• 
• 

Published on November 18, 2007

Orapin Maneekhat, a villager at Baan Nong Ped, Tambon Banklang, said a gallon of drinking water was now Bt12, up Bt2 from earlier in the month.

Bottled water is now Bt25 for two dozen, up from Bt20. She noticed the price increased shortly after the Greenpeace warning.

On Tuesday Greenpeace hung a banner warning villagers living near the industrial estate about the contamination of groundwater. The environment group claimed to have detected lead, copper and zinc among other contaminants, but did not detail the levels of "toxins" detected.

The municipality later removed the banner.

Samples of groundwater were collected for laboratory testing by state agencies. The results are yet to be reported.

Provincial environment official Vorapot Pongsamai said the results of tests by Chiang Mai University would be available on November 26.

Health officials visited villagers and recommended they switch from groundwater to rainwater. Villagers said they did not dare to drink rainwater either, because they believed it would also be contaminated.

"Even the officials who recommended we drink rainwater won't drink it," said a villager who asked not to be named.

Lamphun Water Works Authority manager Kaysorn Vatcharakulpreechachart said she would work with health officials to provide drinkable tap water to villagers by next August.

Suriya Thasurin

 The Nation

LAMPHUN