Posted by Anne Gaume

DILIGENCE PAYS OFF

Five years ago the Rotary Club of Clarence began their journey to aid the town of Wangchan, Thailand in achieving sustainable, fresh water.  Wangchan is located in the Northern part of Rayong Province in Eastern Thailand and is home to approximately 2500 people. 
 
Thailand is known as the land of 1,000 smiles, and any traveler that has visited this tropical landscape quickly understands its moniker. The welcoming Thai smile immediately makes you feel at home and it is infectious. Thailand is a constant juxtaposition from soaring skyscrapers to lush jungles; crowded city streets to empty glowing beaches. 
 
Many Westerners are unaware of the dark cloud looming over this tropical oasis. There is a major water crisis that is threatening the population of nearly 68 million. Not unlike a majority of other Asian countries, rising population, industrial expansion, urbanization etc… has made a major impact on the degradation of the water quality.  The Thai people get their drinking water primarily from surface and ground water sources. It is most recently reported that almost one third of all surface water is extremely poor quality with the culprits being untreated raw sewage and untreated industrial wastewater.  Not all threats are man-made. Our ever changing climate and abnormal weather patterns are also contributing to unsanitary water conditions. Nearly 60% of all provinces are in an extreme drought with many more at risk.
 
Echoing the water problems their country suffers from, the 2500 people in Wabgchan, too had little potable water. The water they need to sustain life had a reddish brown color because of the excessive minerals, mostly iron ore. The Clarence Rotarians applied for a Global Grant to go about building a water purification treatment facility. They not only wanted to help this village with fresh water; they wanted to give them a processing facility that would help them for decades to come. 
 
Working with locals proved to be an arduous process and it took the patience and diligence of many Rotarians through the years working across language barriers and local bureaucracy. The source of the water is a well that is still used but is now purified through a stepped treatment process that can be distributed to the residents.
 
The purified water is now stored in a tank that was part of the old treatment plant and distributed to the town via the original water distribution network which is metered at all of the houses.  
 
Just this past April, long time Rotarians Dominic Cortese and Bob Artis traveled to Wangchan for the grand opening and dedication.