On a humid monsoon night, shortly after midnight, Thailand's favorite pop star swerved off the road and plunged his black BMW into one of Bangkok's canals. He was pulled from the water with minor injuries, yet he is dying of a fungal brain infection.

The reason, doctors say, is that Bangkok's canal water is so dirty that when it seeped into his head wounds, it poisoned him and left him in a coma. The doctors say his chances of survival are slim.

The tragedy of Apichet Kittikorncharoen, 21-year lead singer with the band D2B, has embarrassed the government and awakened Thais to a peril in their midst that they have long preferred to ignore: the foul waters of the 20-odd klongs, or canals, that crisscross Bangkok.

Official studies show that bacteria contamination in all waterways is 75 to 400 times over the permitted limit.

"There's no question about it: Canals in Bangkok aren't dirty — they are filthy," said Vijarn Simachaya, water quality chief at the city's Pollution Control Department.

In the 19th century the klongs feeding into the meandering Chao Phraya River were the city's streets, boats its main mode of transport, and "Venice of the East" its nickname.

Three quarters of Bangkok's 400,000 inhabitants lived in houseboats and the rest in houses on stilts or on canal banks. The city center was the river itself.

An enduring image of Thailand is the floating markets — canals chockablock with wooden canoes laden with fruits and vegetables, paddled by women in conical hats.

But today, most of the canals have been filled for roads, houses and shops. Those that remain present a frightening sight: In their thick, brown water float dead animals, rusty pesticide cans, used condoms and chunks of rotting garbage.

A report by the Pollution Control Department found that Bangkok's nine major canals were "way too dangerous for any use except public transport," said Vijarn. The report has been sent to the Cabinet, which will discuss it soon, he said.

The city is now home to more than 10 million people and wheels are the conveyance of choice. But the canals still carry hundreds of thousands of commuters on motorized wooden boats.

The best way to beat Bangkok's maddening land traffic is to zip along in boats — if you don't mind the stench and the occasional splash from a boat swerving in the streams of sludge.

Waraporn Tangsukhum, 36, says she has suffered two serious fungi and bacterial infections on her ear and eyelids from the dirty water. She breaks out in itches from time to time.

"I can't live without the boat. It would take me three hours to get to work and another three at maximum to come home by bus. The boat takes only 40 minutes," she said.

Chid Maddee, 35, a former conductor on a boat run by Family Transport Co., which carries 20,000 passengers a day, says he also suffered skin problems regularly though staff are allowed to shower at one of the stops on the route.

"Boat drivers have the worst luck," he says. "They have to dive into the water to remove garbage from the propeller every day."

Forty percent of Bangkok's liquid waste is discharged untreated into the public waterways, and less than 2 percent of households are connected to sewage networks.

Says Vijarn, the pollution control official: "Speaking of the problem gives me a headache, frankly."

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