Participatory Community Wastewater Management : A Case Study of Lampang Municipality, Lampang Province

Abstract

The objectives of the research were to study wastewater situation and problems in the community of Lampang Municipality and propose participatory wastewater management guidelines for the Lampang Municipality community. This was qualitative research. There were 12 key informants and 50 participants for focus group discussion and research tools were interview question guidelines and focus group discussion forms with content analysis was used as a technique for analysis.

The results have found that the condition and problems of the wastewater in Charoen Prathet and Singchai communities were the rotten and bad-smelly cause of the households, shops and enterprise have discharged and littered wastewater into the river causing the water lacking oxygen and breeding and spawning of the fish were destroyed and block the flow of the water in the nature.

And participatory community’s wastewater management guidelines found that the two communities had similar and different parts according to the context of the community. Charoen Prather Community had outstanding management which is the fish koi project by applying the folk wisdom system Let the fish be a habitat for the fish. Public relations for people to participate in the conservation of fish species and the Yuchen River Wang ceremony project educate and raise awareness of the value of clean water sources bringing the tradition to inherit the destiny of the river. It is an important ritual to raise awareness and conserve Mae Wang water.

And Sing chai community. There are guidelines for the management of the Wang River, for example, a project called voices within the community was created to campaign for communities and shops around the Wang River not to litter garbage or waste into the river. The project to create a living water port by adjusting the landscape to be pleasant to look at Plant trees to be shady as a resting place and a project to create a photographic spot near the Sing chai Pier sign. At the suspension bridge area, which is an important landmark, the common issue is to announce a no-fishing zone, a distance of 2 kilometers from Sing chai and Charoen Prather communities to the rubber dam to become a fish conservation area.