Ubol Ratana Dam at lowest level in 40 years

[snoop1130]

Ubol Ratana Dam at lowest level in 40 years

By THE NATION

 

 

Ubol Ratana Dam in Khon Kaen province was at 19 per cent of capacity on Friday (January 17) with 472 million cubic metres in the reservoir – its lowest level in 40 years.

 

Concern is rising over the impact on surrounding farmland and fish habitats.

 

Rice farmer and fisherman Sawang NuayKiao said the water level at the dam, which opened in 1966, has steadily dropped, as has the number of fish he can catch every day.

 

“I used to sell Bt200-Bt300 worth of fish a day. Now I’m only catching Bt100-Bt200 worth.”

 

Nor is he able to grow as much rice as he once did, he said, due to limitations in irrigation.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30380721

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-01-17

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[ireckonso]

Maybe after 40 years a little dredging to bring the lake back to its original storage capacity would be a good idea, never mind. 

[Dumbastheycome]

A chance to remove the  skeletons  of 40 years may be imminent.

This lake is  yet another illustrative example of complacency that nature is demonstrating is  a mistake in assumption..

[saikaial]

It was only a few months ago that the Dam was over 100% of maximum and areas were flooded. It's poor water management to blame plus inability to stop famers growing two rice crops a year pumping out as much water as they can till it's all gone. Then being given compensation by government to boot.

Edited January 18, 2020 by saikaial

[Assurancetourix]

1 hour ago, saikaial said:

It was only a few months ago that the Dam was over 100% of maximum and areas were flooded. It's poor water management to blame plus inability to stop famers growing two rice crops a year pumping out as much water as they can till it's all gone. Then being given compensation by government to boot.

Most Thai peasants have never been real farmers;
they do not know how to manage their lands intelligently;

cultivating intensively by exhausting the soil;
Two, sometimes even three rice harvests a year !!!
and

Sugar cane,  it consumes even more water than rice ...
It is also the fault of the people in the administration who manage the valve openings.
If they refused the bribes of the farmers to open the said valves when they must remain closed ...

 

But we are in the land of corruption;
nothing will change for centuries;
though ....

 

They do not know and will not want because it is a farang practice so not good;
very popular practice at home in Brittany, we leave the land to rest, cyclically, one year in three ...
At rest does not mean that it is not worked but it is not sown.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set-aside

[30la]

But do you know how much water the countless sugar factories use in your country? And where do they get this water from? From the people's reservations, be ashamed!
If then I see how much water is wasted to "wash" the streets especially if one of the many ministers decides to make an inspection.
Then explain to your people that one shower a day is more than enough, we grew up with one shower a week and, we survived, I met people here in Thailand that two, three or more times a day take a shower, this is the I call disrespect for the rest of the population!

[willi2006]

5 hours ago, saikaial said:

It was only a few months ago that the Dam was over 100% of maximum and areas were flooded.

...

Are you sure ?

Wasn't this in October 2017 ?

 

Edited January 18, 2020 by willi2006
clarification

[CGW]

On 1/17/2020 at 7:37 PM, ireckonso said:

Maybe after 40 years a little dredging to bring the lake back to its original storage capacity would be a good idea, never mind. 

So much anti Thai sentiment as usual, why don't some of you try to understand the situation before scorning the Thai's, fact - it doesn't need dredging, it needs water, this is the largest reservoir in Isan, there has been no rain! Share your superior knowledge and tell us what dredging will do? - never mind!

 

On 1/18/2020 at 11:17 AM, saikaial said:

It was only a few months ago that the Dam was over 100% of maximum and areas were flooded.

Why don't you fact check before posting nonsense? Like so many you have no knowledge of the country you are staying in! This is Udon, not Ubon!

 

[billd766]

On 1/17/2020 at 7:37 PM, ireckonso said:

Maybe after 40 years a little dredging to bring the lake back to its original storage capacity would be a good idea, never mind. 

It is not so much the dredging that is the problem, though now would be a good time to do it. It is more the lack of rain last year and this year so far. You could dredge it back to the original depth but you need the rain to fill it up and that simply is not on the radar screen for another 3 to 5 months time.

[CGW]

19 minutes ago, billd766 said:

It is not so much the dredging that is the problem, though now would be a good time to do it. It is more the lack of rain last year and this year so far. You could dredge it back to the original depth but you need the rain to fill it up and that simply is not on the radar screen for another 3 to 5 months time.

This reservoir isn't far from me, so know the history to some extent, dredging would obviously help, though it is a huge area!

In 2017 there was a huge storm in this area, the reservoir was full, enough for a good few years, unfortunately this "dam"(which is owned by the power company!) also produces electricity, a lot of the reserves were "wasted" to produce power, just another area of the infrastructure that should" be looked at.

I would add, that if the dam hadn't been drained and there had been another storm the year after the whole area would obviously have been flooded, then there would have been cries of ineptitude! dealing with mother natures fickleness is never easy!

Edited January 19, 2020 by CGW

[metisdead]

Another inflammatory baiting post has been removed. 

[plachon]

On 1/19/2020 at 6:26 AM, CGW said:

This reservoir isn't far from me, so know the history to some extent, dredging would obviously help, though it is a huge area!

In 2017 there was a huge storm in this area, the reservoir was full, enough for a good few years, unfortunately this "dam"(which is owned by the power company!) also produces electricity, a lot of the reserves were "wasted" to produce power, just another area of the infrastructure that should" be looked at.

I would add, that if the dam hadn't been drained and there had been another storm the year after the whole area would obviously have been flooded, then there would have been cries of ineptitude! dealing with mother natures fickleness is never easy!

Dredging would help for future years, but the question is, who would pay and would it be worth the cost? Very few comprehensive, accurate and honest cost-benefit analyses done in Thai water resources management projects, so no one really knows the answer to the question, until such studies are done. The extra water from dredging would probably be worth it for supplying the city and domestic water users, as they actually pay for it, but it wouldn't be worth it for rice irrigation in the dry season I suspect, as these farmers don't pay for their water and the crop value is very low. But with higher value crops the question of paying for water supply gets more interesting. 

In reality, I suspect it will be the taxpayer who stumps up the cost, and the users will get away scot free for the capital or maintenance cost of these dam and reservoir systems, as usual.

The worst thing that could happen is that EGAT (owners) start dredging in the area still with some water, as I have seen this done before, and it can cause the water just to drain away into the sub-soil (which is presently dry), as the reservoir fine clayey sediments can act like a non-porous container. Remove this layer, and the water just seeps away into the earth, leaving the reservoir more empty than at present......

[JWRC]

On 1/18/2020 at 12:58 PM, 30la said:

But do you know how much water the countless sugar factories use in your country? And where do they get this water from? From the people's reservations, be ashamed!
If then I see how much water is wasted to "wash" the streets especially if one of the many ministers decides to make an inspection.
Then explain to your people that one shower a day is more than enough, we grew up with one shower a week and, we survived, I met people here in Thailand that two, three or more times a day take a shower, this is the I call disrespect for the rest of the population!

I am interested to know what country you grew up in (re: your ref to one shower a week).?

[Assurancetourix]

4 hours ago, JWRC said:

I am interested to know what country you grew up in (re: your ref to one shower a week).?

One of the many bases in Antarctica?

 

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_de_bases_antarctiques