Processes to Prevent Polluted Water Entering the Water System and Environment at WU
Walailak University has been adopting technologies and new practices to prevent polluted water on campus from entering the water system and environment surrounding the campus. Here are the WU’s processes to efficiently prevent polluted water from entering the water system and environment:
1.The Monkey Cheek Project
The project is a flood control measure based on the vision of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. It also conserves water resources during droughts. In 2022, WU expanded the area of the project by constructing a new reservoir called “Chala Nusorn”. The reservoir aims to be the new water resource for tap water production. The water quality in the reservoir has not been contaminated with any chemical substances and has been evaluated monthly. However, WU always realizes the significance of preventing the water inside the reservoir from entering the water system around campus.
2.Dam Construction for Flood Control
The dams at WU are constructed for the purpose of water storage and flood control to prevent the water inside the dams from entering the outside water system surrounding the campus. More importantly, in 2022, WU constructed two more floodgates at the irrigation outlet located near the Kiab Canal. Every month, WU checks all floodgates to ensure they work properly with the best efficiency.
3. The Pump Station for Drainage
The pumps are constructed for flood control and water transit to other empty ponds as temporary clarifiers so that the water on campus cannot enter the outside water system. In 2022, WU constructed a pump station at the Eastern Kiab Canal, equipped with two engine water pumps with a capacity of 1.0 cubic meters per second. In addition, two electric water pumps and engine water pumps are equipped in the educational zone and surrounding areas of the reservoirs.
4.Mobile Application (Bot CDT) for Monitoring and Reporting Water Situations
One of the predominant facilities of WU for preventing polluted water from entering the water system is the mobile application titled “Bot CDT”. The application serves as a tool for water management in various aspects, including reporting water levels, monitoring situations, reporting current data, warning flooding, early warning accidents, and others, which can reduce damage caused by flooding and accidents. Currently, the areas that are monitored by the application are the tap water production plant and water level monitoring stations at WU Park and the Center for Smart Farm.
5.Practices and Initiatives for Improving Drainage Systems
Walailak University has practices and projects for improving the drainage system on campus, including weed dredging and using rocks for drainage ditches to prevent landslides and erosion. The drainage system has been checked monthly for water transit to prevent polluted water from entering the water system outside the campus.
6. The Maintenance of Tap Water Systems
The maintenance ensures that the quality of tap water at WU is standardized with procedures, including improving raw water pipelines and filter systems, monitoring the water level of the sand filter system, and maintaining other equipment. Every piece of equipment will be checked once per month.
7. Water Quality Assessment for Consumption
The water on the WU campus is always assessed to ensure that it is not contaminated by bacteria and chemical substances. The assessment is concerned with the prevention of polluted water from entering the water system. This suggests that if the water inside the campus is accidentally released into the water system, it can be ensured that at least WU has already purified the water.
8. Wastewater Treatment
The wastewater treatment at WU has been conducted since 2001 for consumption on campus, which is consistent with national standards and the Department of Pollution Control, Thailand. Every step of wastewater treatment will not affect the local water system and is engaged with local stakeholders to acknowledge the existence of the wastewater treatment at WU.
9. The Utilization of Treated Wastewater
In order to frankly demonstrate that the treated wastewater at WU is purified, WU uses the treated water for various purposes, including watering plants, cleaning roads and vehicles on campus, farming Nile tilapia, and reducing the temperature of the waste incinerators. At present, the plants that have been watered by the treated wastewater at WU are still alive suggesting that the treated wastewater is practical and purified. This ensures that the treated wastewater will not harm the outside water system.
In addition, the tap water at WU is of high quality, and the WU uses chlorine disinfection. It is distributed across the university for consumption. The tap water production has been improved and checked monthly. The implementation for checking and improving, such as quality assessment of filtering tanks, evaluation of pH values, checking water pumps, water pumping systems, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and others. This also ensures that the water on campus is purified if it is accidentally released into the water system.
