8 more dams in Thailand to stop water supply for off-season farming

[webfact]

8 more dams to stop water supply for off-season farming

BANGKOK, 12 Nov 2014 (NNT) – The Irrigation Department has decided to halt releasing water from eight more dams to off-season farming areas in order to cushion the effects of the drought crisis.

The decision was made as water at several dams had dropped to a critical level. In the northeast, the Irrigation Department will stop discharging water from Lam Phra Plerng Dam, Lam Moon Bon Dam and Lam Takong Dam in Nakhon Ratchasima, Ubonrat Dam in Ubon Ratchathani, Nam Phung Dam in Sakon Nakhon , Huai Luang Dam in Udon Thani.

The Irrigation Department will also halt water supply from Mae Kuang Dam in Chiang Mai and Tub Salao Dam in Uthai Thani. The Department said it did not forbid off-season farming but farmers who still wanted to continue with the off-season cultivation must find water sources on their own. To help farmers cope with the drought, local irrigation offices are recruiting farmers to dredge canals and repair irrigation facilities so they can earn some money during the dry season.

The situation is worrisome at Bhumibol Dam and Sirikit Dam, where only 24 percent and 46 percent of their capacity are usable respectively. Inspections found that rice growers still went ahead with the off-season farming despite the warning about the water shortage.


-- NNT 2014-11-12

[Chao Lao Beach]

Why does Thailand not build more damns ?

[Tatsujin]

Why does Thailand not build more damns ?

No! We don't need more dams, we just need them to "manage" what they have a little better. We've just finished rainy season and they are still <deleted> empty????

[Thai at Heart]

Simple way to keep the rice crop low. Don't release the water.

[jcisco]

Is there some reason that the water catchments seem unable to fill the dams over the wet season. Or is the problem the water catchments are also the dams biggest consumers of water, I cannot see how rice fields would be a good source of water. I hope this is not the case, but rather just bad damn sizing and placement.

[terminatorchiangmai]

Why does Thailand not build more damns ?

No! We don't need more dams, we just need them to "manage" what they have a little better. We've just finished rainy season and they are still <deleted> empty????

Well its never good , there was not so much water this year during the rain season but the dams where ready for it.

In 2010 the dams where to full and they had to release a lot of water during the raining season which caused a lot of floods.

So maybe you can tell them when or when not to release water ?

Seasons are changing all over the world so this will be happening more in the future.

More dams might not be such a bad idea.

Edited November 12, 2014 by terminatorchiangmai

[worgeordie]

Word to the wise,get your water tanks filled,make sure your pumps working,

if you don't have water tank and pump ,better get one,its like the perfect storm,

(without the rain),all the building that has been going on,they are going to turn

the taps on,lot less rain this year,the 2 main dams in Thailand at only 24% and

46%, and the dry season lasts a long time.

But I am sure the Government has a plan to make sure we all have water

regards Worgeordie

[Nuddy]

It seems odd to me that the area where the "Reds" come from has no water!

Is that something the gods have done?

I doubt that, I would say it has been managed!

Regards

[plachon]

Why does Thailand not build more damns ?

There are many reasons it does not build more dams, but a major reason is that there are not many suitable sites left, as it has already built in all the sites with good potential and lots of sites with low potential already. Strong local opposition by those negatively impacted and civil society critics of government policy is another. Thailand's politicians and water agencies would love to build lots more dams all over the country, but this would not help anyone but themselves and the contractors that construct them. There is an over-supply of dams already. What it lacks is good water management of its existing infrastructure and sensible/sustainable policies around water resources use - hence the predictable panic every dry season when the Irrigation Dept proclaim there is not enough water for farmers to grow a second crop of rice. This doesn't stop farmers from trying to grow that second crop and then crying that there is not enough water as competition intensifies, thus feeding into the said politicians and water agencies hands' of trying to build more dams and exacerbating/ignoring the existing problems of poor management. It is a predictable and avoidable problem, if there were a few visionaries in power to break the self-defeating cycle. At this point, those who understand and could gradually solve the deep-seated problems are not in power.

[zydeco]

Somehow, it will all work out. It always does.

[Gonsalviz]

I have been past the reservior that Ubon Rat dam keeps and it is full. Granted it is a shallow lake but it is still full. Rice growers have fields flooded by the lake. No need to pump it in.

[Eddy B]

Maybe they should not use so much water for Songkran?

[SantiSuk]

Seems odd to me that threads on ThaiV proclaim a drought in Lower Issan yet the Mun River (major river flowing from dams in Korat and Khon Kaen right through Lower and Central Isaan, Ubon Ratchatani and into the Mekong) is still at relatively high levels for this time of year. About half way between peak rainy season and May lows I would guess, judging by its levels in Meuang Ubon.

Someone must still be letting water out of the dams and I don't believe they would be throwing it away into southern Laos and Cambodia if the dams were not full.

The level of journalistic reporting of water levels in Thailand seems c@rp to me, focusing entirely on getting cheap sensational micro headlines with never any overview. Little wonder the farmers can't plan.

[rametindallas]

It seems odd to me that the area where the "Reds" come from has no water!

Is that something the gods have done?

I doubt that, I would say it has been managed!

Regards

It looks like you won't let your ignorance stand in the way of your opinion.

There are many Reds in the North and they are not suffering from drought. Isaan has alway been dry.

Yes, the Gods have put those Isaan people in the driest region of Thailand. No, wait, it was managed; Prayut who made them live there.

Regards

[billd766]

Last month in Khampaeng Phet they only got 40% of the 30 year average rainfall.

My fishpond which was over flowing in 2011 never filled right up this year with the runoff from the Mae Wong national park hills behind the land.

Next year the drought will be worse.

Some parts of Thailand are still getting flooded whilst others are drying out quickly.

I expect the government water supply to stop sometime in February and not come back until after Songkran.