Households, state agencies and business operators in the city could be charged for waste water they release from next year to cover the cost of waste management.
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) deputy governor Chakkaphan Phewngam said a draft regulation about the charge has been completed pending endorsement by the BMA council.
Members of the Bangkok City Council would meet in January next year to consider the draft regulation.
If the council passes the proposal, it will be announced in the Royal Gazette early next year, Mr Chakkaphan said.
The waste water fee collected will be spent on waste management in facilities operated by the BMA, he said.
The move would help reduce the amount of waste water being released by industries and households into natural sources, he added.
The fee charged would be based on the amount of waste water households, state agencies and business operators discharge, Mr Chakkaphan said.
Households which produce waste of between 10 to 100 cubic metres per month will be charged 30 baht each month.
State agencies, private companies, hospitals, schools and small-scale business operators which produce waste water of less than 500 cubic metres per month will be charged 500 baht each month.
Amounts of between 500 and 1,000 cubic metres will incur a 1,000 baht charge per month while discharges exceeding 1,000 cubic metres per month will be charged at 1,500 baht, he said.
Hotels, factories and large-scale business operators will be charged at a rate of four baht per cubic metre.
The BMA is considering how to collect the fee, the deputy Bangkok governor said.
It could be billed as part of a garbage fee or the BMA might ask the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority to collect the money as part of the monthly water bill. Residents and operators may even be asked to pay at a designated location, he added.
Those who fail to pay the fee would face a criminal charge, with the penalty yet to be decided, Mr Chakkaphan said.