Dr. Supawatanakorn Wongthanavasu
Assistant Professor, Khon Kaen University

Mr. Thawatchai Wanaphithukkun
Khon Kaen Municipality

Khon Kaen is Thailand's 'Heart of the Northeast'. The second largest town in what has been one of Thailand's poorest regions, Khon Kaen has received considerable national investment and development assistance. The national government established a major regional university in Khon Kaen in 1962 and has directed much development to the city to make it a growth pole for the Northeast region. This has been very successful, as the city has grown from a small provincial town of less that 30,000 to a thriving development center of over 150,000 people. It has new industries and is a major trading hub on the north-south line from Bangkok to Vientiane, and on the emerging new east-west route that links the northeast of Thailand with Laos, Cambodia and Danang in Vietnam.

Khon Kaen is a well watered city on the northeastern plateau rising up to 250 meters above the broad central plain that is Thailand's breadbasket. The region receives over 1200mm of rainfall each year, though this is highly variable seasonally. The summer months, May through October, receive 90% of this volume, while the dry winter months receive only 10%.  The city is also served by three rivers that drain from the plateau eastward into the great Mekong River that forms much of the boundary between Thailand and Laos and Cambodia.

The expansion of the city has brought the development of water and sanitation systems, though the sanitation system has generally lagged behind the city's development. The current policy is to expand the sanitation system to bring it to all or the majority of the city’s households, but also to make the system more efficient and cost effective. 

Phase I involved the construction of the basic system, which covered about 70 percent of households and treated roughly 25,000 cubic meters per day of the total 46,000 cubic meters generated by the city. The treatment was basically in aerated stabilization ponds.

Phase II. 2006-2008, will expand the system to the entire city, upgrading the Phase I ponds to 78,000 cubic meters per day and adding an oxidation pond at Nong Loeng Phaui with a capacity of 9,300 cubic meters per day. Phase III will also see the development of a separate system for Khon Kaen University.

To make the system more cost effective and reduce management costs, a service fee will be charged to the users. Since this is a new development, it has been deemed important to involve use a People Participation Strategy in its implementation, promoting the Polluter Pays Principle.

Meetings of local committees, business leaders and city officials have been organized to promote this plan. A city wide survey found as many as 80 percent of the users felt it was appropriate for users to pay for the service.  The plan will be implemented in the near future.