Rapid Assessment for Resilient Recovery and ... - GFDRR

It is important to recognize the decentralized nature of water supply and sanitation service
provision. In cases where line ministries (MNRE) or authorities (PWA) are responsible for
systems in a large part of the country, it is important to strengthen capacities at the local
level and decentralize decision-making during emergencies.
Integrating Disaster Resilience into Water and Sanitation Programming
The water and sanitation sector in Thailand has already proven to be quite flood resilient,
mostly thanks to barriers built to protect the various water supply and sanitation systems,
especially the more sophisticated ones, like Bangkok’s Metropolitan Waterworks Authority
facilities. The number of floodwalls built in a very short period of time out of sandbags, mud
or concrete held well during these disastrous floods, protecting valuable assets. There
were few “accidents” in the Bangkok area and the disruption of service was not very
significant, despite the gravity of the situation. Rural systems (smaller wells, surface
systems) have probably been affected more and closer inspection is needed to review how
they can be better protected in the future.
Despite the high preparedness levels, disaster resilience in the water sector can still be
improved further. It is recommended that provincial and local governments as well as utilities
develop their individual Water Safety Plans. These WSPs should be in line with the
Strategic National Action Plan (SNAP) on Disaster Risk Reduction and contain an integral
part on improving disaster resilience. Based on these WSPs, all utilities (water and
wastewater) should then set up Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) or Business
Continuity Plans (BCP), to optimize response speed and effectiveness in emergencies.
Where such procedures already exist, they can be enhanced and strengthened with the
experience resulting from the current disaster. As part of this preparedness protocol, it is
important to protect electrical systems that are vulnerable to water, by perhaps
moving them permanently to higher floors or to an elevated platform. Also, organizing
drills, improving evacuation planning and offering periodic training are important.
WSPs also include guidance on how securing access to alternative water sources during
disasters can also boost resilience of systems. A lot of systems currently rely on one water
source only, either groundwater or surface water. Although this is obviously a more cost
effective way of producing water, larger utilities and systems should allocate budget to
securing access to an alternative source for times of disaster. In the case of Bangkok,
MWA is already considering extending the raw intake canal (Khlong Prapa) to collect water
from further upstream in the Chao Phraya River, in order to protect against salinity and
water pollution, which increases with smaller distance to Bangkok. Rural households that
rely on simpler technologies and wells could consider installing rainwater-harvesting
systems on rooftops, to secure clean water in both periods of floods and droughts.
The sanitation/wastewater sector also has a high potential for enhancing disaster
resilience. Wastewater is a large environmental problem in Thailand, with organic waste
being a big part of the total wastewater. Although significant investments have been made
for wastewater treatment across Bangkok and other large cities, and households are
required to have a wastewater treatment facility, the safe collection, treatment and
disposal is not always guaranteed. In many cases, wastewater is still discharged directly
into the environment. A higher awareness of the population regarding the public health
hazards connected to insufficient wastewater treatment is needed, connected to the
100 THAI FLOOD 2011 RAPID ASSESSMENT FOR RESILIENT RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION PLANNING