Bangkok, The director of Chatuchak District has issued an order to urgently solve the problem of water in a condo in the Lat Phrao area, which is contaminated with parasites, causing hundreds of residents to suffer from pink eyes. If the order is not followed within the specified time, legal action will be taken.
Ms. Phatkarn Sinsuk, Director of Chatuchak District, revealed the results of the water inspection in a condo in the Lat Phrao area, which found parasites in the tap water, causing more than 200 condo residents to develop pink eye inflammation. The Chatuchak District Office has advised the juristic person to urgently resolve the problem within 7 days (4-10 July) before inspecting the results of the repairs today. Of the 3 suggestions submitted to the juristic person to urgently resolve, the first is to clean 4 water tanks, which the condo has already completed. The second is to inform condo residents to remove their faucets or shower heads to disinfect them with hot water. The third is to clean the e
ntire water pipe system. This issue has not been addressed, claiming that the time frame for the repairs is too short. Therefore, the District Office has issued an order to extend the urgent repairs for another 5 days, until 16 July 2024. In addition, the water tanks must be inspected after they have been cleaned for leaks, which could allow germs to enter. If action is not taken, legal action will be taken at Phaholyothin Police Station, which carries a penalty of up to 3 months imprisonment, a fine of up to 25,000 baht, or both.
Another part is that the condo must shock the water by adding chlorine into the tank in a concentrated amount or 50 ppm before releasing the chlorine and then adding new water and adding chlorine to meet the standard or not less than 0.2 ppm. This part must inform the residents to leave the water running for 1 hour to kill germs in the entire system. Also, when all recommendations are complete, the quality of the water after the correction must be sent to the lab of Chulalongkorn U
niversity Hospital to check whether the water passes the criteria and returns to the standard of good water for consumption or not, in order to create confidence for all condo residents.
While today, the juristic person still has to collect various evidence, including water quality inspections and water tanks that confirm that there is no damage, to the district office to verify the facts.
As for the issue of whether tap water can be used normally or not, the director of the Chatuchak District Office stated that after cleaning all 4 water tanks, the juristic person is now adding chlorine to the water to meet the standards every 2 hours. However, the water has not yet been sent for testing at the lab. At the same time, he has ordered the suspension of the use of water in the swimming pool and sauna room first because it is still unclear whether the cause of the eye infection that led to conjunctivitis was solely from water or not until the entire process has been resolved. He also proposed that the juristic
person clean the areas with common contact points by means of a big cleaning that will be carried out tomorrow.
In addition, the inspection operation also has the Health Department, the Sanitation and Environment Office of Bangkok, the Department of Disease Control and other agencies that have come to help inspect in parallel, both the chlorine value in the water before and after the repair, including the health of the residents to see if there are any additional outbreaks of infection, which has received quite good cooperation from the juristic person in taking action to solve this problem. It has also resulted in condominiums in the nearby area monitoring and inspecting the water quality as well. However, it is believed that most condominiums already have water quality maintenance standards, so there should not be many problems like this.
Source: Thai News Agency