999. Transport Roads *Sukhumvit Road *Srinagarindra Road Railway * ...

, and engage in related businesses synergistic with waterworks. The MWA began operations on 16 August 1967 under the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority Act B.E. 2510 (1967) to serve potable water to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, Nonthaburi Province, and

Samut Prakan Province Samut Prakan province (, , , sometimes rendered Samutprakan or Samutprakarn) is one of the central Provinces of Thailand, provinces of Thailand, established on 9 May 1946 by the ''Act Establishing Changwat Samut Prakan, Changwat Nonthaburi, Cha ...

History

In the reign of

King Rama V Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...

, when Bangkok had a population of roughly 333,000, the king, returning from his first visit to Europe in 1897, ordered the establishment of a Sanitary Department to provide water to the Bangkok populace. Many still used water from rivers or canals, frequently the source of epidemics. The new department made a survey and dug up a distributary canal of the

Chao Phraya River The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Etymology Written evidence of the river being referred to by the ...

at Sam Lae Sub-district in

Pathum Thani Province Pathum Thani (, ) is one of the central provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise): Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Saraburi, Nakhon Nayok, Chachoengsao, Bangkok, and Nonthaburi. The province is north of ...

to the north of Bangkok. Water was drawn though this canal into Bangkok to supply cleaner water. In 1907, the king made a second visit to Europe. He found that most European countries produced clean, adequate water for their people. Returning to Thailand, he ordered the hiring of French experts to conduct a survey and make suggestions on water procurement for Bangkok. On 13 July 1909, the king decreed that the government would provide a modern water supply system for the people of Thailand. He ordered the Sanitary Department to dig and construct canals and install water pumps in order to deliver water to water treatment plants in the Sam Sen Sub-district. Pipes were installed underground to distribute water throughout the Bangkok area, at a cost of over four million

baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

and five years of construction. The king called the result "Bangkok Waterworks". The first water treatment plant was set up in 1914. Demand for water in Bangkok increased rapidly, from 10,000 to 13,000 metres³ per day, most of which was consumed at numerous public water spigots. People in the suburbs of Bangkok, with no water supply, carried pots to take water from them, especially in the summer, when the waterworks increased production to full capacity of 28,800 m³ per day, sufficient for the population at the time. The government's emphasis on improving water supplies in Bangkok led to the merging of the

municipality water supply,

's water supply, and

Thonburi __NOTOC__ Thonburi () is an area of modern Bangkok. During the era of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Kingdom of Ayutthaya, its location on the right (west) bank at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River had made it an important garrison town, which is ref ...

's water supply with those of Bangkok Waterworks. A new organization called the "Metropolitan Waterworks Authority", a public enterprise under the Interior Ministry, began operations on 16 August 1967.

Operations

The MWA draws raw water from two sources: the Chao Phraya River at Ban Krachaeng Sub-district,

Mueang Pathum Thani District Mueang Pathum Thani (, ) is the capital district ('' amphoe mueang'') of Pathum Thani province, central Thailand. History In the past, the district was called Bang Kadi District after the name of central tambon, as required by the Law of 1897. Th ...

, Pathum Thani Province and from the Mae Klong Dam in Tha Muang District,

Kanchanaburi Province Kanchanaburi (, ) is the largest of the western Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. The neighboring provinces are (clockwise, from the north) Tak province, Tak, Uthai Thani province, Uthai Thani, Suphan Buri province, Sup ...

. The water is treated with

lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...

alum An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , such that is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium ...

, and

polyelectrolyte Polyelectrolytes are polymers whose repeating units bear an electrolyte group. Polycations and polyanions are polyelectrolytes. These groups dissociate in aqueous solutions (water), making the polymers charged. Polyelectrolyte properties are t ...

at four water treatment plants—

Bang Khen Bang Khen (, ) is one of the List of districts of Bangkok, 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. It is bounded by other Bangkok districts (from north clockwise): Sai Mai district, Sai Mai, Khlong Sam Wa district, Khlong Sam Wa, Khan Na Ya ...

, Sam Sen,

, and Maha Sawat. MWA's treated water is distributed to its 2,375,490 customers in five regional service areas via 37,700 km of water pipes. The 2018 average tariff for residential customers was 9.99 baht per cubic metre. Total consumption in FY2018 was 1,401.4 million m³. At the end of September 2018, the MWA employed 5,365 persons.

Water tariffs

Charges for MWA water for residential users range from 8.50-14.45 baht per m³ depending on usage. These rates have evidently been unchanged since December 1999. MWA does not add waste water charges to water supply bills, despite clear evidence from international experience that this is best practice. Critics claim this exacerbates Thailand's water pollution problems for want of adequate funding.

Financials

MWA's

fiscal year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

(FY) runs from 1 October to 30 September. In FY2018 (1 October 2017 – 30 September 2018) MWA reported total assets of 75,100 million baht, revenues of 19,203 million baht, and a net profit of 7,519 million baht.

Issues

* Source water salinity: Thailand's frequent droughts cause the water level of the

, one of MWA's two raw water sources, to plunge. At high tide in the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...

salt water intrudes up the river, causing an increase in salinity. , salinity levels have been within acceptable limits, but MWA has advised vulnerable customers to monitor or restrict their intake of salt.

References

External links

Provincial Waterworks Authority
{{authority control State enterprises of Thailand Infrastructure in Thailand Water management authorities Water companies of Thailand 1967 establishments in Thailand