Bangkok flood: Polluted water a threat to Gulf sealife

Janjira Pongrai The Nation 15 Nov 11;

The large volume of polluted flood water being released into the Gulf of Thailand could greatly affect marine life, Thai academics warned yesterday.

At a marine scientists' seminar at Chulalongkorn University (CU), Asst Prof Pramot Sojisuporn from CU's Physical Oceanography Department, said some 10 billion cubic metres of polluted water would pour into the Gulf over a short period. This would cause the salinity to be dramatically lowered from the Gulf's normal level of 32 parts-per-thousand (ppt) to just 2 ppt.

The seawater at a 5km radius from the coast and 15km-deep would be like freshwater, affecting the mangrove bio-system and creatures exposed to such conditions for one to two months could be killed, he said.

"Normally, if freshwater pours into the sea and remains for only a week, it won't extensively affect the area and creatures. But this flood water would affect coastal incubation grounds for shells, as well as the chub, [and] mackerel in Phetchaburi and Samut Sakhon," he said.

This could affect the Gulf even more severely than the tsunami and the great flood in 1983.

Marine and Coastal Resources Department executive Micmin Jarujinda said his office was setting up 50 spots for water quality testing around the Gulf, which would monitor the salinity and dissolved oxygen levels over the next 10 days.

With the water expected to flow towards the Gulf's western coast the areas of most worry were Samut Songkhram's Don Hoi Lot, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Chumphon, he said. Bruda whales and Irrawaddy dolphins could be indirectly affected as their food, such as sea catfish and squid, would be reduced.

Thammsak Yeemin from Ramkhamhaeng, said an inspection at Chon Buri's Koh Khangkao and Koh Sichang showed the salinity level of the "upper sea" was down to 4ptt while the lower sea was at 23ptt. It also found 64-per cent coral bleaching.

The seminar, which will also propose measures to tackle the problem - was told that 40 crabs were seen dying on a 1km stretch of the Samut Songkhram coast, while the seawater had turned black-ish and smelly.

Meanwhile, the Pollution Control Department (PCD)'s Waste and Hazardous Substance Management Bureau director Rangsan Pinthong said the quality of water in Bangkok and Pathum Thani was substandard.

Test results on flood water -especially at people's homes - in Don Muang, Sai Mai and Lat Phrao districts showed a deteriorated water quality and the lower-than-standard level of dissolved oxygen. However, water on roads was a better quality because it flowed.

Water in Nakhon Sawan, Ayutthaya, Chai Nat and Lop Buri, though, was normal.

He also said there was no report of water contaminated with chemicals and a check of five industrial estates in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani's Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate found officials had good control of the flood situation.

Rangsan said the PCD would continue to assess the situation in Lat Krabang and Bang Chan industrial estates regularly. The department would also give advice for rehabilitation after the flood on water quality to related agencies.

Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department chief Wibul Sanguanpong urged people in flood-hit homes not to use chemicals during the flood and to securely cover containers with chemicals and put them away in case they leak into the water and cause harm or an allergic reaction by some people.

Wibul urged people to split electronic garbage such as batteries from dry trash and keep it away from water. He said people who spot chemical containers, wastewater pools or hazardous garbage underwater should alert officials so they can be disposed of properly.

Thai flood run-off threat to marine life
Damon Wake (AFP) Google News 15 Nov 11;

BANGKOK — As billions of cubic metres of water flow away from Thailand's devastating floods, experts and campaigners are warning that millions of sea creatures could be the next victims of the disaster.

Fish and shellfish farmers on the Gulf of Thailand coast have been warned by Thai authorities to protect their stocks as an estimated 10 billion cubic metres of water flow into the gulf, massively diluting the salt water.

Environmental campaigners are also warning that pollutants in the floodwaters from agriculture and industry could have a longer-term impact -- and may even enter the food chain.

Pramot Sojisuporn, Assistant Professor at the Department of Marine Science at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University said the huge volume of water pouring into the gulf over the next month will cause salt levels to drop significantly, affecting fish and other marine animals.

"The problem is the salinity in the upper Gulf of Thailand will be reduced as it receives the fresh water -- a lot of fresh water," he told AFP.

"The fresh water will not affect the fish (so badly) but it will affect organisms that stay in the mud, so for mussels, clams, they will die."

Pramot said the deluge of floodwaters could mean salt levels fall from the usual level of around 32 parts per thousand to around two parts per thousand, and in the inner gulf the water will be like fresh water.

"If the water is fresh for over two months they will die," he said.

Aquaculture -- farming fish, cockles, mussels, shrimps, oysters and clams -- is one of the mainstays of the economy on the gulf coast, and Pramot said the sector would be badly affected by the fall in salinity.

On Monday the Fisheries Department warned fish farmers in Samut Sakhorn province, south of Bangkok, and to the west of the capital, to harvest or move their animals and strengthen flood defences on ponds.

Ply Pirom, toxic campaigner for environmental activist group Greenpeace, said the run-off would likely kill millions of sea organisms, dealing a heavy blow to fish and shellfish farmers -- and it could affect the food chain.

"For the short term we might see some dead fish along the coast of Gulf of Thailand because of the salinity," he said.

"Some smaller organisms are more sensitive to the change of water quality and salinity, so these small organisms would die eventually and this is the food for the large fish."

Ply said that while the sea would naturally restore its salinity, there were concerns of more lasting problems from flood run-off contaminated with pollutants from agriculture and industry.

"The concern is that the run-off water picks up chemicals and goes into the Gulf of Thailand, which is a closed system," he said explaining that as a result, the pollution could enter the food chain.

"The problem is that the Gulf of Thailand is quite a closed system. There is no continuous flow. It's surrounded by land. The flow of water is very slow."

A team from Chulalongkorn University will begin testing in the gulf next week in an effort to predict how the fresh water will disperse and how far it will spread.

Pramot said the northeast monsoon would most likely spread the waters to the west of the gulf, some southern provinces and possibly the popular beach resort of Hua Hin.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will also set up around 50 points around the gulf to test water quality, and more in the estuary of the Chao Phraya, the main river that flows through Bangkok.

"We have to monitor a large volume, so we can work out how it will affect sea life, how long the effects will last and how long it will take to recover," a ministry official who asked not to be named said.

Until the research is completed it is difficult to predict how much of the gulf will be affected, or for how long, but one thing is clear -- come what may, the waters will reach the sea.