Helping solve the water crisis in Thailand

[joeyg]

I have been in Southern California for the past 30 years so I know about water scarcity. I have been interested in water allocation, storage and distribution for many years. I have recently retired in Thailand. I have become increasingly aware of the global water crisis and am thinking becoming involved in water conservation here would be a useful and important way to spend time.

Seems like a huge undertaking I'm wondering how to get started. Any thoughts?

<deleted>

[brimacthai]

maybe get involved in the business side for grey water recovery systems or something like that.

[ezzra]

Farmers and growers here have no water management's clue in their body, for them, water is abundant

and should be free to use and grow 3 crops of rice a year and sell it to the government for a profit,

here there is no tomorrow, there is only today, will cross that bridge with no water when we get to it...

If you can figure out how to educate those clueless people and restore water supply to all year around

they will make a god out of you here and build a statues in your honor...

[Doc46]

Helping solving the water crisis,,,,,A good start would be building dams to store water for the dry season,,,For the rest of the country where it floods all the time one could built Dykes like we done in the Netherlands But,,But,, WHO is going to pay for this Mammoth project.

[Daniel Boon]

joeyg ... it would help you you researched how to make the soil more retentive ... a problem that affects every country ...

[Costas2008]

As a start I would suggest to dig and create a small lake in your land although I don't know how big your land is, then you can start thinking how to help Thailand and I doubt if anyone listens to your ideas.

You are not living in Southern California any more.

[xtrnuno41]

water crisis?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/776438-leaking-since-2010-water-pipe-finally-repaired-by-pattaya-city-hall/?utm_source=newsletter-20141114-1435&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

see this then you know how thai is thinking about it

[Daniel Boon]

before digging 'a lake', find out the evaporation rate in your area / Thailand (in Queensland at Wivenhoe Dam its 1.74 metres a year)

[joeyg]

joeyg ... it would help you you researched how to make the soil more retentive ... a problem that affects every country ...

Wow! all interesting replies. The most provoking from Daniel Boon. I taught clinical nutrition for 20 years. The intro to the class was all about soil physiology. Also shortly before I left SoCal I had a large garden that and received "certified grower" approval from san Diego County. gardening has been a passion for years.

I was just taking with a friend about soil conservation/ preservation yesterday. And your right on. Like where I was in India for 3 months most of the soil is clay base with little or no top soil. Clay does a great job of retaining water. But the top soil is essential for aeration and nutrient absorbtion at the roots via humic acid.

And your right, it is a problem everywhere. I believe the top soil is completly gone in the USA.

One of the best things they could do is stop burning all the agricultural wastes and mulch with them. You wouldn't even have to shred it although it would break down faster.

[joeyg]

As a start I would suggest to dig and create a small lake in your land although I don't know how big your land is, then you can start thinking how to help Thailand and I doubt if anyone listens to your ideas.

You are not living in Southern California any more.

I don't have land but several friends do and have lots of it up in different parts of Issan.

And your probably right about anyone listening. Although I think it's worth a shot. There is growing awareness here about organics and the environment. Although it's gotta be a tiny fraction of the population.

Been traveling here since 1971 via the USN so I have seen changes. Most not for the better unfortunately. And at the rate SoCal is going, if they don't get snow and or rain very soon there will be no water...

[joeyg]

Helping solving the water crisis,,,,,A good start would be building dams to store water for the dry season,,,For the rest of the country where it floods all the time one could built Dykes like we done in the Netherlands But,,But,, WHO is going to pay for this Mammoth project.

Good question. I think prisoners should be made to work instead of sitting in a cell and rotting or God knows what. Also maybe some kind public works projects could be instituted like Roosevelt did in the USA.

Well I can dream can't I? The problem is the same almost everywhere, corruption and no leadership. Just depends to what degree and under what colors of the flag.

If the leaders were not so corrupt I don't believe it would be so hard really.

[joeyg]

maybe get involved in the business side for grey water recovery systems or something like that.

Interesting idea. Actually i'll look into that...

[elgordo38]

Get rid of Songkran. In Africa they have solar powered units that transform dirty water into potable water. I believe an American company sells these units. Water conservation should be taught in schools as it will really affect future generations. We buy our drinking water from the baht a litre machines but I only trust one as I have watched the lady change filters. Maybe bringing back huge water towers or under water storage tanks to catch water during the rainy season. This might work and also reduce evaporation. Also in the Virgin Islands I observed large asphalt catch basins.

[Krataiboy]

Drink beer instead of water?

[TechnikaIII]

Well, I don't know where you start, but one of many things that I notice is the incredible water wastage where cheap houses have sprinklers on the roof to cool down the metal in the blazing sun. The heat would penetrate less if the roof was insulated. Simple solution you might think, but not in Thailand when the only building standards are applied with money. If more houses had rain water tanks, there would be another plus.

One of the best brains on the management of waters flooding down from the North is the Thai naturalist Sasin Chalermlarp. During the 2011 floods he was pretty much sidelined by the squabbling authorities, State versus Bangkok city, but the media was giving him air time. I don't speak Thai fluently, but I had some Thais translating whilst he was talking on television news special programs about the floods. The authorities had clearly failed. Sasin, according to my friends, was very astute. He had prepared extensive diagrams explaining the management procedures. It all made very good sense.

Some aspects of Khun Sasin's grand plan are not entirely dissimilar from findings and ideas that the King had, when he also was putting a lot of time into solving the flood problem several decades ago.

However, a good place to start would be to contact Khun Sasin (Means "Mr Sasin". Thais use the Mr/Mrs address before the given name)

I have him as a FB friend, and we have exchanged a few messages, but a while ago.

https://www.facebook.com/sasin.chalermlarp.9

Water management in Thailand comes under 2 clear headings.

1. Conservation & wastage during lean times

2. Managing the monsoon floods. .. and this flows down to meet a high seasonal tide, trying to flow upstream, ..... where do you put it .. how should it be contained? Parts of Bangkok are actually below sea level. There have been experts from The Netherlands looking at this problem.

In Australia, where I am just at the moment, I see a lot of much smarter water management than was in place 20 years ago. I am speaking of rainwater storage, 'grey water' usage, for gardening etc, water closets with duel system flush for minimal water waste.

On the down side, the PM Tony Abbot is strutting around, boasting about a billion dollar beef cattle deal for the Chinese. He has not considered at all, where the water is going to come from. I know: the fast depleting water table .. once 'Artesian water', now 'sub artesian' bore water ... which 80 years ago would just about spring out of the ground after drilling only a few meters. 50 years ago, one needed to drill much deeper, and now, today deeper again, and ever yielding a weaker flow. Not good.

Edited November 14, 2014 by TechnikaIII

[dotpoom]

Is not paying for our water a great conservation measure?

[joeyg]

Drink beer instead of water?

555 I was waiting for that. Actually I was going to open up with that but I knew it wouldn't take long for someone else to say it.

Unfortunately it takes at least twice the amount of water to make beer commercially. Make 50 gallons, 50 gallons of water are wasted unless some recycling takes place.

I know it's a damn shame...

[joeyg]

Is not paying for our water a great conservation measure?

Well according to reports apparently not...

[joeyg]

Just tried to friend Mr. Sasin but he's not accepting new friends...

[Rimbuman]

joeyg ... it would help you you researched how to make the soil more retentive ... a problem that affects every country ...

Wow! all interesting replies. The most provoking from Daniel Boon. I taught clinical nutrition for 20 years. The intro to the class was all about soil physiology. Also shortly before I left SoCal I had a large garden that and received "certified grower" approval from san Diego County. gardening has been a passion for years.

I was just taking with a friend about soil conservation/ preservation yesterday. And your right on. Like where I was in India for 3 months most of the soil is clay base with little or no top soil. Clay does a great job of retaining water. But the top soil is essential for aeration and nutrient absorbtion at the roots via humic acid.

And your right, it is a problem everywhere. I believe the top soil is completly gone in the USA.

One of the best things they could do is stop burning all the agricultural wastes and mulch with them. You wouldn't even have to shred it although it would break down faster.

The shredding would be a good idea, smoky season starting soon.

Al this burning is outrageous but nobody seems to be able to stop this from recurring every year.

I like your ideas but I am not very optimistic about you being successful here in Thailand for obvious reasons.

Success anyway and keep us updated.

[Mudcrab]

Don"t use the bum gun...I'm convinced its a waste of water.....but I do like it.....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Mudcrab]

before digging 'a lake', find out the evaporation rate in your area / Thailand (in Queensland at Wivenhoe Dam its 1.74 metres a year)

and didn't Bligh stuff that up and flooded the capital city.

And people say Thailand can't get the water thing right.

[Suradit69]

As a start I would suggest to dig and create a small lake in your land although I don't know how big your land is, then you can start thinking how to help Thailand and I doubt if anyone listens to your ideas.

You are not living in Southern California any more.

I don't have land but several friends do and have lots of it up in different parts of Issan.

And your probably right about anyone listening. Although I think it's worth a shot. There is growing awareness here about organics and the environment. Although it's gotta be a tiny fraction of the population.

Been traveling here since 1971 via the USN so I have seen changes. Most not for the better unfortunately. And at the rate SoCal is going, if they don't get snow and or rain very soon there will be no water...

"And your [sic] probably right about anyone listening. "

Especially if you don't speak Thai and have no experience in this part of the world.

I lived in Africa for 25 years and we had a steady stream of drive-by experts who knew it all. Quite often they put together demonstration projects that were unsustainable absent outside financial support and imported parts for equipment. And I mean things at the simplest level like hand pumps for water that became irreparably useless for lack of the most basic inputs. Soon after the "experts" left, things quickly returned to their former state. These sorts of projects earned the AWA (Africa Wins Again) sobriquet.

The Chinese and Cubans tended to get more done since they were accustomed to dealing with fairly rudimentary resources that could be maintained locally, worked alongside the locals (although they were less Kumbaya and chummy than first world do-gooders) and stuck around for awhile to see how things developed.

My all-time favorite "expert" was some sort of fresh faced lad from Scotland who came to share his university acquired agricultural knowledge. I got to pick him up at the airport and as we were driving back past fields and more fields of maize, he asked me "what crop is that then?" He pretty much sealed the deal later when he referred to the vegetable called "rape" that was a common part of the local diet as something they only fed to animals in Europe. Yes, he was a big hit.

The locals here and in Africa may be behind times compared to what's happening in California, but more often than not there is a great deal of method to their apparent madness in a very basic bare-bones & pragmatic way and, until you prove otherwise, there's a good reason why no one will listen to some foreign self-styled expert.

I suggest before you start dispensing your expertise you get a lot of hands-on experience at the most basic level and don't approach problem-solving by reaching for your credit card or visiting an ATM. Start by listening to locals and expressing appreciation for all that you learn. If you don't think you have anything to learn, then stick to visiting the bars and beaches and to posting pointless criticisms about life in Thailand here at TV. You'll fit right in.

Think small scale and think about motivating local participation by example ... and watch out for getting in the way of existing programs whose existence may be tied to well-established indigenous interests that could be connected to traditional patronage from the highest levels.

Edited November 14, 2014 by Suradit69

[Robby nz]

Farmers and growers here have no water management's clue in their body, for them, water is abundant

and should be free to use and grow 3 crops of rice a year and sell it to the government for a profit,

here there is no tomorrow, there is only today, will cross that bridge with no water when we get to it...

If you can figure out how to educate those clueless people and restore water supply to all year around

they will make a god out of you here and build a statues in your honor...

Another one who thinks farmers are stupid, I expect they would think you are stupid for not knowing how to grow rice.

Farmers know very well about water management and if you knew anything about rice growing you would know this.

Rice farming relies on water management as the water level in paddy needs to be kept at an optimum level and water pumped in or out into a holding system such as a pond or canal.

I am no farmer but I live in a rice farming area and get around paddy most days and see what happens, observing and learning is much better than slagging off at something you don't understand.

[sustento]

[oldsailor35]

How about putting Gutters and down pipes on all new buildings, with decent sized water storage tanks, all the water that runs off the roof can be saved. On my Queensland home the roof is completely guttered as are all Aussie roofs, i have been collecting the water run off for years, not being connected to town water, i have never had to buy water.

[mutha289]

I know what to do, let's hold a carwash with the benefits to go towards solving the water crisis!

[Jaggg88]

Farmers and growers here have no water management's clue in their body, for them, water is abundant

and should be free to use and grow 3 crops of rice a year and sell it to the government for a profit,

here there is no tomorrow, there is only today, will cross that bridge with no water when we get to it...

If you can figure out how to educate those clueless people and restore water supply to all year around

they will make a god out of you here and build a statues in your honor...

They don't seem to have much idea about water management but the Khmer ppl built reservoirs 2000 years ago when we were living in mud huts so get over to Cambodia and see if there are any Khmers left to advise you

[HeijoshinCool]

joeyg ... it would help you you researched how to make the soil more retentive ... a problem that affects every country ...

Wow! all interesting replies. The most provoking from Daniel Boon. I taught clinical nutrition for 20 years. The intro to the class was all about soil physiology. Also shortly before I left SoCal I had a large garden that and received "certified grower" approval from san Diego County. gardening has been a passion for years.

I was just taking with a friend about soil conservation/ preservation yesterday. And your right on. Like where I was in India for 3 months most of the soil is clay base with little or no top soil. Clay does a great job of retaining water. But the top soil is essential for aeration and nutrient absorbtion at the roots via humic acid.

And your right, it is a problem everywhere. I believe the top soil is completly gone in the USA.

One of the best things they could do is stop burning all the agricultural wastes and mulch with them. You wouldn't even have to shred it although it would break down faster.

.

Your being a teacher, and I have no doubts you were a good one, you are naturally inclined to believe at least a percentage of your students wish to learn from you.

That was in California.

Now you are in Thailand.

You will not teach Thais anything. That is one reason Thailand is still a third world country.

If you are tempted to derisively laugh at my advice, here's a thread you might learn from:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/776319-the-old-hands-here/

[joeyg]

joeyg ... it would help you you researched how to make the soil more retentive ... a problem that affects every country ...

Wow! all interesting replies. The most provoking from Daniel Boon. I taught clinical nutrition for 20 years. The intro to the class was all about soil physiology. Also shortly before I left SoCal I had a large garden that and received "certified grower" approval from san Diego County. gardening has been a passion for years.

I was just taking with a friend about soil conservation/ preservation yesterday. And your right on. Like where I was in India for 3 months most of the soil is clay base with little or no top soil. Clay does a great job of retaining water. But the top soil is essential for aeration and nutrient absorbtion at the roots via humic acid.

And your right, it is a problem everywhere. I believe the top soil is completly gone in the USA.

One of the best things they could do is stop burning all the agricultural wastes and mulch with them. You wouldn't even have to shred it although it would break down faster.

.

Your being a teacher, and I have no doubts you were a good one, you are naturally inclined to believe at least a percentage of your students wish to learn from you.

That was in California.

Now you are in Thailand.

You will not teach Thais anything. That is one reason Thailand is still a third world country.

If you are tempted to derisively laugh at my advice, here's a thread you might learn from:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/776319-the-old-hands-here/

It isn't that I don't believe you, I do. After all like I said California is in dire straits over water but so are many other places. Any way it was a nice thought...