Rain

[Ricardo]

Our own village-supply was reduced to 3-hours-daily at the end of February, and certainly isn't reaching as far as our own house at all, for the past month or more.

Our private borehole is producing 15-20 litres per-day, a trickle in the kitchen-sink if we're lucky, and a daily flush-in-the-pan !

We're showering & re-filling bottles of water for washing from my wife's shop in the village a mile away, they're on a different village-system, which I'm told is having water trucked-in constantly to re-fill their water-tower.

We always make a loo-stop, when visiting the mall in-town, to use their facilities (plus free air-con), too !

Luckily I'm off to the UK shortly, it will be cold & miserable, but at least I'll be able to shower more-often, even daily ! Luxury !

Mrs Ricardo got excited after the 30-minute shower last week, and rang me afterwards to ask whether the water was back on, I had to explain that it took 3-4 months to drain the aquifer so it will take at least a few weeks of heavy-rain to get back to anything-like normal again !

Edited April 28, 2016 by Ricardo

[Konini]

Do the Thai's understand the seriousness of this? It's not a rhetorical question or Thai bashing, genuinely interested.

When the water levels reached a certain limit in Melbourne during an awful 14 year drought, water restrictions were gradually brought in. We started at level 10 restrictions. No watering driveways (lazy person's sweeping) or lawns. Then hoses only if they had a trigger gun on the end of them. Then watering flowerbeds only, only between the hours of 6am-8am and a couple of hours at night. Then watering flowerbeds on alternate days. Then 3 days a week. Then one hour 3 days a week. Then no washing cars - you were allowed to wash your windows, mirrors and lights only. Commercial carwashes were exempt provided the recycled their water. Windows had to be cleaned by hand, not with a hose. Some people thought it was a joke. Wasn't so funny when the water board came and welded your water meter so you could only get the tiniest trickle, 30 minutes to fill a glass of water, and a sizeable fine. The crisis didn't happen overnight, it took about 10 years for level 2 water restrictions to come in - very close to level one restrictions when the drought finally broke. About the same time they started building the desalination plant.

But my point is, we all knew about it, we all knew how serious it was, we all took it seriously. There were blokes out patrolling day and night catching people watering their plants. Bore Water Used signs were springing up on all of the lawns that had the slightest bit of green on them, and the patrol blokes checked to make sure it was bore water. Had we got to level one, it would have been water turned off for so many hours per day. I've known just by watching the river level and knowing how much rain has fallen since the floods a few years ago that we were heading for water shortages and quite possibly restrictions. Perhaps it's because I lived through that drought that I'm more aware, I really don't know. I never leave the tap on when I'm cleaning my teeth, I don't put more water in the washing machine than is really needed, just little things like that which have stuck with me, and I suppose always will.

Were there any restrictions prior to the level zero three hours a day? Thankfully, by day 3 Songkran was pretty much over apart from a few small children, so that would have saved a lot of water, but the whole thing would have been cancelled in many places. A little splash onto someone's hands and that's it. I wonder if the average Thai person, going about their daily business has any idea how low the water storages for the city are?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

But my point is, we all knew about it, we all knew how serious it was, we all took it seriously.

Because it was indeed serious. What tells you that it's equally serious in Thailand right now?

It's a monsoonal climate: a long dry season, followed by a very wet season. You do normally get at least some rain on occasion, but not enough to make a difference either way.

If there is a problem or not will depend on the coming wet season.

[cmsally]

Last years wet season was not particularly wet , that is a major part of the problem. If this years wet season is not particularly wet, then it could be disastrous in my opinion.

[Konini]

But my point is, we all knew about it, we all knew how serious it was, we all took it seriously.

Because it was indeed serious. What tells you that it's equally serious in Thailand right now?

It's a monsoonal climate: a long dry season, followed by a very wet season. You do normally get at least some rain on occasion, but not enough to make a difference either way.

If there is a problem or not will depend on the coming wet season.

No, I possibly worded that badly. I am quite sure it is serious and getting more serious than many may imagine.

My question was does the average person in the street here realise just how serious it is. Another huge difference to the water shortages in Melbourne is that they depend on rain for the rice crop here.

(As I wrote that I had the image spring into my mind of more land being turned over from paddy to corn, the husks of which make for such lovely fires).

[Dante99]

Our own village-supply was reduced to 3-hours-daily at the end of February, and certainly isn't reaching as far as our own house at all, for the past month or more.

Our private borehole is producing 15-20 litres per-day, a trickle in the kitchen-sink if we're lucky, and a daily flush-in-the-pan !

We're showering & re-filling bottles of water for washing from my wife's shop in the village a mile away, they're on a different village-system, which I'm told is having water trucked-in constantly to re-fill their water-tower.

We always make a loo-stop, when visiting the mall in-town, to use their facilities (plus free air-con), too !

Luckily I'm off to the UK shortly, it will be cold & miserable, but at least I'll be able to shower more-often, even daily ! Luxury !

Mrs Ricardo got excited after the 30-minute shower last week, and rang me afterwards to ask whether the water was back on, I had to explain that it took 3-4 months to drain the aquifer so it will take at least a few weeks of heavy-rain to get back to anything-like normal again !

About how deep is the bore hole?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

But my point is, we all knew about it, we all knew how serious it was, we all took it seriously.

Because it was indeed serious. What tells you that it's equally serious in Thailand right now?

It's a monsoonal climate: a long dry season, followed by a very wet season. You do normally get at least some rain on occasion, but not enough to make a difference either way.

If there is a problem or not will depend on the coming wet season.

No, I possibly worded that badly. I am quite sure it is serious and getting more serious than many may imagine.

My question was does the average person in the street here realise just how serious it is. Another huge difference to the water shortages in Melbourne is that they depend on rain for the rice crop here.

(As I wrote that I had the image spring into my mind of more land being turned over from paddy to corn, the husks of which make for such lovely fires).

Right, right.. although rice paddies take a tremendous amount of water, a lot more than corn. And then the rice stubble gets burnt in the end, too.

That's why it sounds so strange to me when people start huffing and puffing about a water park, located in the middle of rice paddies that have consumed lots and lots of water basically since forever. Water isn't actually too scarce in this region, if there is a drought then we all know who will be hit hardest: The Isan plateau.

[cmsally]

Check out the weather for this week and Udon, Nong Khai & Khon Kaen are getting way more rain than here.

Your average Northern person has as far as I know never had to worry about water, not on a big scale anyway.

However the last 20yrs have seen condos,golf courses, laundries, swimming pools explode in numbers.

They maybe beginning to pay the price for this.

[Asiantravel]

But my point is, we all knew about it, we all knew how serious it was, we all took it seriously.

Because it was indeed serious. What tells you that it's equally serious in Thailand right now?

It's a monsoonal climate: a long dry season, followed by a very wet season. You do normally get at least some rain on occasion, but not enough to make a difference either way.

If there is a problem or not will depend on the coming wet season.

" What tells you that it's equally serious in Thailand right now? "

the three-minute video on this BBC world report by Jonathan Head shown yesterday gives the impression that it's pretty serious........................

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36138475

[Asiantravel]

But my point is, we all knew about it, we all knew how serious it was, we all took it seriously.

Because it was indeed serious. What tells you that it's equally serious in Thailand right now?

It's a monsoonal climate: a long dry season, followed by a very wet season. You do normally get at least some rain on occasion, but not enough to make a difference either way.

If there is a problem or not will depend on the coming wet season.

" What tells you that it's equally serious in Thailand right now? "

the three-minute video on this BBC world report by Jonathan Head shown yesterday gives the impression that it's pretty serious........................

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36138475

[chiang mai]

Largish storm just now by passing Mae Rim, perhaps further South will see some rain tonight.

[Tywais]

Largish storm just now by passing Mae Rim, perhaps further South will see some rain tonight.

Got dark fast and lot of rolling thunder in Mae Hia now. Forecast 20% rain coverage tomorrow or Saturday.

[cmsally]

If you look on satellite a biggish storm over CM and south going to pass in next few hours

[Tywais]

If you look on satellite a biggish storm over CM and south going to pass in next few hours

accuweather.com - if you hit the arrow you can see how fast it is building.

[Konini]

Man, that is one sexy little graphic. It's amazing how it just seemed to come out of nowhere. We had strongish winds on the river for 2 or 3 minutes about 45 minutes ago, then it calmed down.

Let's hope we have a good downpour. If not for the sake of putting out fires or managing to fall over water catchments, just to cool things down a bit.

[Konini]

Right, right.. although rice paddies take a tremendous amount of water, a lot more than corn. And then the rice stubble gets burnt in the end, too.

That's why it sounds so strange to me when people start huffing and puffing about a water park, located in the middle of rice paddies that have consumed lots and lots of water basically since forever. Water isn't actually too scarce in this region, if there is a drought then we all know who will be hit hardest: The Isan plateau.

Fair point, but the rice stubble doesn't create the horrible smoke and pollution that the corn stalks and husks do from my (admittedly little) reading about it.

And yes, the north east will be harder hit than us. Doesn't Burma have loads of water from hydro projects that could be piped here apart from a little tiff the governments had about it a few years ago? Not cheap to build a pipeline, but surely better than all the rice farmers going hungry, as they certainly will unless there is substantial rain this year.

[Gonzo the Face]

Getting pretty dark out there... any reports of rain in the area???? I Hope, I hope, I Hope !

[CMKiwi]

Fairly dark out in Mae Rim too Gonzo. In fact its that dark I have to turn the lights on so I can see the keys on the keyboard as I type. Lots of thunder but no rain as yet......

A bit like most politicians, a lot of noise but nothing actually happens

[Tywais]

Lot of rolling thunder and quite dark at CMU. Seems I can smell rain in the air but nothing coming down yet.

[Gonzo the Face]

Lot of rolling thunder and quite dark at CMU. Seems I can smell rain in the air but nothing coming down yet.

Oh don't say that Tywais..... people may think you hold your nose to high

[chiang mai]

It's trying real hard to rain here in Mae Rim, a few light sprinkles but nothing more, I'm going to help it along by washing my car and watering the garden, it's sure to bucket down shortly afterwards.

[mesquite]

100 drops inner city [emoji45]

[Konini]

You're not wrong, in fact you were lucky, I don't think we got a single drop on the river. I've just turned the lights back off, so the waiting game continues.

[Sparkles]

100 drops inner city [emoji45]

Thats about 98 drops more than we got at Hang Dong.Its coming though maybe tomorrow.In fact people who have housse should make sure everything is tied down that can blow away because when it comes it will probaly be like the storm in Korat the other day, houses blown off foundations and reduced to matchwood

[chiang mai]

Sorry chaps, I did my best, even started to wash the wifes car then the sun came out!

[khunphil]

Lamphun, rain and storm, nice ... even if we lost electricity some minutes...

[cloudhopper]

A welcome thundershower has reduced temps and smoke in the northern Pai valley.

[canuckamuck]

Big one rolling in here in Chiang Rai

[naboo]

Lamphun, rain and storm, nice ... even if we lost electricity some minutes...

Totally dry in my end of Lamphun. Just a bit blowy.

[orang37]

An exploration of the semiotic space of a forum titled 'Rain started by one 'GotLost.

Abjuring the all-too-easy interpretation of the title as an invocatory marker for sympathetic magic ... "name it, and it will come," etc.

And, setting aside the obvious explanation that the Phyanaak (Nagas) whose assigned theogonic role is to make rain ... because in this heah farang neck o' the woods homeys don't play 'dat:

We have few conceptual tools that embody the requisite phronesis to go boldly into that labyrinth where casual syllogism will not light the path to face the Medusae, or Minotaurii, of our sub-conscious.

Then, there's little choice but to use a western literary vehicle; a baht-bus won't do. I'll go with a 14-wheeler, a sonnet; yes it's a little hard to drive on dry roads, but the compound-low is very useful if you get ... stuck.

'mango rains' time, yet rains don't come;

just little tingling tickles of trickles

here, there, through toxic air, stalling

falling: so we dehydrated, unconsummated

stare: if a dark cloud's not just a lark,

we run post-haste to write in good taste

our encomium to nature merciful; if it's

mirage sans happy-ending's moist massage:

then we'll graffito our camouflaged howl

across the skin of the forum's walls, to

begin laments over toxic air, then— ahem:

pen rants against bars shut at twelve am

let questing for the best-burger's flesh

be moisturizing towelettes keep us fresh

Now, admit it don't you hear the rain ... right now ? A strong wind has just come up here in Nong Hoi, at this very moment; is that any more accidentally meaningful than waking up in the morning and seeing, in the mirror, you are in the same body ... or any less meaningful ?

cheers, ~o:37'