Thailand’s Largest Dam May Run Dry As Drought Worsens

[webfact]

Thailand’s largest dam may run dry as drought worsens

BANGKOK: -- Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has been told that Thailand’s largest dam, the Bhumibol Dam across the Ping River at Sam Ngao District of Tak Province, will run out of water before the end of the dry season if it continues to release water at the current rate.

Royal Irrigation Department officials yesterday told Mr. Abhisit the water level in the dam, which has a capacity of 13.462 trillion litres (about 3.556 trillion US gallons), was currently at 44 percent of capacity compared to 52 percent at the same time last year.

Officials said the dam was currently releasing between 51 and 52 billion litres (13.472 and 13.736 billion US gallons) of water a day to service agricultural requirements downstream and at the present rate the dam will run dry before the wet season.

Completed in 1964, Bhumibol Dam water provides electricity generation, agriculture irrigation and prevents sea water intrusion in the lower Chao Phraya and Tha Chin river basin.

At the same time as the PM was being briefed in Tak, Abhisit Khamphilaia, head of the Chang Rai marine office said the level of the Mekong River measured in Chiang Saen district yesterday was 1.5m (5ft) higher than on Monday.

The increased depth has allowed Chinese cargo vessels to travel back upstream to Xishuangbanna in China's Yunnan province.

Mr. Abhisit (the marine official) said Chinese authorities has banned river boats from leaving Xishuangbanna for Thailand because of the lack of water, but the latest information was that the ban will be lifted on April 14.

-- thaivisa.com 2010-03-17

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[gotlost]

Gee I wonder where that extra 5 foot of water came from on the Mekong?

[mrtoad]

Gee I wonder where that extra 5 foot of water came from on the Mekong?

Maybe the red shirts has a urine collection.

[Encid]

Gee I wonder where that extra 5 foot of water came from on the Mekong?

Maybe the red shirts has a urine collection.

That was really funny!!!

[ballpoint]

Gee I wonder where that extra 5 foot of water came from on the Mekong?

Funny that. Chinese commerce is affected and the river mysteriously rises 1.5m. It must really be pissing down in China, or maybe they've got the peoples army out on the glaciers with blow torches? After all, it can't have come from any of the dams, they have no effect on the river level.

[neverdie]

Soon the 'sinking ship' will have nothing to sink in

[Tigs]

Gee I wonder where that extra 5 foot of water came from on the Mekong?

Funny that. Chinese commerce is affected and the river mysteriously rises 1.5m. It must really be pissing down in China, or maybe they've got the peoples army out on the glaciers with blow torches? After all, it can't have come from any of the dams, they have no effect on the river level.

You get the most astute observation of the day award. I would love to see how the Chinese would explain the increase in water levels, as you say, they made an official statement the other day saying that their dams made no difference. I bet they have had them open all night under cover of darkness I imagine that once all the chinese barges have all been recovered to home territory, the water level will mysteriously drop again.

[gotlost]

Gee I wonder where that extra 5 foot of water came from on the Mekong?

Funny that. Chinese commerce is affected and the river mysteriously rises 1.5m. It must really be pissing down in China, or maybe they've got the peoples army out on the glaciers with blow torches? After all, it can't have come from any of the dams, they have no effect on the river level.

You get the most astute observation of the day award. I would love to see how the Chinese would explain the increase in water levels, as you say, they made an official statement the other day saying that their dams made no difference. I bet they have had them open all night under cover of darkness I imagine that once all the chinese barges have all been recovered to home territory, the water level will mysteriously drop again.

Just remember where the rocks are so we can walk the river.

[lazygourmet]

That was the level -2 weeks ago- of this dam in Nakorn Nayok:

[rreddin]

"BANGKOK: -- Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has been told that Thailand’s largest dam, the Bhumibol Dam across the Ping River at Sam Ngao District of Tak Province, will run out of water before the end of the dry season if it continues to release water at the current rate.

Royal Irrigation Department officials yesterday told Mr. Abhisit the water level in the dam, which has a capacity of 13.462 trillion litres (about 3.556 trillion US gallons), was currently at 44 percent of capacity compared to 52 percent at the same time last year.

Officials said the dam was currently releasing between 51 and 52 billion litres (13.472 and 13.736 billion US gallons) of water a day to service agricultural requirements downstream and at the present rate the dam will run dry before the wet season.

Completed in 1964, Bhumibol Dam water provides electricity generation, agriculture irrigation and prevents sea water intrusion in the lower Chao Phraya and Tha Chin river basin."

This is seriously bad news. Unless there is a lot of rain (not likely at this time of year), water rationing might well have to be introduced. That is going to have an adverse effect on the farmers who depend on the dam for irrigation. It will also effect the ecology of the lower Chao Phraya and Tha Chin river basin.

His Majesty's warnings of possible food shortages caused by the drought should be taken seriously. The social consequences of water rationing must also be considered. A lot of the farmers who are likely to be affected by water rationing are dependent on the income from their crop. A poor harvest will ruin many small farmers.

Edited March 17, 2010 by rreddin

[Thaihog]

No doubt Songkran will go ahead as normal with millions of litres of water wasted daily..... and the govt will do sweet FA, when will they learn, not in this life time that's for f*cking sure.......

[elkangorito]

Thais are complete "water wasters". They have no concept of this problem & nor will they until it is too late.

If the situation is as desperate as it is claimed to be, I would expect to see advertisements in the media explaining the many ways how water wastage can be greatly reduced.

[Pib]

Drought/not enough water in the tropics/Thailand?! How can that possibly happen?! Oh yea, I forgot, a lot more people now live in the tropics/southeast asia and use modern technology to use a heck of lot more water.

[hjvdhoef]

When I go to the toilet I use only 6 teaspoons for cleaning.When everybody is doing that,Abashit can safe a lot of water.

[brahmburgers]

True, Thais are epic water wasters. They even water the roads. Ok, I can go with that if it's a dusty dirt road. But a paved road? Yes, they water paved roads also, even in the grip of the biblical drought we're having now. And Songkran. Yep, no restraints or else stand to be called a 'party pooper.'

And Thai legislators, in their oriental wisdom, voted to extend Songkran an extra weekday, thereby stretching it from 5 days to 9 days. How does 5 + 1 = 9 ? here's how, the fifth day they added was a Thursday. So, if Songkran starts on the preceding weekend, that would have been 5 days (Sat thru Wed). By adding Thursday, then revelers aren't going to stop throwing water on Friday, with the weekend coming! So, what you get, particularly in the parched north where Songkran mayhem rules, ......is at least 9 days of copious and frenzied water throwing.

Thailand won't get serious about droughts until the following three things happen:

1. talk to Chinese authorities about the 4 dams already on the Mekong's watershed, and the four proposed dams. Tell the Chinese that the Mekong river is for all its animals and plants and people, not just for Chinese farmers who want to grow 2 crops of rice per year.

2. Speaking of rice, it's a ridiculous crop to grow in a drought-wracked land. Even in rain-soaked years, there are better crops to grow. Ask the North Africans, if you can't think of any non-water-guzzling crops to grow.

3. Limit Songkran to 1 day. Period. Full stop.

[gemini81]

Gee I wonder where that extra 5 foot of water came from on the Mekong?

Funny that. Chinese commerce is affected and the river mysteriously rises 1.5m. It must really be pissing down in China, or maybe they've got the peoples army out on the glaciers with blow torches? After all, it can't have come from any of the dams, they have no effect on the river level.

You get the most astute observation of the day award. I would love to see how the Chinese would explain the increase in water levels, as you say, they made an official statement the other day saying that their dams made no difference. I bet they have had them open all night under cover of darkness I imagine that once all the chinese barges have all been recovered to home territory, the water level will mysteriously drop again.

The US outta help Tibet dam their water then, since this is becoming fashionable..then claim the levels went down too. They can ship some to Thailand since the Dalai Lama is a friend.

[astral]

Looks pretty full to me.....................

[thaiedward]

While there might be more up-to-date information in print at the present, there was a pretty good book "Water Wars" published about a decade ago which offers daunting views of the problems resulting from humans overpopulating a lovely place with limited resources.

In the Chinese effort to secure Tibet (water and more) as a part its realm, a railway was constructed in record time. A long stretch of the new RR's route traverses a boggy tundra which, as a result, is maintained in a frozen state by means of an unprecedented refrigeration system installed in the track bed. Clever? Is necessity not the mother of invention?

Since approximately 1/3 of China is now desert (credited to over-grazing and recklessly aggressive farming), I've heard that they are interested in the Great Lakes located in the middle of the North American continent.

For some reason, it's all of interest to me.

Regards

[johndpoole]

Yes of course a deal was made to raise the water level to and the Chinese ships were used as leverage. Good move on the Thai part.

I am pretty sure we don't have to worry that the rains will return but Thais have become too depend on the regular rains to replenish supplies. I don't think Thais waste water anymore than other areas with similar rain fall but what they need to do is find more ways to capture the rain water as opposed to have 99% go into the same sewers that carry the waste from out toilets.

[Rtwo]

Gee I wonder where that extra 5 foot of water came from on the Mekong?

Funny that. Chinese commerce is affected and the river mysteriously rises 1.5m. It must really be pissing down in China, or maybe they've got the peoples army out on the glaciers with blow torches? After all, it can't have come from any of the dams, they have no effect on the river level.

You get the most astute observation of the day award. I would love to see how the Chinese would explain the increase in water levels, as you say, they made an official statement the other day saying that their dams made no difference. I bet they have had them open all night under cover of darkness I imagine that once all the chinese barges have all been recovered to home territory, the water level will mysteriously drop again.

Just remember where the rocks are so we can walk the river.

My wife who comes from Chiangsaen regularly talks to the Chinese boat captains and for the past three years when they've had problems getting back upstream all they do is gt on their satellite phones and phone home asking the powers that be to let some more water out so don't tell me they don't know what's going on or why. Plain fact of the matter is they couldn't give a shit as long as they're OK. My guess is that they'll speed up construction of the road that they're building across Laos, complete the bridge to Chiang Kong and then cut the water supply almost completely, until they've finished building the next 7 or is it 8 dams that they've got penciled in. When they've done that they can do virtually anything they like and nobody, not the Thai's, Burmese, Lao, Cambodians or Vietnamese will be able to do anything. If they want any minerals in Burma or a piece of North Vietnam they just turn the water off. Perfect strategy and very Chinese.

[LaoPo]

It seems to me that a few posters are mixing facts here.

The Bhumibol Dam has nothing to do with water from any river from China.

The Ping river is one of the main sources to the Chao Phraya river and the Ping originates in Chiang Mai Province, not China.

The Mekong runs a lot more North and East in Thailand.

LaoPo

[ballpoint]

It seems to me that a few posters are mixing facts here.

The Bhumibol Dam has nothing to do with water from any river from China.

The Ping river is one of the main sources to the Chao Phraya river and the Ping originates in Chiang Mai Province, not China.

The Mekong runs a lot more North and East in Thailand.

LaoPo

Why not read the whole OP?

At the same time as the PM was being briefed in Tak, Abhisit Khamphilaia, head of the Chang Rai marine office said the level of the Mekong River measured in Chiang Saen district yesterday was 1.5m (5ft) higher than on Monday.

The increased depth has allowed Chinese cargo vessels to travel back upstream to Xishuangbanna in China's Yunnan province.