| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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PWA has defined its action plan for an implementation of the strategy in 3 phases described below.
Initial Phase – Constructing an easy bacterial test kit In 2008, there was a brainstorm of PWA’s scientists from all its 11 laboratories, collectively helping plan on an analysis of data of both internal and external agencies in order to prepare for an easy bacterial test kit. This was carried out by trying to find an appropriate germ-nurturing food formula and study the sensitivity of the germ-nurturing food formula suitable for an examination of germs of coliform bacteria groups in the different number of cells, besides comparing the efficiency of the easy bacterial test kit and that of Multiple-Tube MPN Tests. Such a test kit has been used in the area of 10 PWA branches, totaling 100 samples. It has been found that the bacterial test kit constructed can be well applied and has coherent testing results of 97.0 percent. In 2009, PWA had transferred the knowledge in using the test kit to its staff by publishing a handbook of how to use an easy bacterial test kit, apart from holding seminars and workshops to provide knowledge and understanding of how to use the test kit to PWA staff concerned who were working at PWA regional offices and branches across the country so that they could use the test kit to monitor the quality of the water supply at the normal time, ranging from the water production station to the distribution system, including publicizing it on PWA’s website.
Phase of Development to Increase the Efficiency of Operation Between 2010 and 2011, PWA had initiated the project of an easy bacterial test kit improvement to enable all PWA branches to continuously use the test kit, which was done by a questionnaire survey of the satisfaction of those using the bacterial test kit, and making a report on the result of a water quality test. There was a seminar of scientists, engineers and operators, during annual seminar to disseminate data and propose a guideline for enhancing the efficiency of branches’ production system and also make an adjustment of the attitude of the staff using it.
Phase of Work Extension Since 2012, PWA has extended the use of its easy bacterial test kit to communities, schools, local administration organizations, the private sector, aimed at creating a network of water quality surveillance through the test kit. This practice has been based on the cooperation of PWA staff working both at PWA headquarters in Bangkok and in the region, disseminating knowledge and understanding of how to use the easy bacterial test kit, besides demonstrating how to use it on sites, too. In 2013, PWA’s crisis recovery team used the bacteria test kit to take a close watch at the quality of the water supply during disasters such as floods and epidemics. Meanwhile, PWA has established its Data Center in support of the recording of water quality data, analysis, follow-up, monitoring, evaluation and making a summary report by all 11 PWA’s laboratories. In 2014, to confirm that the use of its easy bacterial test kit is in accordance with the standard approach applied in modern laboratories, PWA, in collaboration with the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological research (TISTR), has correlated its bacterial test kit. Furthermore, PWA has also integrated its surveillance of the water quality in the distribution system with other parameters such as pH, turbidity and chorine in order to be able to clearly make an assessment of the overall water supply quality, which supports the consequence of PWA’s process of clean water management.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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Stakeholders are classified into 2 groups as follows:
Stakeholders within PWA
PWA’s Management is in charge of defining PWA’s vision and mapping out operating strategies of the agency to achieve the established goal of “Customers are delighted with the quality of water and excellent service”, apart from defining the Road Map to orient all PWA’s staff to move to the same goal, namely, PWA’s water supply has good quality and lives up to WHO standard. Moreover, PWA’s management has set aside a special budget for this project.
Operators in Laboratories are responsible for mapping out plans for the project implementation and supervision to ensure that the project is continuously implemented, all carried out by 1) brainstorming for preparing and constructing an easy bacterial test kit, 2) writing a handbook for operation , 3) disseminating the method of using the test kit, 4) following up and generating a system for an analysis and processing of data for PWA branches across the country, including closely following up the operating consequences, and 5) proposing an approach for improving and developing a work process relating to the use of the test kit and its users’ attitude. In addition, a public relations campaign has been continuously launched to allow all stakeholders to realize the advantage and value of the consequence of the implementation of the test kit.
Operators of PWA Branches use the easy bacterial test kit in the water production and distribution process before distribution to PWA’s customers’ homes in order to make a surveillance of the water quality in terms of bacteria.
Stakeholders outside PWA
Government Agencies / Communities / Business Partners / Industries have formed a network of surveillance of the water supply quality through an easy bacterial test kit project, to enhance the public confidence in water consumption.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The construction of the prototype of an easy bacterial test kit has to use the following resources.
Financial Aspect PWA supports the budget for an investigation of novel innovations in support of its staff’s work performance and development of the quality of its service for the public, focusing on developing innovations that are easy to use, save the cost of implementation and increase productivity in order to be able to solve the problems which have a high risk to the quality of the service which is relevant to PWA’s service missions of which the area is mostly in the rural region. PWA has also allocated the budget for purchasing chemicals, germ-nurturing food substance, bottles and covers, containers and packaging, including the budget for traveling for field trips or site visits to collect water samples and conduct an experiment on an easy bacterial test kit at PWA branches scattering throughout the country.
Personnel Aspect PWA has supported its staff in terms of the training so as to enhance their knowledge and skills in different fields, including an exchange of knowledge and brainstorming of scientists at PWA headquarters and in the region, and from external agencies, apart from various groups of other professions. There is also a review and compilation of knowledge body from numerous sources for an invention of an easy bacteria test kit and using it to improve the efficiency of the water supply quality surveillance.
Technical Aspect PWA has applied the knowledge of an analysis of the amount of coliform bacteria germs, which is an examination of coliform bacteria germs through the multiple tube method, based on the principle of the ability to digest food substance to generate gas in food tubes, from the number of tubes which yields positive result (Positive:+) of each of the dilution and then the values in the MPN index table (Most Probable Number index) are read, which is the average value of the amount of coliform bacteria that is expected to have the largest amount in the samples inspected. The values in the MPN index table are statistical analysis values which are statistical estimate of the amount of coliform bacteria that is likely to be detected in water (Most Probable Number per 100 ml of samples), which is the method appropriate for detecting the amount of coliform bacteria in different types of water such as drinking water, surface water, sea water and so on, and takes between 3 and 5 days for the test. PWA’s laboratories have applied this guideline to its study and experiment to find a proper germ-nurturing food formula with an aim to derive a test method which is easy to use and know the result of a preliminary coliform bacterial test quickly.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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An implementation of “An increase in the efficiency of water supply quality surveillance through an easy bacterial test kit” project has started since 2008 and it has been found that the outputs of this project which support the achievement of project implementation include the following.
There have been easy bacterial test kits used at PWA branches across the country to know the consequence of the test rapidly while increasing the test frequency in parallel with a test of standard approach.
PWA has a system of water supply quality surveillance in terms of bacteria both at normal and critical time, which is supplementarily used for water quality surveillance at the maximum level of crisis such as during the flood, epidemic, drought, etc.
PWA has a network of water quality surveillance by jointly implementing the project on “Old bottles in exchange for new ones” with the private sector and the public, for instance, disseminating an easy bacterial test kit to schools in the service area of PWA branches so that they can make an experiment on the test kit until they are confident that the water has good quality and is hygienic and safe for drinking, aimed at raising a good attitude among young students, which makes an implementation of water quality surveillance go on steadily and sustainably. Moreover, PWA’s agencies and other agencies can use this as a guideline or apply such the principle to the work of the same characteristic.
PWA branches can test coliform bacteria by themselves and can increase the frequency and number of samples all the time as needed, causing consumers to feel confident in water quality like the water quality of drinking-water production factories. Furthermore, PWA operators both at its headquarters and in the region have a better attitude and accept the testing approach using an easy bacterial test kit for a surveillance of the safety of the water supply, while extending the monitoring of the coliform bacterial test along with other parameters, for example, chorine, turbidity, pH, etc.
PWA has a data center in support of PWA’s branches. Operators of PWA’s laboratories are able to follow up and check data as well as analyze and evaluate the overall quality of water so that there are the same guideline and standard for water quality analysis, leading to sustainable management and development of water quality in the future.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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PWA has assigned its branches throughout the country to report the result of the water quality test in terms of bacteria in accordance with the form defined, while having to report the consequence of use of the test kit and daily report the result of water quality monitoring. In this regard, the location, date and time of water sample collection have to be identified. For a test result, it has to say whether coliform bacteria has been found or not. Meanwhile, the test result has to be recorded in the water quality information system or data center and PWA regional offices will inspect the accuracy and completeness of data in order that the concerned department at PWA headquarters will present it to PWA’s management to be used to follow up and assess the overall water quality and problem encountered and the limitations of the test kit implementation. Besides, there is an annual meeting of PWA’s scientists each year to follow up the consequence of use of the water quality test kit in respect of bacteria.
PWA regional offices and the water quality control division at the headquarters will follow up and analyze the data and make a monthly evaluation in the data center to prevent an occurrence of the problem or immediately solve the problem found. Apart from this, PWA also makes an assessment of the water quality inspection in the service area via its easy bacterial test kit, while defining the test kit as an indicator in the Water Safety Plan project, which is PWA’s significant index. Meanwhile, there is a transfer of this indicator to all PWA’s staff at all levels, which is another method making all staff cooperate in pushing forward PWA’s missions in the same direction in order to fulfill the agency’s goals.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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For an initial stage of using an easy bacterial test kit, it could not be simultaneously implemented by all 234 PWA branches because each branch had lots of work to do, while having limited personnel and equipment. For this reason, only PWA branches which had a high risk had will be implemented the test kit. Subsequently, deficient resources were continuously added to the branches that required them until all 234 PWA branches could implement the easy bacterial test kit invented. Due to an incomplete collection of data for an evaluation of the overall water quality, coupled with the unconnected database of water quality, PWA has developed the above system along with applying an easy bacterial test kit at all its branches. At the initial phase, PWA’s staff stills not enough knowledge of how to use the test kit. Therefore, PWA had to fulfill the necessary knowledge before transfer the method of testing to the staff through a handbook for operation, training and disseminating the handbook contents on PWA’s website.
Easy testing of bacteria previously emphasized an increase in the efficiency of only PWA’s water supply quality surveillance in terms of bacteria, and thus lacked cooperation from other agencies outside PWA. PWA has fully realized this shortcoming and later, in collaboration with the public and the private sector and schools, has established a network for water quality surveillance which covers all PWA’s service areas, including an integration of this project with other PWA’s activities.
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