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Water level at Mae Kuang Dam


LawrenceN

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Full outflow in the main irrigation canal. Plenty of water in farmers' fields, but the water level in the reservoir is down again. I suppose the management is confident we'll have a super wet final month of the rainy season. I'm not so sure.

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Full outflow in the main irrigation canal. Plenty of water in farmers' fields, but the water level in the reservoir is down again. I suppose the management is confident we'll have a super wet final month of the rainy season. I'm not so sure.

post-137790-14420337194646_thumb.jpg

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Wishful thinking?

El Nino continues to build and next 6 months do not hold much promise for Central regions.

Possibly (they don't appear to have put in any markers beneath the current water level...). That said I'm sure I've seen it emptier than this in recent years.

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They're currently putting in water level markers on the middle dam

Thanks. That may be helpful if I do this next year. I admit I could have chosen a better place to take these photos, but now that I have started, I figure I should stick with this spot to allow comparison.

I posted this once before:

http://www.maekuangudomthara.com/home

The first graph on that page shows how full the reservoir is by percent. 11.xx% as of 11 Sept. That may be a good way to monitor if I don't get up to the dam as often as you'd like me to (not speaking to anyone in particular).

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Data here in case it's of interest:

http://www.maekuangudomthara.com/home

Indeed thumbsup.gif

Of course you did, taotoo. I must have been thinking of this one with similar data for the entire country, which I posted earlier.

/https://m.facebook.com/raorukcholpratan/photos/pb.181317751941273.-2207520000.1437870695./900571560015885/?type=3&theater

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Thanks for the updates Lawrence

Quite scary to see the level didn't rise after Friday's rains and just 4 - 6 weeks away from the end of the 'wet' season.

I think farmers are going to suffer. Low water levels in the dam will lead to reduced food production over the next year, higher prices for consumers, more debt for farmers etc.

Older Thais have told me that the Ping flows across a very wide area and isn't just limited to the river you see running through the city. People for centuries have tapped this water. There are wells tucked away in gardens, small ponds and streams that local people call 'taa naam', or water eyes, where the water breaks through the ground from the underground flow of the Ping. They say this never dries up. Hopefully, this will help to compensate for the lack of irrigation during the next year.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I recently visited Sirikit Dam and it is very low, they were not allowing any outflow from the dam during my visit and the river had a few pounds here and there but noactual flow. Three years ago the river was rageing out of this dam. It is going to be a desperate dry season for many this year

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Water level is up again, slightly. Our favorite graph shows the reservoir at 13.xx% capacity.

I'm really baffled by their management. The main irrigation canal is full and flowing this morning. This seems to be true when we have a little rain. Then sometimes we go for days with no rain and dry canals, just when the fields need the water.

post-137790-1444447000726_thumb.jpg

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I'm really baffled by their management. The main irrigation canal is full and flowing this morning. This seems to be true when we have a little rain. Then sometimes we go for days with no rain and dry canals, just when the fields need the water.

OK so I am a suspicious sort.. But do you think they could be 'sabotaging' the levels ??

I mean, with the level in the low teens, wouldnt it be better to save everything, let crops survive on rainfall now, while there is some, and have as much as possible for when we dont ??

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I'm really baffled by their management. The main irrigation canal is full and flowing this morning. This seems to be true when we have a little rain. Then sometimes we go for days with no rain and dry canals, just when the fields need the water.

OK so I am a suspicious sort.. But do you think they could be 'sabotaging' the levels ??

I mean, with the level in the low teens, wouldnt it be better to save everything, let crops survive on rainfall now, while there is some, and have as much as possible for when we dont ??

My point exactly. That's what I find so baffling. Why aren't they saving the water, especially when it's raining?

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In our part of CM ,BWT , Hang Dong, we have had 2 - 5 min showers over the last few days.Hardly laid the dust

Of course the recent typhoon that was supposed to sweep across Thailand never happened ,they rarely get past the Vietnamese coastal areas.

Time is runing out if we are relying on the tail end of the wet season.

Without a couple of days of consistent, heavy rain run off into dams will be negligble.

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Weirs on the Ping have been discharging a lot of water for days now. This is planned to flow in the Bhumiphol Dam from where later the water will be used to flush the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok of saltwater intrusion. That the North will have a water shortage is a secondary consideration.

The city state must come first.

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