The liquid of life

HELPING HAND

The very survival of the Libong people in a sustainable environment has always been at risk due to continued excessive use of groundwater for agriculture and household consumption. Water scarcity has often led to confrontation and conflict among the more than 2,500 Muslim inhabitants on the island.

Most of the Libong villagers are fishermen and rubber planters.

"When I was young, severe water shortages were routine every summer. The average person knew he had to sweat it out in the baking sun, waiting in an endless queue for water from the bore wells," recalled Usin Choke-amnuaysit, the local public health official.

Last year the rains cheated them again. Although the natural reservoir brought temporary relief, nobody believed the problem would ever be solved, he said.

Thanks to Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, a project was started last year to find new clean water sources for the people on Libong and three other islands in Trang and Krabi provinces. Four million baht donated to Her Royal Highness by Diageo Moet Hennessy (Thailand) Ltd and two million baht from the Department of Groundwater Resources (DGR) helped the islanders realise their dreams.

On Libong island, a new tap water system was installed, which draws water from an artesian well located near the local public health office. It was a difficult task, even for experienced DGR engineers.

Schoolchildren of Libong island.

"Large clean groundwater sources are not easy to find in the coastal areas of this island," explained DGR Deputy Director-General Anan Kate-aim, who was in charge of the project.

"We have to do a lot of digging and testing to find the right location. And we must ascertain that the well is big enough to supply a minimum of 100 litres of water for each person per day."

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), on average a person needs 3 litres of water for drinking, 4 litres for cooking, 20 litres for bathing, 40 litres for sanitation, 25 litres to wash vessels and 23 litres for gardening. Libong currently has a population of 2,565, meaning its total water requirement for the year is approximately 107 million litres.

Libong villagers with their old bore well.

Mr Anan and his team of engineers had been in Libong, Muk and Sukorn islands in Trang, and Por island in Krabi for several months, making surveys and supervising the well digging operations and installations to ensure that all technical aspects were professionally met. These include repairing the 20m-high water distribution tower, the sand filter tank, and the main pipeline that services schools and villages, and checking connections to each building and household on Libong island.

A six-step Reverse Osmosis system is used to produce clean drinking water for the people of Libong island, with an output rate of 1,000 litres per hour, according to DGR Director-General Somkid Buapeng.

Vorathep Rangchaikul, president of Diageo Moet Hennessy (Thailand) Ltd, said the project is designed to help the villagers help themselves. He represented the company at the official handover of this water system to the Libong Tambon Administration Organisation last month.

"In addition to addressing the immediate needs of the local people, we hope this project will help the villagers learn to manage water resources in their communities," said Pitraporn Sangkasap, chief of the Phuket-based Sirindhorn Special Task Force that was the main coordinator of the project.

This Reverse Osmosis system provides clean drinking water for the people of Libong island.

According to Mr Vorathep, the clean water projects in southern Thailand are part of the Diageo Foundation's "Water of Life" global campaign to improve access to clean drinking water in developing countries.

Last year, Diageo businesses in Africa set aside 1 percent of their operating profit to establish a fund to provide one million people in Africa with access to clean water every year until 2015. This is in line with the UN Millennium Development Goal to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015.

The project for Libong, Muk, Sukorn and Por islands is an offshoot of the Keep Walking Thailand Tsunami Fund campaign, launched in 2007 to find clean drinking water for people affected by the giant waves that struck southern Thailand on December 26, 2004.

In September 2007, clean groundwater systems were handed over to Ban Kamala School in Phuket, Had Yao beach and Khlong Koan-Prukrom community in Krabi province, Krapor School in Nai Rai village and Ban Nam Khem School in Phangnga province.

Director-General Somkid said programmes governing the use of water need to incorporate ecological sensibility, and need to help the villagers learn to manage water resources in their communities.

"More than 70 percent of rural people now rely on groundwater for consumption and household use," she said. "Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn's initiative has contributed to sustainable use of this precious natural resource."

The 20m-high water distribution tower and sand filter tank on Libong island.