Govt clarifies well-drilling costs in drought mitigation budget

 

   

BANGKOK (NNT) - The government has allocated a budget of about 3 billion baht to assist drought affected villagers through some 2,000 projects, one of which is the construction of groundwater wells. Misinformation has spread on the internet alleging this project alone will receive all 3 billion baht in the budget, making the cost of one groundwater well about 6 million baht. The government has refuted this allegation, explaining each well will only cost around 1 million.

 

The Government Spokesperson Narumon Pinyosinwat has elaborated that the 3 billion baht budget has been allocated to fund several drought fighting projects, while the construction of 1,103 groundwater wells will cost 1 million baht each, not 6 million as per online rumours.

 

The Office of National Water Resources (ONWR) Secretary General, Somkiat Prajamwong has confirmed the 1 million baht cost of each well, which is inclusive of the drilling process, necessary equipment, pumping system, water distribution system, and storage tanks. The project will undergo regular auditing to ensure transparency, as instructed by Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan.

 

He said however that some construction sites may require higher expenditure, as the 1 million baht figure is only an estimate for one 100-120 meter deep well, while some sites may require the well to be deeper, or require several drillings to reach groundwater.

 

The construction of groundwater wells is intended to create new water sources for villagers to use during water shortages. The efforts may not be beneficial in the long run should water consumption from the wells is only minimal.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2020-01-20

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And what knowledge do these people have of the damage caused by an abundance of wells? contaminated ground water, sink holes, lower water table...? Always wondered because we have a well yet local officials have no idea about anything when asked. If the farming chemicals aren't banned i suggest not going this route or it will cause more damage me thinks...

2 hours ago, webfact said:

while the construction of 1,103 groundwater wells will cost 1 million baht each, not 6 million as per online rumours.

Everyone understood:
1 million for the construction of a well and 5 million in the pocket of some officials ...

We see it every day when we drive on departmental roads:
a beautiful bitumen ribbon that stops dead; a few hundred meters of road in very bad condition then the magnificent ribbon of bitumen reappears .. and a few km further the phenomenon begins again ...

We had our well drilled less than two years ago. I asked the guy how deep we should go, "40 metres should be enough, that's what everyone does". Make it 60 then I said. 60 metre well, plumbing, electrical panel, two pumps and a tank 117,000 baht. 1,000,000 seems a bit excessive.

Headline coming soon "Farmer son fall down well"

7 minutes ago, ramrod711 said:

We had our well drilled less than two years ago. I asked the guy how deep we should go, "40 metres should be enough, that's what everyone does". Make it 60 then I said. 60 metre well, plumbing, electrical panel, two pumps and a tank 117,000 baht. 1,000,000 seems a bit excessive.

OK....About the same costs where I am...the B1 mill is not excessive given there are commissions

Well it looks like she is describing quite a big hole or a bigger one in the budget after disbursements ????

6 hours ago, webfact said:

some construction sites may require higher expenditure, as the 1 million baht figure is only an estimate for one 100-120 meter deep well, while some sites may require the well to be deeper, or require several drillings to reach groundwater.

Thus lending some credence to a well costing upwards to Bt6 million.

So not an instance of misinformation.

Our local Tambon office charges 135,000 baht for a 50 mt bore no water no pay

7 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Headline coming soon "Farmer son fall down well"

I probably should clarify: bore hole is 4", one pump lowered into hole, 2nd pump from tank to house. No danger of anyone or anything falling in.

3 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Thus lending some credence to a well costing upwards to Bt6 million.

So not an instance of misinformation.

I would guess, and it is a guess, that the bore hole would be less expensive than the reservoir in the instance of a municipal application.

Remember, it's always a better idea to spend the money on submarines, Armored Personnel Carriers, and fighter jets.

12 hours ago, ramrod711 said:

We had our well drilled less than two years ago. I asked the guy how deep we should go, "40 metres should be enough, that's what everyone does". Make it 60 then I said. 60 metre well, plumbing, electrical panel, two pumps and a tank 117,000 baht. 1,000,000 seems a bit excessive.

 

That's for a household well feeding one or a few families, not for a municipal well meant to service a whole community.  Also, there are quite a few aquifers at different depths. They may be going deeper to avoid depleting everyone's household well.  In which case, it's an exploratory process where they may have to test several different zones to find one that produces enough water of adequate quality.  

 

Back home, that means a typical municipal well costs over $1 million USD.  Some over $5 million.

 

A lot of Government officials no longer need water; they are salivating at the size of the budget.

On 1/20/2020 at 4:42 AM, webfact said:

1 million baht cost of each well, which is inclusive of the drilling process, necessary equipment, pumping system, water distribution system, and storage tanks.

A previous article stated they were artesian wells which by definition are self-flowing - no pumping system is required.

There is something missing in the pic there that's fixed it

On 1/20/2020 at 4:56 AM, unamazedloso said:

And what knowledge do these people have of the damage caused by an abundance of wells? contaminated ground water, sink holes, lower water table...? Always wondered because we have a well yet local officials have no idea about anything when asked. If the farming chemicals aren't banned i suggest not going this route or it will cause more damage me thinks...

Wells that deep generally go into an aquifer which has impervious layers above it