PM Prayut blames previous governments for water shortage

[webfact]

PM blames previous governments for water shortage



BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Prayut chan-ocha blamed previous elected governments for the country’s loss of vast water catchment areas resulting to water shortage to replenish water-starved major dams.

Despite the fact that his government has to take the brunt and to bear the criticisms for the current water crisis, the prime minister insisted that the government had made preparations to cope with the drought problem since last year and had done its best to ease the problem.

“Without water catchment areas, where can we get the water? Our planes fly day and night on rain-making missions, but without clouds, there are no rains,” said the prime minister.

He denied that the government did not take good care of farmers but insisted that priority should be given to conserving water for consumption.

He disclosed that the government planned to dig about 50,000 wells this year in addition to artesian wells for farmers. Of the 7,000 villages which still do not have access to tap water, he said that in two years they would have access to tap water.

On forest encroachment problem, the prime minister maintained that his government had no policy to force out poor encroachers but would let them to stay on until land problem is settled.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/pm-blames-previous-governments-for-water-shortage


-- Thai PBS 2015-07-20

[NextStationBangkok]

Thai comedy show. I remembered they are blamed for flooding too.

[Sarathi]

Earlier he blamed the water shortage on the previous rice scheme using too much water. Now the previous govt. did not manage the dams.

Oh and 14 students were agitated by a 'politician outside the country'. And the bombs in the south are due to the two political parties.

There's only one thing leaky here.

[hgma]

If nothing structural is done right now, the bottlenecks will cause damage beyond repair for the Country.

Thailand needs political reform and an accelerated development projects.

No time to waste.

[ignis]

So is he going to restore Swampy back to swampland ?

[Eric Loh]

Now who's to be blamed for canceling the water manegement projects in June last year. The blame game continue. When is he going to man up and face the challenges.

[bangkokfrog]

I worry when this guy says "in two years this" and "in two years that".

What happened to the elections promised for next year, and how can he speak for the new elected government? Or is this the (minimum) period that he plans to stay in power?

[max72]

The culprit is the Army only. Thaksin had a plan to solve once for all those problems of drought and floods, but after the 2006 coup the project was scrapped by the army and the money used to buy weapons instead.

[ChrisY1]

"we are doing our best".......such a common cry from the incompetants managing Thailand...past and present!

[Familyonthemove]

I'm confused .... how far back do we need to go to have an "elected government"?

Anyway - I thought the water problems were much simpler ..... kept too much water last time and flooded half of Thailand it had to let it out, kept too little this time as they were worried about causing floods.

Understandable when dealing with a natural resource. What's a suitable Thai phrase for "sorry we screwed up, we'll try harder next year". Phases like this can go some way to help the pain being suffered by farmers (and car wash businesses).

[zakk9]

He's at least partly right, but manipulating the water management was nothing unique to the previous government. What is beyond doubt is that the rice scheme increased the water consumption dramatically. With several years of moderate rainfall, it was only a question of when, rather than if, a problem would arise. Still, the main problem is the lack of rain.

[asiamaster]

All new housing developments, hotels etc. should be halted. Infrastructure is seriously lagging behind, The country not only needs a political reset but a complete reset.That includes a different mindset.

Edited July 20, 2015 by asiamaster

[halloween]

Earlier he blamed the water shortage on the previous rice scheme using too much water. Now the previous govt. did not manage the dams.

Oh and 14 students were agitated by a 'politician outside the country'. And the bombs in the south are due to the two political parties.

There's only one thing leaky here.

"Now the previous govt. did not manage the dams." And he is exactly RIGHT. Yingluk ordered the operating curves of the major storage dams changed to a lower level because she did not want to be blamed for mismanagement of another flood. Between Jan and July 2012, 7.5 billion Cubic Metres of additional water (ie over and above normal level reduction) were dumped from Bhumipol and Sirikit Dams, the 2 largest, despite obvious evidence an el Nino event was imminent.

From October 2012 the levels in these dams dropped below the new lower storage levels and have never recovered back to that operating level.

http://www.thaiwater.net/DATA/REPORT/php/rid_dam_1.php?lang=en

Clicking on each dam will produce an inter-active graph (which I can't link to) giving daily levels in each of the dams.

His statement regarding catchment areas sounds off to me, but the allegation that Yingluk AGAIN mismanaged dams is indisputable.

[Baerboxer]

Now who's to be blamed for canceling the water manegement projects in June last year. The blame game continue. When is he going to man up and face the challenges.

Would those be the projects PTP wanted to enforce on people without any EIA's and public discussion Eric? Where the prime contractor would seemingly be a certain Korean supplier who had hosted Dr. Thaksin and be awarded with the usual opaque transparency? The ones where Plod called protesters "garbage".

The PM is right. Previous governments (notice the plural) have failed miserably in their water management and associated environmental projects. Do you think they got it right?

Now he has the chance to do something about it. They didn't, but what and when are the current government going to do anything more than dig wells. Needs a detailed integrated plan. Anyone working on this?

Edited July 20, 2015 by Baerboxer

[HerbalEd]

So then, is the previous government now being blamed on the lack of rain and the drought?

Also, what has the present government done to prevent water shortage that the previous government didn't do?

Edited July 20, 2015 by HerbalEd

[halloween]

The culprit is the Army only. Thaksin had a plan to solve once for all those problems of drought and floods, but after the 2006 coup the project was scrapped by the army and the money used to buy weapons instead.

And from 2011, he couldn't improve infrastructure because the money was needed to prop up the rice scam.

[Baerboxer]

The culprit is the Army only. Thaksin had a plan to solve once for all those problems of drought and floods, but after the 2006 coup the project was scrapped by the army and the money used to buy weapons instead.

Was it as good as his plan for the mobile phones. Where he made billions out of exploiting a contrived monopoly imposed on the Thai people? And then even changed the law to permit him to sell out to a foreign entity and avoid tax.

K Water and the Shins - a winning partnership you could really trust with the water supply.

Thaksin's grand plans always have one thing in common - vast riches for the Shins.

[roamer]

Maybe we should see this as a step forward in his development as a politician ?

Politicians Handbook.

Rule No.1 Blame the previous government.

Rule No.2. See Rule No.1

Hmmm, flaw in my theory is that he has used Rule. No.1 from the start.

[HerbalEd]

"we are doing our best".......such a common cry from the incompetants managing Thailand...past and present!

I remember once calling an employee into my office for the third time to talk about his poor work. When he said "I'm doing the best that I can" he sealed his own fate and I fired him the next day.

Edited July 20, 2015 by HerbalEd

[oneday]

"...insisted that the government had made preparations to cope with the drought problem since last year and had done its best to ease the problem..."

If this is true then why wasn't water rationing started much sooner?

[FangFerang]

Digging wells for villages was a serious project of the late Queen Grandmother. She is actually famous in some parts of America for doing so -- and a noble woman in every way.

[worgeordie]

I just thought it was due to lack of rain !, silly me

regards worgeordie

[Estrada]

Earlier he blamed the water shortage on the previous rice scheme using too much water. Now the previous govt. did not manage the dams.

Oh and 14 students were agitated by a 'politician outside the country'. And the bombs in the south are due to the two political parties.

There's only one thing leaky here.

"Now the previous govt. did not manage the dams." And he is exactly RIGHT. Yingluk ordered the operating curves of the major storage dams changed to a lower level because she did not want to be blamed for mismanagement of another flood. Between Jan and July 2012, 7.5 billion Cubic Metres of additional water (ie over and above normal level reduction) were dumped from Bhumipol and Sirikit Dams, the 2 largest, despite obvious evidence an el Nino event was imminent.

From October 2012 the levels in these dams dropped below the new lower storage levels and have never recovered back to that operating level.

http://www.thaiwater.net/DATA/REPORT/php/rid_dam_1.php?lang=en

Clicking on each dam will produce an inter-active graph (which I can't link to) giving daily levels in each of the dams.

His statement regarding catchment areas sounds off to me, but the allegation that Yingluk AGAIN mismanaged dams is indisputable.

Banharn and his party were looking after the control philosophy for the dams, not Yingluck. I gave a talk to the American Chamber of Commerce and some Government advisors at the time. I have all the data on rainfall and capacity of reservoirs and dams required. The problem at the time of the floods was that the heavy rains fell mainly in the Yom River basin catchment area which was where the Yom River Dam/reservoir was supposed to have been built, but was cancelled in 2006 following another coup. During the last floods and recent rainfall patterns, there have been only light rains in the catchment areas feeding the existing dams/reservoirs. The dams serve to store excess rains during the monsoon to regulate the down stream flow in the rivers but also they need to store enough water to cover the irrigation/drinking water requirements during periods of drought. Without the Yom River Dam/reservoir there has always been a higher risk of floods or water shortage because they cannot control the water flow properly without the Yom River Dam and reservoirs which was stopped due to environmentalists demonstrating against it.

[quandow]

Y'know, some articles make you choke a little, and some just make you blow chunks.

Thanks again, Obama!!!

[halloween]

Earlier he blamed the water shortage on the previous rice scheme using too much water. Now the previous govt. did not manage the dams.

Oh and 14 students were agitated by a 'politician outside the country'. And the bombs in the south are due to the two political parties.

There's only one thing leaky here.

"Now the previous govt. did not manage the dams." And he is exactly RIGHT. Yingluk ordered the operating curves of the major storage dams changed to a lower level because she did not want to be blamed for mismanagement of another flood. Between Jan and July 2012, 7.5 billion Cubic Metres of additional water (ie over and above normal level reduction) were dumped from Bhumipol and Sirikit Dams, the 2 largest, despite obvious evidence an el Nino event was imminent.

From October 2012 the levels in these dams dropped below the new lower storage levels and have never recovered back to that operating level.

http://www.thaiwater.net/DATA/REPORT/php/rid_dam_1.php?lang=en

Clicking on each dam will produce an inter-active graph (which I can't link to) giving daily levels in each of the dams.

His statement regarding catchment areas sounds off to me, but the allegation that Yingluk AGAIN mismanaged dams is indisputable.

Banharn and his party were looking after the control philosophy for the dams, not Yingluck. I gave a talk to the American Chamber of Commerce and some Government advisors at the time. I have all the data on rainfall and capacity of reservoirs and dams required. The problem at the time of the floods was that the heavy rains fell mainly in the Yom River basin catchment area which was where the Yom River Dam/reservoir was supposed to have been built, but was cancelled in 2006 following another coup. During the last floods and recent rainfall patterns, there have been only light rains in the catchment areas feeding the existing dams/reservoirs. The dams serve to store excess rains during the monsoon to regulate the down stream flow in the rivers but also they need to store enough water to cover the irrigation/drinking water requirements during periods of drought. Without the Yom River Dam/reservoir there has always been a higher risk of floods or water shortage because they cannot control the water flow properly without the Yom River Dam and reservoirs which was stopped due to environmentalists demonstrating against it.

So the PM isn't responsible for the decisions of her (very minor) coalition partners in her government? That's a new one.

Are you denying that the data I linked to was accurate? Did you look at it?

How exactly does the lack of a dam alter my statement that normal storage was dumped from the existing dams?

Edited July 20, 2015 by halloween

[Lupatria]

7,000 villages which still do not have access to tap water. A Community lives without electricity for 40 years.

Let’s get the priorities set and buy some useless submarines to support our no aircraft carrier.

[mikemac]

I'm confused .... how far back do we need to go to have an "elected government"?

Anyway - I thought the water problems were much simpler ..... kept too much water last time and flooded half of Thailand it had to let it out, kept too little this time as they were worried about causing floods.

Understandable when dealing with a natural resource. What's a suitable Thai phrase for "sorry we screwed up, we'll try harder next year". Phases like this can go some way to help the pain being suffered by farmers (and car wash businesses).

.................."What's a suitable Thai phrase for "sorry we screwed up, we'll try harder next year".......................

Well I will ask my wife but I am pretty sure there is no such thing.

[Eric Loh]

The culprit is the Army only. Thaksin had a plan to solve once for all those problems of drought and floods, but after the 2006 coup the project was scrapped by the army and the money used to buy weapons instead.

And from 2011, he couldn't improve infrastructure because the money was needed to prop up the rice scam.

Money also needed for the 7% increase in defense spending.

[halloween]

7,000 villages which still do not have access to tap water. A Community lives without electricity for 40 years.

Let’s get the priorities set and buy some useless submarines to support our no aircraft carrier.

The last government had 3 years and a trillion baht to waste on the rice scam. But that got them elected, and power and water to remote villages wouldn't have, right?

[ginjag]

Now who's to be blamed for canceling the water manegement projects in June last year. The blame game continue. When is he going to man up and face the challenges.

Remember your last PTP water minister admitted after the big floods that he failed to release water early enough, the when the monsoons came water overflowed and flooded Thailand---DID YOU FORGET THIS.??

Where did the money go after when the Yingluck government were to put it all right so it would never happen again, But it will happen because most money disappeared.

Now we have drought, and in 1 year governing you think that the dry areas can all be given wells...NEVER in 1 year no where in the world can any government do that.

Where did the money go that was given to dredge the canals, so they could hold water when it came.??

Most of the PTP arrangements had to be cancelled because they were NOT managed properly and corruption rife--hence the cancel bit.