No water to be had in Maha Sarakham district

By Anek Krajaem 
The Nation

 

 

The tap water has run completely dry in six villages in a single Maha Sarakham district in what’s been called the worst drought in 40 years.

 

 Customary tap-water sources dried up early this year for 689 households in Phayakkhaphum Phisai district and now all other surface and underground water sources have been exhausted, according to Hom Utsa, the kamnan in the tambon of Mek Dam.

 

Saying he’d seen nothing as bad in four decades, he pleaded with the authorities to provide emergency aid. 

 

Hom said water pumped from Huai Lampang Chu had proved to be insufficient.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30368481

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-29

There is money for high speed trains.????

When I first came to Thailand 42 years ago, I spent a good part of April in Maha Sarakham.  Hot and dry, dry, dry.  Not much in the way of "tap water" back then in the boondocks.  Or wells.

Our well in Sarahkam is still pumping nicely.  Both of our ponds are bone dry though.  So we pump water for the animals and to the crops.  It was expensive to set up, but now we are growing nicely.  After this weeks watering, i am going to fill up one of the ponds.  My wife wants fish again. 

10 hours ago, khwaibah said:

There is money for high speed trains.????

And submarines.....

I live in rural Khampaeng Phet and the government water supply has been patchy for the last month.

 

It seems that my neighbour got in touch with the tessaban in the big village and ordered water for the 3 of us. This morning the firetruck turned up and filled 7 ongs for us.

 

It cost us 100 baht but I now have 18 of my 20 ongs full. the 2 not full have leaks that I need to fix either early in the morning or after 5pm when it is cooler.

Time to deepen the reservoirs so they will not have to endure this again. Invest a little at the appropriate time which is now with the water drained.

1 hour ago, Ulic said:

Time to deepen the reservoirs so they will not have to endure this again. Invest a little at the appropriate time which is now with the water drained.

I agree with you that now is the time to dredge as the reservoirs, rivers and canals are low but I don't think that this year and next year will produce enough rain to fill them.

 

Sure there be heavy rain and flash floods in many places but the ground is baked hard and most of the water runs off.

 

Where I live they are talking about damming our klong at its narrowest point (about 900 metres wide) and turning the area behind into a reservoir. One problem is that the klong is rainfed from the Mae Wong national park and so far this year Khampaeng Phet which is where the weather station is has only recorded 75.8mm of rain this year compared with 206.6 mm in 2018 and 172,7mm in 2017.

3 hours ago, Ulic said:

Time to deepen the reservoirs so they will not have to endure this again. Invest a little at the appropriate time which is now with the water drained.

Unfortunately Mother nature can be a cruel bitch! lots of reservoir space in the North east at the end of the last rainy season, there just wasn't enough rainfall to anywhere near fill them! I would imagine this year will be the same going by the predictions and El-Nino influence.