More than two years after national public-health officials began regulating drinking-water vending machines, Pattaya still has not cleaned up its dispensers, with more than 200 providing below-standard water.
More than 20 percent of Pattaya’s approximately 1,000 water-vending machines were found to have unacceptable levels of Coliform bacteria, up to a 56 percent concentration. Random tests also found substandard quantities of hard metals, Public Health Office Director Suphaphorn Cherdchaiphum said at a July 10 meeting with machine operators.
“Operators still do not understand maintenance processes, thus, there is contamination,” Public Health Office Director Suphaphorn Cherdchaiphum told a July 10 meeting with water vending machine operators.
Coliform bacteria, including the potentially deadly e.Coli, include bacteria that are found in the soil, in water influenced by surface water, and in human or animal waste. Health effects, including diarrhea and vomiting, can occur within two to 24 hours.
The national Public Health Ministry in June 2011 made water machines subject to regulation and Pattaya’s own Sanitation Department recommended of that year that the city follow suit. Yet by January 2012 the Pattaya City Council still had not adopted the national rules, despite random tests that still showed widespread contamination. While the city made some changes to its laws in 2012, apparently they are not being enforced or understood.
Faced with another batch of poor test results, the Public Health Office brought in medical science authority Busabong Sujarae and Pharmacist Yongyuth Issra-anttapong from Banglamung Drinking Water to speak on water filtering for vending machines and educate operators on the Pattaya laws covering drinking-water machines.
“Operators still do not understand maintenance processes, thus, there is contamination,” Suphaphorn said. “Due to this reason, Pattaya has issued a law to control the quality of water to be free of contamination, the law was not issued to control the business but to make certain of citizens health.”
She said the biggest problem is machine owners are not maintaining or changing filters.
