Simple solution to annual drought issues? - wonder why Thailand hasn't done it.

[Jenkins9039]

Edited October 31, 2021 by Jonathan Fairfield
Edited so video can be displayed

[RubbaJohnny]

Link is only for facebook users, thanks for trying to help.

 

 

Edited October 30, 2021 by RubbaJohnny

[rodknock]

Thailand is either drought or floods.

always has been and always will be.

as soon as you talk money and cost all decisions go out the window!

submarines are more important along with the aircraft carrier, new tanks, new airplanes to fly vips around.

drought and floods cost money!!

same thing every year.

[internationalism]

digging up and dredging existing waterways, as well as doing proper banks (not necessary cement - as on this picture, but natural ones, impacted soil, vegetation with big and strong roots) around them would have much bigger impact. 

It would store more water, so also preventing floods.

It would give rich nutrient soil for food production, but also to construct higher bank walls, dams or even to construct and rise existing roads, fill up land plots for buildings.   

 

What would you do with those balls when reservoir is overflowing?

If they prevent development of algae it will cause starving of fish feeding on them.

What would happen, when lifespan of those balls ends in some 5-10 years time? they would sink and pollute sediment.

Plastic is decomposing all the time and polluting water supposed also for consumption.

How awful and sad looks black, lifeless basen.

 

those $34mln spend on those plastic balls is over 1bln bht. For that money they can do a lot of work or even construct yet another reservoir with earth/stone dam. 

 

as digression - thailand has just opened the worl's biggest solar panel farm on water. It would also prevent evaporation 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2021 by internationalism

[ThaIrish Sean]

Do you think the water absorbs some of the plastic?

Like it does with plastic bottles.

[internationalism]

yes, UV light from the sun, temperature, various microbs would decompose plastic within a few years. Some of it would end up in tap water. Most at sediment, killing fish feeding on it 

[nobodysfriend]

On 10/31/2021 at 2:34 AM, rodknock said:

always has been and always will be.

The times , they are a changin ...

What always was , will not always be ...

[drtreelove]

6 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

The times , they are a changin ...

What always was , will not always be ...

Hear! Hear!

[nobodysfriend]

On 10/31/2021 at 7:30 AM, internationalism said:

digging up and dredging existing waterways, as well as doing proper banks (not necessary cement - as on this picture, but natural ones, impacted soil, vegetation with big and strong roots) around them would have much bigger impact. 

Thanks for your post .

But mother earth had already created a perfectly balanced environment ... large rivers had their ' overflow area , that became flooded only after a ( before ) regular rise in water levels ... until man came and changed all this ...

In Munich , Germany , they changed the direction of the Isar river that passes the city . It did cost millions to do that , and it caused millions in damages due to inondations . By now  , they demolished all that and put the Isar back to it's original way . It did cost millions again to do that , but the people of Munich now have a beautiful and natural zone with a lot of wildlife that lies within the city limits .

Many times , it is better not to interfere in what took ages to naturally develop and just learn to live with it without the need of changing what mother earth designed and what was necessary for a balanced and protected environment ( ecosystem ) .

[nobodysfriend]

9 minutes ago, drtreelove said:

Hear! Hear!

Words of wisdom .

[internationalism]

8 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

Thanks for your post .

But mother earth had already created a perfectly balanced environment ... large rivers had their ' overflow area , that became flooded only after a ( before ) regular rise in water levels ... until man came and changed all this ...

In Munich , Germany , they changed the direction of the Isar river that passes the city . It did cost millions to do that , and it caused millions in damages due to inondations . By now  , they demolished all that and put the Isar back to it's original way . It did cost millions again to do that , but the people of Munich now have a beautiful and natural zone with a lot of wildlife that lies within the city limits .

Many times , it is better not to interfere in what took ages to naturally develop and just learn to live with it without the need of changing what mother earth designed and what was necessary for a balanced and protected environment ( ecosystem ) .

but humans are also part of the ecosystem.

Thai population rose within the last 200 years from 4.5mln to 70mln.

So that much more food is needed and more rise fields. Plus becoming the world's biggest rice exporter.

That many more wooden houses were to be build, that more trees cut. Without trees there are flash floods, run off water from hills to valleys, hence pattaya floods even if it is right next to the sea. 

Thailand does need more reservoirs, that including low impact dams.

All villages with brooks, streams can construct one with their own available locally equipment.

All should be dredged every year during dry season, to prepare for rain. 

[Card]

That is the worst possible way to save water I have ever seen. Imagine the world doing this - all the microplastics ending up in the drinking water, oceans and food. Looks like the yanks don't give a shot as long as they don't have to economise on their precious lifestyle.

[nobodysfriend]

13 minutes ago, internationalism said:

but humans are also part of the ecosystem.

Thai population rose within the last 200 years from 4.5mln to 70mln.

Really need to control further growth of the human population on this planet .

Not enough resources to feed them all . Climate change will make harvests worse . Overpopulation ( and greed ) causes massive destruction of natural systems .

Human population growth does not fit in Darwins theory of evolution of species any more . There is no selection any more to who can reproduce . It is not the ' survival of the fittest ' any more . Most kids are produced by poor and uneducated people who just do not know or care . 

Every possible solution to this problem ( birth control by sterilisation after having the first kid ) , need to be applied world-wide , and this will not happen in a divided world .

[BananaGuy]

On 10/31/2021 at 3:39 AM, RubbaJohnny said:

Link is only for facebook users, thanks for trying to help.

 

 

Works fine for me and I’m not a FB user maybe the problem is with your setup.

 

It’s a video of 96 million black plastic balls being dumped into a reservoir so Google 96 million black plastic balls should get you started. 

[internationalism]

1 hour ago, nobodysfriend said:

Really need to control further growth of the human population on this planet .

Not enough resources to feed them all . Climate change will make harvests worse . Overpopulation ( and greed ) causes massive destruction of natural systems .

Human population growth does not fit in Darwins theory of evolution of species any more . There is no selection any more to who can reproduce . It is not the ' survival of the fittest ' any more . Most kids are produced by poor and uneducated people who just do not know or care . 

Every possible solution to this problem ( birth control by sterilisation after having the first kid ) , need to be applied world-wide , and this will not happen in a divided world .

Glob is able to feed everybody, and twice as much population as we have now. Just matter of equal sharing. A lot of food is wasted. A lot of people are overweight and obese. 
if you want sterelise humans, next you will sterisile animals, which also might be breeding in excess and putting strain on resources. 
i dont rhink its the way

[hansnl]

Simple.

King Bhumibol had the right ideas

Plant trees, millions of trees, all over Thailand.

To start with.

All that can be done now is battling results.

[BananaGuy]

14 minutes ago, internationalism said:

Glob is able to feed everybody, and twice as much population as we have now. Just matter of equal sharing. A lot of food is wasted. A lot of people are overweight and obese. 
if you want sterelise humans, next you will sterisile animals, which also might be breeding in excess and putting strain on resources. 
i dont rhink its the way

They need to make the black balls out of something edible like liquorice (although I’m not fond of the stuff).

Include a contraceptive element and arsenic in every 100th ball … about four problems solved at a stroke.

[ExpatOilWorker]

The real reason for the balls:

 

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by ExpatOilWorker

[Adumbration]

Thais will steal them from the reservoir to sell at recycle centers.

[bogozy]

The evaporation are the most useful. New clouds formed from  the evaporated water, and has got rains from the clouds. This is the natural circle of water.

[Almer]

22 hours ago, ThaIrish Sean said:

Do you think the water absorbs some of the plastic?

Like it does with plastic bottles.

What is the environmental cost of producing a load of balls

[Almer]

Cover the dams/ reservoirs in floating solar panels, so much sun and no energy taken from it

[DekDaeng]

6 hours ago, Card said:

That is the worst possible way to save water I have ever seen. Imagine the world doing this - all the microplastics ending up in the drinking water, oceans and food. Looks like the yanks don't give a shot as long as they don't have to economise on their precious lifestyle.

X bad idea.

 

[GroveHillWanderer]

8 hours ago, Card said:

That is the worst possible way to save water I have ever seen. Imagine the world doing this - all the microplastics ending up in the drinking water, oceans and food. Looks like the yanks don't give a shot as long as they don't have to economise on their precious lifestyle.

According to the video posted by @ExpatOilWorker the balls are made of inert, food grade polyethylene, which means they are corrosion-resistant, absorb little moisture and don't leach chemicals into their surroundings. The LA officials say they will last for many, many years before being replaced and even if they did break down, would not be harmful to human health.

 

The main reason that they are being used, as explained in that video, is to prevent the formation of dangerous levels of carcinogenic chemicals in the reservoir caused by the interaction between the naturally-occurring bromide in the water, chlorine and sunlight.

 

So rather than posing a risk to health, they are actually preventing one.