CityNews – 25th February 2016, Jansark Limpiti, Director of the Chiang Mai Irrigation Department said that last night’s rain, while refreshing and good for moisture, may have a negative impact on the Ping River.
“Right now the Mae Kha Canal, which runs through 22 city communities, is filled with about 50,000 cubic metres of waste. We have not had enough water to flush it out in some weeks because it requires about five to six times the volume of clean water in order to clear out the waste water, and we simply don’t have 300,000 cubic metres of clean water to spare right now. So Mae Kha, which is managed by the municipality, will simply have to remain polluted until the rains come in a few months. However, with last night’s rain, there was just enough to flush out a some of the waste water which will go directly into the Ping River. Right now the Ping is tightly controlled and you will have to asked the Department of Fisheries what the status of the pollution is.”
According to the Pollution Control Department the average pH for the Ping River is at 5.8 but today it is 4.0. However, after calling the Department of Fisheries, we were told that no tests have been conducted today but they will report to us if there are any significant changes or damage to the Ping River ecosystem.