Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 5 Chapter 5 Analysis and Discussion of the Findings From the fieldwork and from the carrying out of the interviews have come out some interesting points regarding different uses and different sources of water used in Samaesarn subdistrict. All the information collected in the questionnaires has not been analysed in this chapter since a lot of the questions have become useless after several changes in the aim of the project. After graphing some of the answers and analysing the results only the information considered relevant and useful for the goals of the project have been reported in this chapter trying to get some interesting conclusions that could help to improve the actual situation. People in Samaesarn subdistrict usually use more than one source of water. The different sources of water used in the community and reported in the interviews are: piped water, rainwater, water from private vendors, water from wells and bottled water. People use water from different sources to different uses according to their perception of its quality. In Figure 5.1 the different sources of water used in the interviewed households are represented. More detailed information about the different uses of these sources is reported in the sections below. % of interviewed households 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Piped Water Private Vendors Rainwater Water Sources Water from wells Bottled water Figure 5.1: Water Sources used in Samaesarn subdistrict (N=85 households). 5.1 Piped Water The total number of households with connection to piped water in Samaesarn subdistrict according to the registered connection data was 585 at the end of May 22. That means around 4% of the registered households in the area. The percentage of households with piped water obtained from the interviews is a little bit higher, around 56%. This fact, as it is explained in point number 4.1.3, could be due to the low number of interviews carried out, which maybe are not a very representative sample of the reality in terms of percentages.
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 51 Could be also due to a problem in the selection of the sample, which maybe is not enough random. From the interviews has come out also an interesting and possible explanation: the unregistered connections. There are households using piped water without having their own connection. Most of these households cannot pay the price of the connection fee so they connect to a nearby household s piped water connection. They pay to the neighbour for the water that they use, but not for the connection. The price that they pay per cubic meter use to be higher than the one fixed by the water company. This practice is also usual in the case of rented houses. The rented houses use to be next to the owner s house and connect to it to get piped water. The tenants pay to the owner for the water that they use. The most common reasons why around 6% of the population in Samaesarn subdistrict still has not connection to piped water are reported in Figure 5.2. % of interviewed households without connection to piped water 5 45 4 35 3 25 2 15 1 5 Connection fee is too expensive Waiting for connection Rented House Why people do not connect to the system? Others Figure 5.2: Reasons why people still not having connection to piped water (N=37 households). In Figure 5.2 it can be seen that the most frequent answer is that connection fee is too expensive. Around 5% of the interviewed households without connection to piped water do not connect to the system because they cannot pay for the connection. As it is explain in point number 3.3.6, the price of the connection fee corresponds to the price of the equipment (meter, pipes) necessary to build the connection and the installation of this equipment; in the case of those households located far away from the existing pipes the price of construction of the service pipelines to the household has to be added to the connection fee. It is also representative, around 32%, the percentage of interviewed people that having asked for a connection to Universal Utilities Co. Ltd. and willing to pay for the connection fee still have not piped water in their households. People complaint about the long time that they have to wait before getting the connection. From this it follows that the term to get a connection usually takes much more time than the 9 or 13 days established in the Universal Utilities Co. Ltd. schedule, explained in point 3.3.7. There are also some interviewed people who living in rented houses do not have connection to piped water because the owner of the houses does not want to
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 52 connect them to the system. In the category of Others there are people that cannot afford to pay the monthly water bill, or that they are using other sources of water in the household and do not consider necessary to change them. The high price of the connection fee can be considered the principal reason why so many people in Samaesarn subdistrict still not having connection to the piped water system. As the high price of the connection fee is the principal problem for people willing to connect to the piped water system, it is expected that those people that still have not piped water connection would be people with less means that those that already have it. In Figure 5.3 the monthly income of the interviewed households is represented according to if they have connection to piped water or not. % of interviewed households 6 5 4 3 2 1 Under 5 5-1 11-2 21-5 More than 5 Income (baht/month) Interview ed households w ith connection to piped w ater Interview ed households w ithout connection to piped w ater Figure 5.3: Income of the interviewed households (N=85 households). It can be seen in Figure 5.3 that most of the households with connection to piped water have a higher monthly income than the households without connection. This fact confirms that the high price of the connection fee represents a very important problem for those households with less means that cannot afford to pay for the connection. As it has been mentioned before, most of the households in Samaesarn subdistrict use water from more than one source. People use water from different sources to different uses according to their perception of its quality. Even households with connection to piped water use other sources of water like rainwater or bottled water. In Figure 5.4 sources and uses of water reported by interviewed households with connection to piped water are represented.
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 53 % of interviewed households with connection to piped water 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Drinking Cooking Other uses Water Uses Piped Water Rainwater Bottled Water Figure 5.4: Water Sources and Water Uses in interviewed households with connection to piped water (N=48). From this figure come out a very interesting point: people do not trust in the quality of piped water for drinking. Most of the people with connection to piped water use other sources of water to drink. Around 8% of the interviewed people drink bottled water and almost 25% drink rainwater. Only 2% of the interviewed households use piped water to drink. There are households that drink water from more than one source, usually rainwater and bottled water. It is very interesting that some people prefer to drink rainwater instead of piped water. Only a few people have reported to filter rainwater before drinking, whereas a higher number of people have reported to filter or to boil piped water before drinking. Also some people mix piped water and rainwater in the same tank as it can be seen in Figure 5.5. These facts give an idea about how people in Samaesarn perceive piped water quality. Figure 5.5: Rainwater and Piped water collection.
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 54 A higher percentage of interviewed people, around 48%, trust in piped water for cooking, but there is still being a high percentage of people that are still using other sources like rainwater and bottled water, because they do not trust in piped water quality. In Figure 5.6 complaints about piped water quality are reported. % of interviewed households with connection to piped water 6 5 4 3 2 1 Color Sediment Brackish Smell No Complaints Complaints about Piped Water Quality Figure 5.6: Complaints about Piped Water Quality (N=48 households). Figure 5.6 provides a better understanding why people do not drink piped water. Around 31% of the interviewed people complaint about colour, 5% about sediment and 56% about smell. All these complaints are a consequence of the high turbidity level present in tap water as it has been mentioned in point 3.3.3. The need to find another source of drinking water means for some households an important extra expense. Most of the people that buy bottled water to drink, buy 2-litres containers that cost 1 bahts. That means that they are paying,5 baht/litre while piped water only costs around,675 baht/litre. People are paying for bottled water almost 75 times the price that they would pay if they drank piped water. In Figure 5.7 the monthly expenses on piped and bottled water are represented.
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 55 % of interviewed households with connection to piped water that drink bottled water 5 45 4 35 3 25 2 15 1 5 1-1 11-2 21-3 31-4 41-5 More than 5 Expense (baht/month) Piped water monthly expenses Bottled water monthly expenses Figure 5.7: Monthly expenses on Piped and Bottled water (N=33 households). In Figure 5.7 it can be seen that almost 85% of the interviewed households with connection to piped water that use bottled water to drink, spend between 1 and 2 baht per month in bottled water. In most of the cases, this represents a considerable extra expense in comparison with the monthly expense on piped water. The low confidence in the standard of hygiene and safety of tap water is not only a problem in Samaesarn subdistrict, but also all around the country. PWA and the Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health have launched since November 1999 a project called Safe Drinking Tap Water to build up a confidence in the standard of hygiene and safety of tap water, and to encourage more people in some target areas to drink tap water. This will help people in saving their cost of living, and will also be one way of reducing the quantity of garbage from plastic bottles [1]. In the case of Samaesarn subdistrict Universal Utilities has not launched any kind of project to promote the use of tap water for drinking. Complaints about reliability and quality of the piped water supply service have been reported as well. In Figure 5.8 the most common complaints are reported.
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 56 8 % of interviewed households with connection to piped water 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Low pressure in dry season Moderate pressure Water stop last No Complaints week at least 1 day Complaints about Piped Water Supply Service Figure 5.8: Complaints about Piped Water Supply Service (N=48 households). People complaint about low and moderate water pressure, especially in the dry season (from March to June approximately), probably due to a logical increase of the water consumption in this season. Anyway the most important problem is the unreliability of the service. About 71% of the interviewed households with connection to piped water have reported that during the week before the interview was carried out the piped water supply stopped at least 1 day because of problems in the system, like broken pipelines. About 3% of the interviewed households have reported also that they collect tap water for an emergency use. This fact confirms also the unreliability of the piped water supply service. In Figure 5.9 a system to collect piped water is shown. Figure 5.9: Tap water collection.
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 57 Regarding the collection of piped water in tanks for emergency use a very interesting point has come out. There are people that fill the tank just opening a little bit the tap so the meter does not run. This could possibly explain part of the leakage in the distribution system that according to Universal Utilities Co. Ltd. is about 23%. Although different complaints about piped water quality and piped water supply service have been reported, 75% of the interviewed people consider that there is not need to improve the system. In Figure 5.1 the quality of the piped water supply service is qualified by the consumers. 7 % of interviewed households with connection to piped water 6 5 4 3 2 1 Excellent Good Moderate Bad Quality of Piped Water Service Figure 5.1: Quality of Piped Water Service (N=48 households). Around 6% of the interviewed people qualify the piped water supply service as a good service. People seem to be satisfied and content to the present situation, in spite of all the complaints reported. Most of the interviewed people, even those without connection to piped water, agree that piped water is the most convenient water supply system. This could be the reason why people seem to be satisfied with the present service; they consider that any other source of water would be less convenient than piped water, so in spite of all their complaints about the quality of the piped water service, people are still being satisfied. 5.2 Other Sources People in Samaesarn subdistrict that still have not connection to the piped water system use other sources of water like water from private water vendors or water from wells. In Figure 5.11 and Figure 5.12 the different water sources and water uses reported by the interviewed households without connection to piped water are represented.
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 58 9 % of interviewed households without connection to piped water 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Private Vendors Rainwater Own Well Public Well Bottled water Water Sources Figure 5.11: Water Sources (N=37 households). % of interviewed households without connection to piped water 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Drinking Cooking Other uses Water Uses Private Vendors Rainw ater Well Water Bottled Water Figure 5.12: Water Sources and Water Uses (N=37 households). From Figures 5.11 and 5.12 it can be observed that the most usual source of water for those people without connection to piped water is water from private vendors. From the figures it can be also observed that most of the people are still drinking bottled water, about 9% of the interviewed households. The percentage of interviewed people that drink rainwater is also quite high, around 3%. There are people that in addition to bottled water use other sources of drinking water especially rainwater. This could be due to the higher price of bottled water, so when there is rainwater available some people prefer to drink it instead of buying bottled water. In this case the attitude of the people drinking bottled water is more understandable than in the case of households with connection to piped water. People do not trust in the quality of water from private vendors or from wells, because nobody controls it. It is still being surprising the confidence that people have in rainwater for drinking. Around 8% of the interviewed people without connection to piped water use water from private vendors as a main source of water (Figure 5.11). Nowadays there are only 5 private vendors working in Samaesarn subdistrict.
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 59 As it is explained in point number 4.2.2 most of the private vendors get the water that they sell in a surface water pond 1 kilometres far away from Samaesarn subdistrict. Private vendors do not analyse the water from the pond to assure its quality. It is considered water for other uses, not for drinking, although around 2% of the interviewed households have reported to drink water from private vendors (Figure 5.12). Private vendors buy the water from the pond at 2 baht/6 m 3 (3,3 baht/m 3 ). The price that they sell the water to the consumers is around 22 23 baht/ 6 m 3 (36,7 38,3 baht/m 3 ), that means more than 1 times the price that private vendors are paying for the water. If the consumer buys less than 6 m 3 (capacity of 1 truck) the price per cubic meter increases. There is not competition between private vendors since everyone supplies different areas in Samaesarn subdistrict. Anyway the water price does not change significantly within private vendors. In Figure 5.13 the price of piped water and the average price of water from private vendors are compared. 4 35 Price per unit (baht/m3) 3 25 2 15 1 5-1 11-2 21-3 31-5 51-8 81-1 11-3 31-1 11-2 21-3 31-999999 Consumption (m3) Piped Water Private Vendor Water Figure 5.13: Piped Water Price vs. Private Vendor Water Price. As it is explained in chapter 3, the price of piped water increases as the consumption increases, nevertheless it remains always much lower than the price of water from private vendors, as it can be seen in Figure 5.13. This fact and the evident less quality of the water from private vendors prove the need to extend the piped water supply system to all the households, since people with less means are paying more for a poor-quality water. In addition to the high price of water from private vendors the monthly expenses on bottled water have to be also considered. In Figure 5.14 the monthly expenses on bottled water of households with connection to piped water and without connection to piped water are compared.
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 6 % of interviewed households that drink bottled water 2 18 16 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 1-1 11-2 21-3 31-4 41-5 More than 5 Monthly Expenses on Bottle Water (baht/month) Households with connection to piped water Households without connection to piped water Figure 5.14: Monthly Expenses on bottled water (N=65 households). It would be expected that those households with piped water supply had lower expenses in bottled water as they have a cheaper and more convenient alternative source of drinking water: tap water. In Figure 5.14 it can be seen that the actual situation is not as it was expected, interviewed households without connection to piped water have, in most of the cases, lower expenses in bottled water than those with connection to the system. As it has been explained before, this could be due to the higher price of bottled water. Households without connection to piped water are households with less means so when other sources of drinking water are available, like for instance rainwater, they prefer to use it instead of buying bottled water. This fact aggravates the situation and makes more urgent the need to expand the water supply distribution system and reach all the households in Samaesarn subdistrict. Regarding quality of water from private vendors different complaints have been reported and represented in Figure 5.15.
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 61 % of interviewed households using water from private vendors 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Color Sediment Brackish Smell No Complaints Complaints about Private Vendor Water Quality Figure 5.15: Complaints about Private Vendor Water Quality (N=3 households). Complaints about sediment and brackishness are the most common as it can be seen in Figure 5.15. As it has been mentioned in point 4.2.2 almost all the households in Samaesarn subdistrict have a system to collect rainwater, so it is also a very common source of water. Since it is not a very reliable source, rainwater is used as a complement to other sources. In the case of households without connection to piped water rainwater is used to complement water from private vendors and water from wells. People use rainwater for any use, even drinking, as it has been explained before. Around 3% of the interviewed households use also water from wells (Figure 5.11). Most of the households using well water have their own well. There are also some public wells constructed by Samaesarn Municipality in Nong Krajong area that can be also used. Different complaints about well water quality are reported in Figure 5.16:
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 62 % of interviewed households using well water 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Color Sediment Brackish Smell No Complaints Complaints about Well Water Quality Figure 5.16: Complaints about Well Water Quality (N= 11 households). From Figure 5.16 it follows that well water quality is not convenient for drinking uses, since a lot of complaints about brackishness, sediment and colour have been reported. Problems about well water shortage during the dry season (from March to June approximately) have been also reported. 5.3 Water Consumption Regarding water consumption, some interesting points have come out from the observation of the registered water consumption data obtained at Universal Utilities office in Amphoe Sattahip and reported in Annex V. In these consumption data the user number, the area in Samaesarn subdistrict where is located the user (1.Chong Samaesarn, 2.Nong Ngram Khem, 3.Hua Haem, 4.Nong Krajong), the category of user (1.Domestic, 2.State Enterprise, Government and Small Business, 3.Big Industries and Business) and the monthly water consumption (m 3 ) from March 21 to April 22 are reported. The users that obtained their connection to the system during the month of May 22 appear also in the water consumption data, but no water consumption have been registered from them. The total number of connections registered at the end of May 22 was 585. Regarding domestic water users, very irregular water consumptions can be observed; the consumption increases or decreases from one month to another in a very surprising way, in many cases the monthly water consumption registered by the meter is m 3, in other cases the registered water consumption per month exceed 1 m 3, and even 2 m 3. A characteristic household in Samaesarn subdistrict has 3 or 4 members; considering this fact, each member of a household with a monthly water consumption between 1 m 3 and 2 m 3 is spending between 97 and 194 litres/inhabitant/day. To get an idea of the magnitude of these consumptions, they can be compared to the values represented in Table 5.1. In Table 5.1
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 63 maximum water supplies (litres/inhabitant/day) according to the number of inhabitants supplied and the level of industrial and commercial activity in the community, following spanish regulations, are represented [2]. Industrial and Commercial Population supplied Activity (Municipality, Metropolitan area, ) High Medium Low Less than 1. 27 24 21 1. 5. 3 27 24 5. 25. 35 31 28 More than 25. 41 37 33 *These water supplies are referred to permanent population and losses in the piping, in the tanks and in the distribution system are included. They refer to amount of water supplied. Table 5.1: Maximum Water Supplies. Comparing the water consumption values (litres/inhabitant/day) registered in Samaesarn subdistrict and mentioned above (between 97 and 194 litres/inhabitant/day) to the values represented in Table 5.1 it can be observed that values in Table 5.1 are much lower even they include losses in the distribution system. These high consumptions registered in Samaesarn subdistrict could be due to the fact that there are people that sell piped water to the neighbours who do not have connection to the system; also there are households that connect to the neighbour s meter so the meter is not measuring only the water consumption of one household but maybe of two, three or even more households. This is also the case of the rented houses connected to the owner s meter. In this case the meter register the consumption of the owner s household as well as the consumption of each tenant. Regarding those meter readings that register monthly water consumptions of m 3 a possible explanation has come out from the interviews. Some of the interviewed people have reported to fill tanks with piped water just opening a little bit the tap so the meter do not run and do not measure the consumption. These irregular and sometimes surprising meter readings could be due also to a defect in the meter. Staff at Universal Utilities office in Amphoe Sattahip have reported that they do not take into account these irregular meter readings. They believe in the quality of the meters, which are regulated by PWA, and every month they register the readings from the meters without informing about possibly anomalies. To improve the operation and efficiency of the system is very important to check this kind of irregular consumptions because they could explain part of the water losses in the system, or maybe they could be caused by a leakage in the distribution system that should be repaired. Regarding the month of April, it can be observed that in many cases water consumption in that month is higher than water consumption in the rest of the year. This could be due to the celebration of Songkran Festival (Thai New
Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion of the Findings 64 Year) from 13 to 15 April. During the celebration of this festival people throw water over one another, under the guise of that it will bring good rains in the coming year and all the Buddha statues or images are washed. The high variation in the consumption as well as the irregular uses mentioned above make very difficult to estimate an average consumption (litres/inhabitant/day) in Samaesarn subdistrict or to get a reliable water consumption pattern along the year. 5.4 Water Supply Targets. As it is mentioned in point 3.2.1, PWA is applying a privatisation policy in the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand. Sattahip waterworks are included within the privatisation policy. The main target of this policy is to increase efficiency in the improvement and expansion of water supply systems, as PWA s budget is not enough to deal with all its responsibilities. It is also believed that private investment provides more reliable and higher quality service for water uses. In the case of Samaesarn subdistrict the privatisation of the waterworks management do not seem to represent a big benefit for people living in the community as Universal Utilities Co. Ltd., the private company that manage the water distribution system, do not invest in the expansion of the system. Universal Utilities has invested in the setting up of SCADA and GIS systems to improve the efficiency of the management and to reduce the amount of non-revenue water. These technological improvements in the system do not represent a direct and significant benefit for the users as a lot of complaints have been collected from the interviews. Moreover, the most important point regarding water supply, to provide safe and cheap piped water to each household in the community, is still not solved. This fact emphasises the difference between the water supply company target and the real need of the population. Another fact that makes difficult the completion of the water distribution system in Samaesarn subdistrict is the overlapping of responsibilities between different authorities like PWA, Universal Utilities and Samaesarn Municipality. As Universal Utilities is not investing in the expansion of the distribution system, PWA has the responsibility to finish it. Samaesarn Municipality could also invest, and in fact it is investing, in the expansion of the system. The lack of coordination and planning between responsible authorities in the expansion of the system gives rise to a not planned and not efficient system. This fact could explain complaints about low pressure collected during the interviews in Samaesarn subdistrict, as the system is growing without any kind of planning. From Universal Utilities Co. Ltd. policy, described in point 3.2.3, it can be observed that the targets and responsibilities that the company has to meet are many and very diverse. Although the company has not assume yet all the responsibilities described in its policy, it is planning and working to take them on in the future. The lack of means to carry out all this duties could be also a problem in the meeting of consumers needs, as the staff at Universal Utilities office in Amphoe Sattahip have reported that the most important problem in the management of Sattahip waterworks is the lack of qualified personnel.