The Water of Death

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Toxic threat sweeps all before it

Run-off brought in from Myanmar is driving tourists away from North

by Apinya Wipatayotin

December 1, 2025

CHIANG MAI: The mountainous landscapes and cool, pristine air once drew visitors to Thaton village in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district, especially during the high season from November onward.

Today, the village feels like a ghost town. Streets are empty, restaurants sit without customers, and only a handful of guests remain in riverside hotels.

The Kok River, once one of the province's best-known attractions, now stands at the centre of what has been described as Asean's biggest transboundary contamination crisis. Poorly regulated rare-earth mining in Myanmar has unleashed toxic runoff, turning the river from a tourism lifeline into what locals grimly call "water of death".

Saranya Sukcharaen, owner of the 22-room Saranya River House, said more than half her bookings were cancelled after the Pollution Control Department (PCD) detected heavy metals -- particularly arsenic -- in the river at levels far above safety limits.

Travel agencies have since contacted her about water safety. Their foreign clients are concerned not only about the river but even the tap water.

"Some asked whether it was safe enough just to brush their teeth. I explained that our water source is underground, not from the river. I even collected samples and sent them for lab testing," she said.

"I showed them the safety certificate. It was an extra cost, but I have to help myself if I want to survive."

Born and raised in Thaton, Ms Saranya has spent decades in tourism. She says the crisis is almost impossible to solve because the root cause lies outside Thailand's borders.

She sees little hope for the river's recovery, noting that heavy metals travel downstream, settle, and accumulate in sediment -- unlike seasonal haze pollution, which eventually clears.

She said bamboo rafting, once the community's core tourism activity, has virtually disappeared because tourists no longer want to risk contact with contaminated water.

Tourists used to book three-day, two-night packages that generated roughly 20 million baht a year for the village. These trips typically included rafting upstream to visit hill tribe communities, which depended on tourism for income. Those days, she said, are gone as tour companies turn to alternative sites.

Kanchana Kaewprapaenee, another operator, shares the pain. She runs a food stall and had expected to earn about 400,000 baht during the Songkran holiday. Those hopes collapsed after the PCD reported excessive arsenic levels in March, following a local complaint about unusually dark brown water.

"There has been no real assistance from the government," she said. "Our request for health check-ups has been ignored, even though we are the victims. We are hopeless, and I may have to wait until the day I find out my body contains dangerous levels of toxins."

The PCD now monitors arsenic and other heavy metals in the Kok, Sai, and Ruak rivers, as well as the Mekong, all affected by upstream mining in neighbouring countries. Heavy metals continue to be detected, though levels fluctuate.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has proposed building a dam to trap sediment, but locals fear it will obstruct river transport. A smaller check dam has also been suggested for upland forests to intercept toxic sediment before it reaches the river, though concerns remain over high costs and limited impact.

Suebsakun Kidnukorn, a lecturer at Mae Fah Luang University's School of Innovation, said rehabilitation can only begin once pollution from the source -- unregulated mines in Myanmar -- is halted. Thaton is the first point where the Kok River enters Thailand, and farmland has also suffered. Some companies have refused to supply seeds under contract-farming schemes due to fears of arsenic contamination. The area is a major production hub for baby corn and roselle destined for the Japanese market.

"The situation will get worse over the next three years if these mines aren't stopped urgently," he warned. "The impact on vulnerable groups, especially pregnant women, will be immense."

Brian Eyler, Director of the Energy, Water and Sustainability Programme at the Stimson Center, raised concern about the rapid expansion of mining across mainland Southeast Asia -- 2,419 sites so far -- including rare-earth mining in Myanmar and gold mining in Laos. Many lie close to the Thai border and the Mekong River.

The PCD has also recently detected high arsenic levels in Loei and Nakhon Phanom provinces. Tributaries of the Mekong are believed to be major carriers transporting toxins into the river system. However, these tributaries fall outside the jurisdiction of the Mekong River Commission, which only oversees the river's mainstream.

Existing Asean frameworks on transboundary pollution are unlikely to resolve the problem, Mr Eyler said, but cooperation with China may be possible, as it plays a significant role in regional mining -- both as a major investor and a primary buyer.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -before-it