“My home is in a village on Pha Daeng Luang Mountain in Mae La Noi District. Most people in the community here grow rice, soybeans, and corn. Nowadays, they grow more corn because investors come to buy it, leading to increased use of chemicals. These chemicals often flow into water sources. People in the community are afraid to use the water for consumption,” Ongsa reflects on the issues of water for consumption in his community.
His family is one of many households facing the problem of not having access to clean drinking water in the community. Currently, people in the community have expanded their agricultural areas, especially for growing corn, which is promoted and purchased by investors from outside the area. As a result, more people are participating in corn cultivation, impacting the environment, particularly water pollution from the use of agricultural chemicals.
Ongsa says “The water we have now can only be used for cleaning; it is not drinkable at all. To get drinking water, we must fetch it from another source where pipes are drawn from an untouched upstream area. However, during the rainy season, this water often becomes murky with a lot of sediment. During the dry season, it usually dries up. In the past, I had to filter the water with a cloth first and then boil it. It is very difficult to get clean drinking water.”
On World Water Day 2025, World Vision Thailand invites everyone to prioritise water resources and the necessity of sustainable water resource management. Currently, various issues persist, such as water pollution from agricultural chemicals affecting human health, water scarcity due to climate change exacerbating droughts, and impacts on aquatic ecosystems and plants. Water pollution also destroys biodiversity. Join us and be part of the efforts to take care of water for our future.
