Thailand has a saltwater problem after the amount of sodium in tap water exceeded the standard level.

The president of a subcommittee in charge of managing the Chao Phraya, Ping, Wang, Yom and Nan water basins, Weerakorn Khamprakob, said sodium in tap water was on Jan 30 measured at 2.2 grammes/litre which was deemed too much for consumption.

The water is deemed brackish if the proportion of salt is higher than 0.5 grammes/litre. The water is deemed saline water if salt in it exceeded 1 gramme/litre, Mr Weerakorn said.

Normally, freshwater of 3.5 billion cubic metres is used each year to dilute saline water. However, the country could not afford to use such a large amount of freshwater due to the drought this year, he said.

Mr Weerakorn called on the Royal Irrigation Department and the government to tackle the problem of salty tap water urgently or people will run the risk of kidney problems.

Those with heart disease, kidney disease, hypertension, or diabetes should avoid drinking the water, as should the elderly, small children and small pets.

The MWA updates the salinity level of the water throughout the day, sends water trucks to provide drinking tap water to the public, and can be reached via MWA app on mobile, Twitter and Line accounts @MWAThailand and hotline number 1125.