6.3.1 Wastewater treatment

Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) has a process in place to treat wastewater generated by university activities before it is discharged. The wastewater treatment process was in place throughout 2025 at both campuses. Each building controls the quality of its own wastewater, buildings have on-site wastewater treatment systems or prefabricated treatment tanks, the campus canals are treated with beneficial microorganisms, and treated effluent is tested every month by an accredited laboratory against national effluent standards.

Wastewater Treatment Process on Campus

Wastewater is managed at two levels. First, because most campus buildings house laboratories, each building is responsible for controlling the quality of its own wastewater before it is discharged into the University's drainage system. Second, at Ongkharak Campus, wastewater from each building is treated in prefabricated anaerobic wastewater treatment tanks installed at the building before it is released into the building drains and the University's drainage system (manholes). The water then flows through the canals within the campus and the surrounding areas to the University's main water gate in the Ho Phra area before it is discharged to public water bodies. To improve the water quality of the campus canals, the Sustainable Development Division adds beneficial microorganisms (bioaugmentation) to the canals every three to four months.

On-site Wastewater Treatment Plant, Building 19, Prasarnmit Campus

At Prasarnmit Campus, buildings have their own on-site wastewater treatment systems. For example, the Science Building and Scientific Instruments Centre (Building 19) of the Faculty of Science has an on-site treatment plant designed by Area Consultant Co., Ltd. Wastewater passes through two septic tanks, two anaerobic filter tanks with filter media, an aeration tank supplied by an air blower, and a sedimentation tank, before the treated effluent is pumped out from an effluent pump sump equipped with duplicate pumps, level controls and a high-level alarm. Laboratory wastewater is first collected in a separate holding tank and a neutralisation (pH adjustment) tank, with provision for mixing and chemical dosing, before it enters the treatment system. The drawing below (Drawing P3-02, Area Consultant Co., Ltd.) shows the plan and sections of the treatment plant.

Source: https://science.swu.ac.th/sdgs/wastewater-treatment/

Monthly Monitoring of Treated Wastewater Quality

Wastewater quality is monitored every month through a regular and continuous programme of testing by an external accredited laboratory. At the Faculty of Science, Prasarnmit Campus, grab samples of building wastewater are collected every month and analysed by Water Analysis Center Co., Ltd., a laboratory accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 under the ILAC-MRA arrangement (Testing No. 0029). Each sample is analysed for pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, oil and grease, total Kjeldahl nitrogen and sulfide. The results are compared against the Notification of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on effluent standards for buildings (Type A buildings), B.E. 2567 (2024). This monthly monitoring has been in place since at least 2024 and continued throughout 2025. In the analysis of 16 January 2025 (Report No. R 00434/68, Building 19), all parameters met the effluent standards.

Effluent Quality, Building 19, Faculty of Science, Prasarnmit Campus (16 January 2025)

* Notification of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on effluent standards for buildings (Type A buildings), B.E. 2567 (2024). Analysis by Water Analysis Center Co., Ltd. (ISO/IEC 17025, ILAC-MRA, Testing No. 0029), Report No. R 00434/68.

The photographs below show staff collecting wastewater samples from a building wastewater sump at Building 19, Faculty of Science, in January 2025, followed by the effluent analysis report for samples taken on 16 January 2025. The highlighted results show that all parameters met the building effluent standards.

Source: https://science.swu.ac.th/sdgs/wastewater-treatment/

Water Quality Monitoring at the Ho Phra Water Body, Ongkharak Campus

The Ho Phra water body is where campus water collects before it is released to public canals. Students of the Department of Public Health, Faculty of Physical Education, Ongkharak Campus, collected water samples at Ho Phra for quality analysis in 2025 (B.E. 2568). The samples were analysed for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), BOD, chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia, organic nitrogen, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, phosphate, total solids and total dissolved solids.

Wastewater Treatment at the Chakri Sirindhorn Medical Center, Ongkharak Campus

The Chakri Sirindhorn Medical Center at Ongkharak Campus operates its own wastewater treatment system to treat hospital wastewater in compliance with environmental standards. The system includes a screening station, automatic chlorine dosing points and a series of underground treatment tanks, and the treated water is monitored with flow meters before it is reused (SWU Sustainable University Performance Report, Academic Year 2025, UI GreenMetric evidence WR.5, p. 162).

Source: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hVGrDvbj9BgNzyuM_Hj4kS-o5aaPH4lJ/view

Policy Support for Maintaining Wastewater Treatment Systems

The University's Green University Policy B.E. 2569 (2026), announced on 30 March 2026 following the resolution of the Green University Steering Committee at its Meeting No. 1/2569 (13 January 2026), commits the University to promoting the proper maintenance of wastewater treatment systems to ensure their efficient operation (Clause 2.5.3).

Source: https://greenuniversity.swu.ac.th/policies