GIS is any system that captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data that are linked to location(s). In the simplest terms, GIS is the merging of cartography, statistical analysis, and database technology. GIS may be used in archaeology, geography, cartography, remote sensing, land surveying, public utility management, natural resource management, precision agriculture, photogrammetry, urban planning, emergency management, landscape architecture, navigation, aerial video, and localized search engines.
Now a day we also could see the level of underground water by using the GIS. For more information, please visit website of Department of Groundwater Resources http://www.dgr.go.th/
We have been talking about controlling the use of underground water in Bangkok and how to sustain the water level on in problem definition. There are available technologies to measure and monitor the underground water level in Bangkok. The system was created by department of groundwater resources. The system also allows us to check how many well in particular area and where are they. The 3D map and database of underground water usage is available on http://map3d.dgr.go.th/.
In contrast, there is no water replenishment technology in Thailand. Thailand is still relying on natural replenishment method. This could be the opportunity for entrepreneur to solve this problem. According to the research, there is similar problem on over use of underground water in San Francisco, USA
Desalination/Distillation is one of mankind's earliest forms of water treatment, and it is still a popular treatment solution throughout the world today. In ancient times, many civilizations used this process on their ships to convert sea water into drinking water. Today, desalination plants are used to convert sea water to drinking water on ships and in many arid regions of the world, and to treat water in other areas that is fouled by natural and unnatural contaminants. Distillation is perhaps the one water treatment technology that most completely reduces the widest range of drinking water contaminants.In nature, this basic process is responsible for the hydrologic cycle. The sun causes water to evaporate from surface sources such as lakes, oceans, and streams. The water vapor eventually comes in contact with cooler air, where it re-condenses to form dew or rain. This process can be imitated artificially, and more rapidly than in nature, using alternative sources of heating and cooling.
Brackish Water Desalination
Brackish water, containing minerals and salts typically less than 5,000 ppm total dissolved solids (TDS), can be economically treated with today's reverse osmosis (RO) and electrodialysis reversal (EDR) systems. Effective mineral and salt removal converts previously unusable waters to high-purity resources for drinking, irrigation or industrial process uses. The traditional process used in these operations is vacuum distillation—essentially the boiling of water at less than atmospheric pressure and thus a much lower temperature than normal. This is because the boiling of a liquid occurs when the vapor pressure equals the ambient pressure and vapor pressure increases with temperature. Thus, because of the reduced temperature, energy is saved. A leading distillation method is multi-stage flash distillation accounting for 85% of production worldwide in 2004
This is the Natural Capital model for our groundwater project. By following this system loop the firm should obtain an imitated ecosystem services that allows the groundwater to be replenished after its extraction. The reason the firm should follow the model is to increase the sustainability of groundwater usage.
Definition of Natural Capital
"Natural capital refers to the natural resources and ecosystem services that make possible all economic activity, indeed all life. These services are of immense economic value; some are literally priceless, since they have no known substitutes. Yet current business practices typically fail to take into account the value of these assets-which is rising with their scarcity.
The first of natural capitalism's four interlinked principles, therefore, is radically increased resource productivity. Implementing just this first principle can significantly improve a firm's bottom line, and can also help finance the other three. They are: redesigning industry on biological models with closed loops and zero waste; shifting from the sale of goods (for example, light bulbs) to the provision of services (illumination); and reinvesting in the natural capital that is the basis of future prosperity.
Natural Capitalism shows how these four changes will enable businesses to act as if natural capital were being properly valued, without waiting for consensus on what that value should be."
Bangkok government issued an underground water usage act in 1977. The act was mean to control the activities that relate to underground extracting and releasing. The government has realized this problem could become more serious and lead to land subsidizes which would result in flooding and infrastructure damages. One of the most effective ways to control the use of water is by charge the money to user.
The government has started to install the water meter and collect fee from the use of underground water since 1985-2000
Exhibit 1 Price of underground water per cubic meter
Form the graph, the subsidize rate and price of underground water is divert related. When the price go up the subsidize rate go down significantly.
Beside from let industry pay for water usage, the government also enforces the law on underground water related businesses. The person who wants to use underground water will need to get approval from local government and department of ground water resources.
Key focus on Legal enforcement over underground water usage (www.dgr.go.th)
1.Department of ground water resources would allow to extract water at maximum 1.25 millions cu.m cover 7 provinces; Bangkok, Samutprakarn, Patumthani, Nonthaburi, Samutsakorn, Ayudtaya and Nakornpathom.
2. In case drilling the ground more than 400 meter, the person must follow Natural Packed Well standard where the pipe must follow ASTM A-120 Standard Pipe or API 5L standard weight line pipe.
3. There will be fine and penalty applied, in case there is an unreported use of ground water.
The detail of law on make use of underground water can be found in www.drg.go.th and act of underground water issue 1977.
The policy has proved to be successful. However in reality the land subsidize rate is still high and would lead Bangkok to stay 1 meter under sea level in 2017. There is also a doubtful on how strong government enforces the law on underground water usage which also an opportunity for us to do something.
Environmental analysis
Bangkok was declared as crisis area for overuse of underground water since 1983 where land subsidizes rate is more than 10 cm. /year. The over use of underground water can create a big impact on agricultural sector and lead to flooding in several areas of Bangkok. As the ground level become lower than the sea level when rain season come the water would unable to release in time.
According to geography of Bangkok, the city is located nearby the sea therefore the overuse of underground water would lead to sea water intrusion. The sea water intrusion could create huge lost to entire agricultural area nearby and also eco-system of Bangkok. The source of water would also be contaminated and unable to use for a long time.
Now there are several parties involved in analyze the use of underground water. There is underground water mapping which created by Department of groundwater resource, Asia Institution of Technology and Military map department under the supervision of office of National environment board.
PESTLE stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environment. PESTEL analysis is a tool that can aid organization making STRATEGIES understand the EXTERNAL environment in which they operate now and will operate in the future.
Political The ministry of natural resources and environment has set the committee to issue the resolved plan of the over-usage of underground water which is to decrease usage of underground water even stop using it. The Department of Groundwater Resources(DPR) under the ministry of natural resources and environment have complied with the underground water usage control plan, in the short-run by canceling the use of underground water in the area in which can access to the tap water, and also raised the price of underground water . In the long-run, by launching a campaign for Thai people to use tap water instead of underground water.
Economic The more products produced, the more water used. Thailand’s economic grows and expands. This can cause increasing in the usage of underground water. From the DPR’s statistic, the majority of using underground water is industrial sector. The over-usage of underground water can cause land subsidence leading to building and road collapse. This can lead the huge loss for the economy.
Social
Due to increased demand of water and limited water supply through sources like tap, people keep extracting more of underground water.There is a general behavior that water is the necessity of humans and it is for free. As a result, people owning the plots in Bangkok feels its their right to extract water from their premises. So does the industries.As the civilians and industries have high social influence, it is hard for the authorities to restrict them without supportive law.
Technological
We have been talking about controlling the use of underground water in Bangkok and how to sustain the water level on in problem definition. There are available technologies to measure and monitor the underground water level in Bangkok. The system was created by department of groundwater resources. The system also allows us to check how many well in particular area and where are they.
Legal
Bangkok government issued an underground water usage act in 1977. The act was mean to control the activities that relate to underground extracting and releasing. The government has realized this problem could become more serious and lead to land subsidizes which would result in flooding and infrastructure damages
Environment Bangkok was declared as crisis area for overuse of underground water since 1983 where land subsidizes rate is more than 10 cm. /year. The over use of underground water can create a big impact on agricultural sector and lead to flooding in several areas of Bangkok. As the ground level become lower than the sea level when rain season come the water would unable to release in time.
Please note that images are drawn for an easier understanding and the actual ground layers are a lot more complex than this simplified drawing.
Firstly, a city or an industrial estate is built above a source of aquifer.
When demand for water increases, groundwater becomes an easy source of water to extract. Water extractors are usually built above the aquifer to extract water for household and industrial usage.
When the rate of extraction surpasses the rate of groundwater natural replenishment, water level decreases. Since level of water is lower than the previous level, original supporting pressure to the above layers of earth is also reduced.
Finally when the Aquifer layer can no longer support the weight of layers above it, ground subsides. The buildings above collapse as the ground subside, causing damages to properties.
After the subsidence of land, the subsided area also becomes a pan-like shape and traps water as rain falls. This unintentional water welling can be a potential health problem as mosquitoes and other insects breed in the ponds.
Another issue with groundwater extraction is Salt Water Intrusion.
Originally, aquifer filled with groundwater provides pressure to push the salt water away from intruding into land.
As groundwater is being extracted for use, Salt Water from sea is able to infiltrate the land and contaminate the water source and soil. Problem with salt water intrusion may include water contamination, soil degradation and erosion.
Groundwater is water that comes from the ground. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Amazingly, many people use groundwater but don't even know it. Groundwater is even used to irrigate crops which grow food for tonight's dinner.
Where does groundwater come from? Groundwater comes from rain, snow, sleet, and hail that soaks into the ground. The water moves down into the ground because of gravity, passing between particles of soil, sand, gravel, or rock until it reaches a depth where the ground is filled, or saturated, with water. The area that is filled with water is called the saturated zone and the top of this zone is called the water table. Makes sense, doesn't it? The top of the water is a table! The water table may be very near the ground's surface or it may be hundreds of feet below.
Think about this: have you ever dug a hole in sand next to an ocean or lake? What happens? As you're digging, you eventually reach water, right? That water is groundwater. The water in lakes, rivers, or oceans is called surface water...it's on the surface. Groundwater and surface water sometimes trade places. Groundwater can move through the ground and into a lake or stream. Water in a lake can soak down into the ground and become groundwater.
Groundwater is stored in the ground in materials like gravel or sand. It's kind of like the earth is a big sponge holding all that water. Water can also move through rock formations like sandstone or through cracks in rocks.
An area that holds a lot of water, which can be pumped up with a well, is called an aquifer. Wells pump groundwater from the aquifer and then pipes deliver the water to cities, houses in the country, or to crops.
The above diagram is the input, output, waste and recycling model. This shows the material and energy input humans have to make to extract groundwater. Then output from those input are water for household and industries. Following output there are also waste such as contaminated water. Finally the recycling block is how waste can be re-input as material and energy.
Credit : IGRAC Groundwater, the Hidden Source of life
Most groundwater is clean, but groundwater can become polluted, or contaminated. It can become polluted from leaky underground tanks that store gasoline, leaky landfills, or when people apply too much fertilizer or pesticides on their fields or lawns. When pollutants leak, spill, or are carelessly dumped on the ground they can move through the soil.
Because it is deep in the ground, groundwater pollution is generally difficult and expensive to clean up. Sometimes people have to find new places to dig a well because their own became contaminated.
An underground water system is a complex system. It can be disastrous, if we start manipulating a system without understanding it in totality.
Like every other system, underground water is sustainable if it is used in a certain way and for certain yield. Underground water is stored in aquifers. Water from surface percolates and naturally replenishes it. Extracting underground water without replenishing it can lead to a point when this entire system will break down. And what everyone must understand is that some of these changes are irreversible.
The problem with groundwater usage is that it is a reinforcing system loop. That means as extraction goes on, more and more extraction will follow. We can see from the diagram above that groundwater extraction will lead to expansion of factories and cities. Then the growth of economy will follow resulting in bigger factories and cities. Finally the increasing population and production will require more groundwater extraction and hence reinforcing the system.
It is such an irony that many parts of the world are hit by flood and drought in the same year. But if we study the underground water system, we will notice the fact that these are inter-related. Everyone knows that flood is the opposite of drought, but what we fail to reason is that if we can put aside a part of flood water, it will lead to less flooding and if we can use this water in dry seasons, there will be no drought.
So what we basically need is to manage the water given to us in a better and sustainable way, rather than just thinking for short term gains.
The problem area we are focusing to start with is in Bangkok in Thailand.
The underground water source under Bangkok is one of the largest reservoirs of underground water in Thailand. A survey from BGCR (Bureau of Groundwater Conservation and Restoration, www.dgr.go.th) also stated that quality of groundwater under Bangkok is at an acceptable level for household and industrial usage.
Following the growth of the economy, massive expansion of factories around Bangkok area brought about massive demand for water. Without an efficient city layout, it became impossible to supply an adequate amount of water required by several industries. Huge extraction of underground water then followed.
Increasing extraction of underground water affects balance of nature directly and indirectly causing soil to subside. When the soil level goes down, the rain water gets accumulated and stagnates. Near the shore areas, the sea water seeps in leading to flooding and water stagnation.
The absence/decrease of underground water also leads to the contamination of underground water by saline water from the ocean.
These issues can be addressed, if we use the underground water in a sustainable way. For this we must know the underground water system of the aquifers in Bangkok region and keeping a track of the health of the aquifers. We can provide the consultancy services and do the water planning for companies and other land development projects. We can also do water planning for different corporation by putting system in place which can replenish the groundwater in a sustainable way. Apart from that, we can educate stakeholders in all levels about the aquifers and give guidance on proper usage.
Above diagram is the stakeholders of groundwater extraction. The diagram is divided into two parts: Direct Stakeholders (who will be affected from extraction directly) and Indirect Stakeholders. We can see clearly that by extracting water, many parties in Thailand and even world wide will be affected.
We are a group of students from IMBA program being taught in Thammasat University of Thailand. This e-portfolio is a part of group project fromGI630 Macro Environment in the Global economy.
Our aim of constructing this page is to elaborate on problem of groundwater extraction in Bangkok. We will be providing analysis to various issues around this topic as well as suggest risks and opportunities associate with this problem.
All contents and materials appear on this website is intended for educational purpose only.
