Today’s Solutions: February 01, 2026

EM for water purification

Marco Visscher | March 2003 issue
The idea came right from the mayor. A 300 metre-long pond in Nakornrajsima was heavily polluted and stank as a result. Fish were dying and people were suffering from stomach and intestinal ailments that were linked to the polluted water. Tharinee Sutthiparinyanont decided that EM was needed to purify the water. The mayor allowed 100 litres to be added to the pond twice a month.
At first the organic material that had become affixed to the bottom floated to the top. It looked like EM had only aggravated the pollution, but this was temporary. The stench quickly disappeared and the slimy water surface became clear and transparent. A short period of algae growth followed, after which the organic material on the surface began to break down, as did the algae itself. Sutthiparinyanont: ‘After a month the water in the pond was so clear you could see the bottom.’
Sutthiparinyanont also initiated an effort to purify the sewage water. Not using activated silt, as is customary, but by adding an EM solution. Sutthiparinyanont moves ahead quickly to demonstrate how contaminated sewage water changes into clean water that can be used for irrigation. She points to the drainpipe from which a continual stream of household wastewater streams into a small pond. This is where EM is added. Water plants absorb the polluted material and there you have it! Not 100 metres away a wonderfully clean pond has been created.

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