Bangkok Water Outage Tonight (Nov 22–23): MWA Says 27 Areas Affected

Bangkok residents: time to raid the water jugs and give your emergency shower playlist a polish. The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) has warned that taps in 27 areas across the capital will run dry — or at least trickle — from 10:00pm tonight, 22 November, until 5:00am tomorrow, 23 November. The culprit? Urgent maintenance and equipment upgrades at the Bang Khen 2 pumping station and the Bang Khen water production facility. In short: the pumps go quiet, so the faucets might too.

The MWA says the seven-hour shutdown is necessary to upgrade critical equipment. While that’s good news for long-term reliability, it means a short-term headache for households, businesses, factories and night-shift workers in the zones affected. If you live, work or sleep in any of the following pockets, plan ahead — fill bottles, buckets and the bathtub now.

• Both sides of Phahon Yothin Road: odd-numbered addresses from Ratchayothin Intersection to the National Memorial, even-numbered addresses up to Soi 66.
• Ramintra Road: odd-numbered side from Soi 1 to Soi 67; even-numbered side from Soi 2 to Soi 36.
• Kamphaeng Phet 6 Road, from Wat Thewasunthorn to Thecha Thungka intersection.
• Vibhavadi Rangsit Road: odd side from Chulabhorn Hospital to Phahon Yothin; even side from Yakult (Thailand) Company to the National Memorial.
• Chaeng Watthana Road, between Vibhavadi Rangsit and Laksi Circle.
• Thecha Thungka Road, from Kamphaeng Phet 6 to Nawong Prachapatana; Chang Akat Uthit Road, from Kamphaeng Phet 6 to Sirisuk Intersection.
• Sai Mai, Sukhaphiban 5, Theparak, Watcharaphon, Chatuchot, Chaloem Phong and Permsin Roads.
• Song Prapha Road, from Don Mueang Temple to the Happy Avenue project; Saphan Mai Market; M. Water Company; NXP Manufacturing (Thailand) Company.
• Parts of Ngamwongwan Road between Vibhavadi Rangsit and Kaset Intersection.
• Pradit Manutham Road, from Kaset Intersection to Khlong Lat Phrao; Senanikom Road, from Senanikom Intersection to Khlong Lat Phrao; Ratchadaphisek Road, from Ratchavipha Intersection to Ratchayothin Intersection.
• Residential pockets: Saranakhom, Kosum Ruamjai and Soi Thung Song Hong Housing — expect weak pressure or outages.

That’s a long list because the shutdown spans a large service area fed by the Bang Khen facilities. Some places will see only a drop in pressure — think slow trickles — while others may experience a full outage. The disruption is scheduled during nighttime to limit impact on daytime routines, but if you’ve got late-shift plans, a midnight laundry run, or rely on water-heavy home appliances, take note.

The MWA has offered its apologies and urged residents and businesses to prepare. Practical tips to survive a seven-hour water pause:

• Fill containers now. Bottles, jugs, pots, the bathtub — whatever you have. One person generally needs 2–3 liters per day just for drinking, but for washing and flushing, more is better.
• Top up your toilet tanks and set aside a bucket for flushing if you have a gravity-fed toilet.
• Delay laundry, dishwasher runs and any water-intensive cleaning until after 5:00am.
• If you run a business (cafés, salons, factories) that needs continuous water, consider alternative arrangements or notify customers ahead of time.
• For those on medical devices requiring water or households with infants and elderly people, ensure an extra supply and check with local health services if you need help.
• Keep car-wash appointments and garden watering on hold; you’ll thank yourself (and the environment) later.

Local media outlet KhaoSod reported the full list of affected roads and communities; the MWA’s apologetic notice underscores that this is a planned, temporary interruption to allow important upgrades that will improve reliability going forward. Upgrading a major pumping station is a bit like giving Bangkok’s water system a tune-up: noisy, inconvenient, but necessary if you want the engine to keep running smoothly.

If you’re commuting late tonight through these zones, expect fewer roadside vendors (many rely on water for street food) and possibly lower activity in businesses that need water to operate. For neighborhoods that rely on small shops for bottled water, consider stocking up early — convenience stores and supermarkets might be busier than usual in the hours before the cut.

In the meantime, keep an eye on official MWA updates and local news channels for any changes to the schedule. The MWA has promised to restore pumping at 5:00am, but unplanned setbacks can happen, so a bit of extra preparation will keep you dry-free and calm.

Short-term inconvenience, long-term gain: the pumps will be back, and the water will flow again. Until then — fill the buckets, set the alarm, and maybe practice your quickest sponge-bath routine. Bangkok’s night may be a little drier tonight, but with some planning, you’ll sail through it.