Oil is in short supply, but toilets are full in over a thousand households in Chae Hom district. The problem stems from no trucks coming to pump the toilets, forcing residents to dig pits to bury waste themselves, causing foul odors. Operators explain that the original disposal pit was closed, leaving no place to dump waste.
In several villages in Chae Hom district, Lampang province, residents face full toilets with no sewage trucks providing service, causing significant hardship. Although community leaders and Chae Hom district officials have attempted to resolve the issue, progress remains limited.
On 24 Mar 2024 GMT+7, a reporter visited Muang Village, Village No. 6, Chae Hom subdistrict, Chae Hom district, Lampang province, meeting with Mrs. Sriwor Oudkla, assistant village headwoman, who showed the reporter multiple households with full toilets—more than 10 in that village alone. She said her own toilet was full and she had waited many days for a sewage truck, only to be told there was nowhere to dump the waste because the original pit was closed. Currently, it is estimated that nearly 1,000 households across Chae Hom district have full toilets with no trucks coming to pump, causing distress. The district has asked community leaders to list households needing sewage services to coordinate pumping trucks, but no progress has been made.
Mrs. Ban Thamsai, 70, from Village 8, Chae Hom subdistrict, faces a similar problem. She had to hire an excavator to dig an additional pit nearby as a temporary fix, costing tens of thousands of baht. She urges all responsible parties to expedite a solution because households with full toilets face serious difficulties—they cannot flush properly and must endure unpleasant odors. She said even going to the toilet requires checking if waste will flush. Additionally, in the Chae Hom municipality area, over 100 households also have full toilets and await sewage trucks.
Mr. Suwot Monkham, 45, a sewage truck operator, explained that previously they had a designated disposal pit. However, residents of Hong Li village, Chae Hom subdistrict, filed complaints which led the Ban Sa municipality to order its closure. Without a disposal site, they initially dumped waste at a friend's pit in Mueang Pan district, Lampang province, incurring fuel costs and long travel. Eventually, that pit also filled up, leaving no place to dump waste, forcing them to suspend service. He noted that some outside trucks have come to pump waste but dumped it at the now-closed pit belonging to his team, which they consider unfair and akin to trespassing. They have filed a complaint with Chae Hom police, fearing legal action since the pit was officially closed. Sewage truck services in Chae Hom district have been suspended for about 20 days due to lack of disposal sites. He admitted that in some villages, like Ban Sop Fa in Chae Hom subdistrict with 40 households and Ban Wang Sak Lom and Wang Sak Pae with 61 households, residents have arranged for trucks to pump because they have found disposal sites.
Later, reporters met with Mr. Narong Pakkla, assistant village headman of Hong Li, who revealed that the original disposal pit was privately owned and had been used for a long time to dump waste from all over Chae Hom district. Following multiple complaints from residents, a village meeting was held resulting in a decision to close the pit. Municipal officials from Ban Sa were invited to the meeting since the pit lies within their jurisdiction. The closure order was issued in Nov 2024 GMT+7. Recently, with no place to dump waste, sewage trucks have ceased operations, causing full toilets and hardship throughout Chae Hom district. Community leaders have been pressured to negotiate allowing trucks to use the original pit again, but problems arose when outside trucks dumping waste there prompted the private owner to file complaints. Initially, it was hoped district or relevant officials would coordinate a solution, but instead, community leaders almost faced legal action and became social scapegoats for having caused the pit’s closure through complaints.