NAKHON RATCHASIMA, July 15 — Nakhon Ratchasima authorities met to discuss the cause of a mass fish death in the Lam Takong River, as wastewater discharged from communities and ice factories may be two reasons that lead to the incident.
Some 100,000 dead fish were found along a 3 kilometre-long stretch of the Lam Takong River, from Samrong Chan community to VIV Housing Estate, two days ago.
Nakhon Ratchasima vice governor Chayawut Chanthorn on Sunday chaired a meeting of relevant agencies to find the cause of the incident and told reporters after the one hour meeting that according to an initial investigation, dissolved oxygen level was measured at lower than two miligramme per litre, and at some points was below one milligramme per litre.
The unusually low dissolved oxygen could result from wastewater originating from nearby communities or from the factories along the river, as an oil slick was found near the fish.
Provincial authorities have collected fish and water samples to determine the cause of deaths. Results of the tests are expected by July 17-18.
Officials would also inspect the factories to see whether wastewater was discharged into the river or not. There were reportedly four ice factories located near the river.
