Innovative water management and water recycling define Thailand’s first fully integrated district

One Bangkok, Thailand’s first fully integrated district, has set a benchmark for sustainability and urban innovation as the country’s pioneer site to obtain the LEED-Neighborhood Development Platinum certification.

This accolade reflects the district’s steadfast commitment to sustainable design, smart-city principles, and community-oriented living, all rooted in its core values of people centricity, sustainability, and smart city integration. Designed as a vibrant mixed-use development, One Bangkok seamlessly integrates retail, commercial, residential, and hospitality, fostering a dynamic and diverse community. With 50% of the project area dedicated to green, open spaces, and tree-lined sidewalks designed to enhance walkability, One Bangkok exemplifies a forward-thinking approach to creating a healthy, refreshed, and more connected urban environment.

At the heart of the developer’s vision lies a robust focus on efficient resource use and ecological preservation. Partnering with Veolia, One Bangkok implemented advanced water and wastewater management solutions to achieve a set of ambitious sustainability goals. This partnership reflects the district’s mission to reduce its ecological footprint and operate responsibly while providing a vibrant, people-centric community.

Addressing water sustainability challenges

Sustainability has been a guiding principle for One Bangkok since its inception, informing every aspect of its master plan, development, and operations. With resource efficiency in mind at the planning stage, the Veolia team developed a centralized water management system that prioritizes reuse and recycling.

One major challenge was treating and reusing wastewater from every building while harvesting rainwater to expand recycled water capacity, minimize reliance on potable water, and enable a significant reduction in overall water consumption.

How integrated treatment maximizes water recycling and efficiency 

Veolia designed an integrated water treatment system to meet One Bangkok’s objectives for water recycling and efficiency. 

As the first stage of the treatment process, Multiflo integrates coagulation, flocculation, and counter-current lamella settling into one compact, high-performance solution. By removing suspended solids, color, algae, and heavy metals at an early stage, it eases the workload on downstream systems. This reduces chemical demand, decreases the risk of diffuser clogging, and minimizes suspended solids breakthrough that might otherwise burden subsequent processes.

Designing an effective coagulation and flocculation process required careful consideration of coagulant and flocculant types, their concentrations, dosing rates, and resulting pH levels. Optimization was carried out through laboratory jar testing, and dosing is now controlled automatically via the SCADA system. The result is a process that delivers consistent suspended solids removal while minimizing chemical usage, supporting both environmental and operational efficiency.

Dissolved air flotation speeds up clarification

With primary clarification complete, the process advances to Spidflow, a high-rate dissolved air flotation (DAF) clarification system, its introduction representing a first for the Asia-Pacific region.

Unlike conventional sedimentation or lamella clarifiers, Spidflow uses fine microbubbles to lift suspended solids, oils, and low-density matter to the surface for removal. This high-rate DAF process accelerates clarification, enabling streamlined treatment of variable or heavily loaded water streams. Its compact footprint suits Bangkok’s space-constrained environment, while the modular design and resilience support consistent operational performance even under sudden fluctuations in load.

After coagulation and flocculation, the microbubbles attach to aggregated particles, bringing them to the surface where they are skimmed into a sludge tank, while clarified water flows downstream for further treatment. Spidflow consistently meets the stringent water quality standards required by One Bangkok, providing a robust and scalable solution for the district’s complex water management needs.

Moving bed biofilm reactor removes ammonia and nitrogen

To complement Spidflow, Veolia integrated the AnoxKaldnes moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR), a biological treatment solution designed to address one of Bangkok’s most pressing environmental challenges: the removal of ammonia and nitrogen compounds from wastewater.

While local regulations already impose strict discharge limits, the One Bangkok development set even more ambitious targets to align with its long-term sustainability vision. The MBBR provides a robust and flexible process, using biofilm carriers suspended in the wastewater to foster efficient biological treatment. Its compact footprint, tolerance to load variations and toxic shocks, and simple operation make it ideal for a project of this scale. Importantly, MBBR eliminates the need for sludge return in most applications, lowering maintenance requirements and operating costs while ensuring reliable compliance with stringent quality targets. 

Together, Veolia’s integrated technologies empower the reuse of 1,200 to 1,500 cubic meters of water daily, which is the equivalent to half an Olympic swimming pool. When operating at full capacity, this system will treat and recycle a volume comparable to four Olympic swimming pools, or approximately 10,000 cubic meters of water, substantially decreasing water consumption and supporting One Bangkok’s bold environmental targets.

Smart monitoring technologies are seamlessly integrated across the water system to ensure optimal performance. Leveraging real-time data, the system supports robust, data-driven water management, and enables continuous monitoring for adjustments as needed. This proactive approach also facilitates predictive maintenance, enhancing operational efficiency, and minimizing long-term costs. These efforts support One Bangkok’s overarching “Reuse and Recycle” practice, contributing to a projected annual savings of 3.7 million cubic meters of potable water, enough to supply more than 11,000 urban households for an entire year.^[1]

With Veolia’s tailored solutions and support, One Bangkok is setting a precedent for future-ready urban development. At full operational capacity, its systems will enable the district to recycle 75% of wastewater for non-potable applications. 

A model of sustainability for urban spaces

One Bangkok’s holistic sustainability strategy encompasses advanced water management, energy efficiency, and wellness-focused design. At its core, the district cooling system works in tandem with a command center, operating around the clock. This centralized infrastructure highlights the power of technology to enhance both process performance and environmental stewardship. 

Aligned with Veolia’s GreenUp strategic program, which focuses on ecological transformation through innovative solutions that depollute, decarbonize, and regenerate resources, the One Bangkok project demonstrates the transformative potential of advanced water treatment technologies in urban developments. By implementing tailored solutions with well-harmonized technologies, Veolia’s partnership with One Bangkok has achieved significant milestones in water recycling and resource optimization. 

Beyond setting a new benchmark, this collaboration fosters resilient communities and offers a blueprint for future-ready urban spaces. One Bangkok shows how innovation, foresight, and partnership can shape smarter, greener cities where sustainability is not an aspiration but a lived reality. 

1. Based on an average monthly household consumption of 27.94 cubic meters, as reported in the 2023 Annual Report by the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority. (Source: https://www.mwa.co.th/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/MWA-AR-ENG-2023.pdf)