Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [33]
All of the city’s canals, as well as the lower reaches of Mae Nam Chao Phraya itself, are considered highly polluted, although plenty of Bangkok residents make daily use of these waterways for bathing, laundry, recreation and even drinking water (after treating it, of course). The worst water quality is found in the black-water canals on the Bangkok side of the river. On average, bacterial contamination of the city’s waterways exceeds permissible limits by 75 to 400 times, and contact exposes you to the life-threatening infections that torment the lives of river residents.
The city has undertaken efforts to clean up the canals over the last couple of decades, but with one million cubic metres of liquid waste pouring into the waters each day, there is limited hope for measurable success. It is estimated that 98% of the region’s households dump sewage directly into the rivers and canals and this isn’t likely to change anytime soon. Efforts to ‘clean’ the canals includes planting water hyacinths and pumping polluted waters out of canals and pouring it into the river where it flows away into the ocean (out of sight, out of mind).
Roughly 50% of Bangkok’s water supply is drawn directly from groundwater siphoned out of significantly depleted aquifers, leaving this water-laden city facing an impending water shortage. Since 1950 the government has constructed about 3000 dams in the Chao Phraya Basin, diverting water for flood control and irrigation, but leaving the lower reaches of the river increasingly contaminated by saltwater that surges upstream as fresh water flows diminish. On a more positive note, Bangkok’s notoriously toxic air quality has improved dramatically over the past 15 years. With blue skies now the norm, Bangkok has emerged as a role model for other pollution-choked cities in Asia, and placed it on par with air quality found in North America. This is particularly impressive given that traffic has increased 40% in the past decade.
This isn’t to say that the city doesn’t suffer air quality issues found in other major cities. In 1999, Bangkok introduced the Skytrain, an elevated light-rail system that runs above the city’s vehicle-clogged avenues. This public transit system provides welcome relief from the interminable traffic jams and takes cars off the road, but ironically air pollution gets trapped under the train’s elevated concrete platforms and creates some of the worst air quality problems in the city.
Bangkok is constructing five new or extended light-rail lines, in a spoke-and-wheel configuration around the city, to persuade more Bangkokians to leave their cars and motorcycles at home. Also in the works are plans for a network of dedicated bus lanes on highways as a way of encouraging more people to use public transport. On a more practical level, every motorcycle sold in Thailand is now required to have a clean-burning four-stroke engine. This is a complete reversal from 10 years ago when all motorcycles were polluting two-stroke models. Air quality in Bangkok is expected to continue improving as old motorcycles and derelict buses are decommissioned and replaced with newer models that adhere to strict European emission standards.
In addition to several large city parks filled with trees and other vegetation, Bangkok relies on immense green areas to the west of the city as a means of detoxifying the air. One of the greatest threats to the environment is continued development, not only in the city centre, but also in outlying areas and neighbouring provinces. Realising the importance of maintaining green ‘lungs’ for the city, the Thai government attempts to maintain strict control on development in these areas. It has had less success controlling development in the inner city, and almost no success controlling vehicle circulation, one of the most obvious problem areas.
The public rubbish collection system in Bangkok works fairly smoothly, with the city managing to dispose of around 90% of all solid waste produced, an average of 9000 tonnes per day. The piles of street rubbish commonly