Water wars erupt as Mekong runs dry and temperatures to hit 43C (109F)

As Thailand approaches the hottest time of the year all signs are that this years hot season is going to be worse than past years, with levels in the Mekong River already below navigable levels and the weather bureau predicting temperatures of 43C (109F) by months end.

The rapidly escalating situation is causing serious concern for authorities and follows the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry placing 60 of Thailand’s 75 provinces onto drought surveillance three weeks ago, and warnings of “water wars” between farmers by the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) last week.

The Chiang Rai Customs Office said yesterday that cargo barges can no longer ply the Mekong River due to low water levels, forcing freight between China and Thailand to be transported through Laos on the 2,000km (1,242mile)-long R3A road route that links Thailand with Xishuangbanna prefecture in Yunnan province of southern China.

According to officials in Chiang Mai, long haul container freight truck numbers arriving from China by road have increased from 50 a month to more than 50 a day and they expect this number to increase dramatically over the coming months.

The alarming drop in water levels follows last weeks warning by Chalit Damrongsak, Royal Irrigation Department director-general, who said the country’s reservoirs and dams are only about 66 percent of capacity and who voiced grave fears there will not be enough irrigation water to last through the hot season.

Blaming the sever shortage on off-season rice crops, which require large amounts of water, Mr. Chalit said there was now about 11.4 million rai (about 4.5 million acre/1.824 million ha) being cultivated, mostly in the Central Plains, against a maximum capacity of 9.5 million rai (3.756 million acre/1.520 million ha).

“It’s a case of when we will see water wars erupt, not if”, Mr Chalit said.

Across drought affected provinces there has been a steady increase in reports of fighting erupting over access to water, as well as claims of water theft.

About 100 farmers from Muang district in Phrae yesterday lodged a complaint with the provincial administration about water shortage, claiming their soybean crops had wilted because there was not enough water due to people living upstream in Song district stopping the supply.

At the same time rice farmers Phrom Phiram district, Phitsanulok, sought police protection as they opened a sluice gate to release water to their farms they said had been closed by "thugs" intent on siphoning off water to be sold to other farmers.

After reopening the sluice gate the farmers have posted an around the clock watch to ensure the “thugs” don’t return and stop supply again.

According to official records the water level of the Mekong River at Chiang Saen district of Chiang Rai Province dropped by 1.5m (4.9ft) between January 24 and February 23, while Chinese media is said to be reporting that the Mekong River is at its lowest level for 50 years.

To help combat the alarming shortage of water, eight artificial rain-making centres were opened last week, while 1,200 additional water pumps and 295 water tanks have been prepared for despatch to drought-stricken areas to ease the impact of the shortage, on top of 600 water pumps already sent to 36 drought affected provinces.

Mid last month the Interior Ministry's Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department warned that Thailand faced the likelihood of the most serious water shortage in five years because of the return of El Nino, while the national weather bureau has forecast temperatures in the vicinity of 43C (109F), about 5C (9F) above normal.

-- thaivisa.com 2010-03-04

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it was only a few days ago the finger of guilt was being pointed at China, The construction of another dam being the root cause of the problem.

it was only a few days ago the finger of guilt was being pointed at China, The construction of another dam being the root cause of the problem.

Seems like they're doing the same in Burma

it was only a few days ago the finger of guilt was being pointed at China, The construction of another dam being the root cause of the problem.

It certainly hasn't helped matters but I saw - via selfdestructivebastards.com - a report from The World Business Council for Sustainable Development which says:

"the wet season in Vientiane last year was one of the worst on record, and was followed by much lower than average rain late in 2009 and early this year.

As a result, there has been very low water flow in the Mekong's tributaries.

"The rainfall in China is also extremely low," Bird said."

http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/det...bjectId=Mzc1NTM

Whether or not this is the result of climate change is impossible to say - droughts happen all the time due to natural variability in stable climates - but disruption to the monsoon is likely in a warming world.

good news, so lets cut more trees then......anyway trees only waste water and are totally useless if not made furniture from it.

Along comes a free benefit, much more space for golf courts.

Thailand is one of the best examples for ignorance in protecting natural enviroments....money is much more important here then anything else.

It's a good thing we have Maptaphut down here in the South-East, to take what little water is left and turn it into good old diesel so that even when the rivers run dry and we can't ship produce up the Mekong anymore, we can still export whatever there is left to export by the truckload.

whats the betting there will be water restrictions during Songkran ?

whats the betting there will be water restrictions during Songkran ?

0

because according the weather department - heavy tropical storms are gonna hit the entire country next week or next month.

whats the betting there will be water restrictions during Songkran ?

0

because according the weather department - heavy tropical storms are gonna hit the entire country next week or next month.

whats the betting there will be water restrictions during Songkran ?

There may be water restrictions not only during sukran but all april and may

Edited March 4, 201016 yr by givenall

Perhaps the govermnet should use the money they just seized from thanskin to build a better irragation - resovoir system to control and maintain agricultural interest. what else are they going to do with this money- kcore

That is what you get when you keep on bending over for Mighty china. China does not give a dam_n thing about Thailand, Burma Vietnam or Cambodia. Everybody knows except this government given the fact that the sister of the Lama was refused entry. As long as countries love to get screwed by China nothing will change. Just stop placing orders, impose tariffs on fruit and vegetables because of uneven competition. They have water we don"t

Hi.

I actually agree with kcore - irrigation systems, particularly water storage, has to be built. Or how come certain regions (mostly Isan) are always bone dry for half a year and completely flooded for the other half? I know that was exaggerated..... but if there was some planning involved the flooding during the rain season could be converted into water stored for the dry season, such as with artificial lakes/reservoirs etc.

If those people would take off their red shirts and pick up some shovels they could actually get something done instead of supporting a certain billionaire's fight for even more billions. THAT guy wouldn't give a hoot about irrigation. Sadly they don't see it.

Best regards......

Thanh

Edited March 4, 201016 yr by Thanh-BKK

I come from a country with a lot of natural rainfall and some of the best quality natural water in the World and in abundance.

Maybe I should go home and set up an export business for spring water to Thailand?

I can't believe that this article never had anything on the dams being built upstream in China. This is obviously having the greatest impact on the Mekong. Iv'e watched a few programmes on the Mekong and learnt that it has some of the most richest biodiversity in the world. However, this may all change forever with the amount of dams that are now built AND being built on it (another 12 planned for China). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong

whats the betting there will be water restrictions during Songkran ?

Zero. The government already extended Songkran for an extra day (Thursday, which effectively extends the mayhem from five to nine days (because that left only one day, Friday, that was not officially Songkran - but who's going to stop partying for one day, when the weekend looms?). That's nine days of people throwing water as fast and furiously as they can. For the gov't to put any meaningful curbs on water wastage at Songkran would be like the US gov't saying about Halloween, "ok, you can get some candy from home, but don't get greedy and try to get so much candy from neighbors." If the gov't tried to put curbs on Songkran, the Thai people would see it like a mean uncle restricting their fun time. Won't happen, particularly at a time when the gov't is trying so hard to be everyone's friend - to counter the Thaksin rot.

There will be a day in the near future when a person will be able to walk across the Mekong and not get wet above the knees. At last count, China has built only 4 of the 7 or 8 dams it plans on building just over the border on its side. Then there's the once-mighty Salween on Thailand's west side, which will also add to China's private water supply and power generation, as soon as it can get more dams built there, with some help from the Burmese.

I was in Chiang Khan the 20th of Feb, and I have never seen that mighty river so low. Many more sand bars showing than water.

That is what you get when you keep on bending over for Mighty china. China does not give a dam_n thing about Thailand, Burma Vietnam or Cambodia. Everybody knows except this government given the fact that the sister of the Lama was refused entry. As long as countries love to get screwed by China nothing will change. Just stop placing orders, impose tariffs on fruit and vegetables because of uneven competition. They have water we don"t

Maybe you should educate yourself a little better before you write...?

China is suffering from serious droughts themselves and it's nonsense what you write.

If the Mekong runs dry it's because of serious lack of water supplies from high up on the plateaus of the Himalaya where the Mekong originates.

The Mekong runs from China via Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Thailand doesn't have the exclusive water rights to the water of the Mekong. To blame China because there are serious droughts is silly.

March 4, 2010:

"BEIJING - The drought that has struck five provinces in Southwest China has become increasingly worse, leaving at least 11 million people short of water and endangering crop yields of at least 3.8 million hectares, authorities have warned.

Guaranteeing the supply of drinking water will be the highest priority for drought relief efforts in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Chongqing and Sichuan, as the drought is expected to last until mid-March, the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said on Tuesday.

The dry spell, which began in September, has left more than 15 million people and 9 million livestock without adequate water supplies.

It has also affected 4.4 million hectares of farmland across the country, according to statistics.

There is also little relief in sight. With hardly any rain expected, the dry weather and high temperatures are expected to continue for the next 10 days in affected regions, especially Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou, national weather forecasters said. "

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2010-03/...ent_9534325.htm

LaoPo

Or how come certain regions (mostly Isan) are always bone dry for half a year and completely flooded for the other half? I know that was exaggerated..... but if there was some planning involved the flooding during the rain season could be converted into water stored for the dry season, such as with artificial lakes/reservoirs etc.

I guess you are not living here long enough. TiT

THIS IS THAILAND....says it all. They never learn! Since my first visit here, ALWAYS the same problems.

Toooooo much water in rainseason Noooooo water in dry season!

btw, its anyway only the poor people which suffer most of the water shortage, so WHO cares as long as the others can still play golf on greeeeens

"The rainfall in China is also extremely low," Bird said."

Yunnan province and the southwest of China have been enduring a drought for some time.

Thailand actually has quite a few dams and reserviors.

Maybe you should educate yourself a little better before you write...?

China is suffering from serious droughts themselves and it's nonsense what you write.

If the Mekong runs dry it's because of serious lack of water supplies from high up on the plateaus of the Himalaya where the Mekong originates.

The Mekong runs from China via Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Thailand doesn't have the exclusive water rights to the water of the Mekong. To blame China because there are serious droughts is silly.

I'm not so credulous to believe if you have a dam, water and are suffering a drought you are not going to take a little bit more than what you have in the past - which is why the Mekong is lower than it has ever been in the DROUGHTS of previous decades and centuries. I assume that this shortage is caused by the drought, and more importantly increased water usage across the board in China and SEA countries.

Side Note - I am a believer in global warming but this is where countries use it as an excuse to exculpate their actions. 'Lets blame it on global warming and deflect attention from what we are taking'

whats the betting there will be water restrictions during Songkran ?

Zero. The government already extended Songkran for an extra day (Thursday, which effectively extends the mayhem from five to nine days (because that left only one day, Friday, that was not officially Songkran - but who's going to stop partying for one day, when the weekend looms?). That's nine days of people throwing water as fast and furiously as they can. For the gov't to put any meaningful curbs on water wastage at Songkran would be like the US gov't saying about Halloween, "ok, you can get some candy from home, but don't get greedy and try to get so much candy from neighbors." If the gov't tried to put curbs on Songkran, the Thai people would see it like a mean uncle restricting their fun time. Won't happen, particularly at a time when the gov't is trying so hard to be everyone's friend - to counter the Thaksin rot.

In mid March '98, which was extremely dry as well, the police came by to announce that there wouldn't be any running water in our community from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. for a month to save water for Songkran. Almost every day, water started running around midnight until 6 a.m. But Songkran was soooo much fun. And the people loved their uncle sooo much (for 5 minutes).

I can't believe that this article never had anything on the dams being built upstream in China. This is obviously having the greatest impact on the Mekong. Iv'e watched a few programmes on the Mekong and learnt that it has some of the most richest biodiversity in the world. However, this may all change forever with the amount of dams that are now built AND being built on it (another 12 planned for China). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong

That's pretty troubling. If they built one at a time, then there might be a livable amount of water interruption while a dam is filled. But 12 dams being built and filled is probably going to mean a decade period where they're filling 3 or 4 at a time. Would guess 2 or 3 years to fill each one, and I doubt the Chinese are going to worry about the impact downstream.

it was only a few days ago the finger of guilt was being pointed at China, The construction of another dam being the root cause of the problem.

Seems like they're doing the same in Burma

And now Chinese charging to send in water that used to come down the river for free.

Big Brother indeed.

They just completed an irrigation project here in Phitsanulok and many others have been in the works for years, yes even rich Tycoons care about water. In part to relieve flooding in Bangkok during the rain season these dams will fill and store water for the dry season by releasing in a controlled manner and maintain river levels.

Some of the damms in China are for the same propose. Hydro damms don't normally effect river flow as the level of water is maintained the same behind the dam ( In a perfect world), they also don't provide any form of flood control, but irrigation dams will by default. As it has been said before Thailand has more then enough water it is just in the wrong places at the wrong times.

The current river problem has more to do with snow pack and direct un controlled drawing of water without dams to first store that which is used.

Recall the movie The man who would be king. All you have to do to cause a war is tell the people that the other people up steam are pissing in your river.

Recall the movie The man who would be king. All you have to do to cause a war is tell the people that the other people up steam are pissing in your river.

I hear they do that up in Jongwat Nan to the Nan River! I would expect some patriotic P-lokers would put a stop to this deliberate insult

Yes and we know who is in charge up there, its the diabolical I.P. freely

whats the betting there will be water restrictions during Songkran ?

There may be water restrictions not only during sukran but all april and may

Seriously, this country has more bloody rain in 1 year than most of us see in a life time in Australia/South Africa, etc. People here, including the average farmer don't know how good they've got it...............

it was only a few days ago the finger of guilt was being pointed at China, The construction of another dam being the root cause of the problem.

Seems like they're doing the same in Burma

And now Chinese charging to send in water that used to come down the river for free.

Big Brother indeed.

Source and proof for this ?

I agree with poster RKASA about water control by means of dams. Every single country with hills and mountains control -excess- water supply by means of dams and reservoirs and Thailand should do so more themselves also.

Like RKASA explains, Thailand has more than plenty of water supply but they don't control it, don't steer it for times in need.

They rather let excess water supply run into the Gulf....wasted, instead using and storing precious water.

Water doesn't only come from rivers.....otherwise we wouldn't need umbrellas

Easier to blame someone else

LaoPo

Edited March 5, 201016 yr by LaoPo