Prayut calls for water plan

[webfact]

Prayut calls for water plan
THE NATION



Armed forced mobilised to aid victims of looming storms

BANGKOK: -- PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday said he had instructed officials from the Water Resources Board to brainstorm for ideas to tackle the ongoing drought, such as possibly creating a reserve of underground water or turning seawater into fresh water.

At the Government House, Prayut told reporters that the less water for use and for agriculture must be dealt starting now.

"I'm not sure if we will have to resort to mining water in future," he said. "Or we might have to find people to invest in digging for underground water to keep in reserve or even storing seawater just like other countries to turn it into freshwater in 30-50 years."

The Water Resources Board will brainstorm ideas to implement in case there is no rainfall, he said.

The government will try to create sustainability in water management, which could be picked up by the next government.

Meanwhile, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chatchai Sarikulya yesterday went to the Interior Ministry to conduct a videoconference with provincial governors from around the country to discuss the drought crisis.

He assigned them to explain to local residents that the drought would affect a lot more of the country than just the areas near the Chao Phraya and Mae Klong river basins.

He urged them to implement the eight measures that were recently approved by the Cabinet to aid drought-affected farmers.

Those measures are to teach farmers about production costs and support production; |slow down or extend the loan-repayment period for farmers; job-creation measures for farmers; get farmers to propose drought projects in local areas; increase the effectiveness of water usage and encourage water-saving campaigns by state offices; implement projects to increase the amount of water in dams and reservoirs and conduct rainmaking operations; apply health and safety measures to improve farmers' living conditions and other assisting measures.

Chatchai instructed the governors to talk with affected residents about the measures and set up provincial centres linked to his ministry to report updates, identify the impacts of the drought and cater to people's needs.

He also told the governors to speed up the process of gathering what the community people need and to speak to farmers and get proposals from them on tackling drought in local areas, which was part of the eight measures.

He said the Interior Ministry would hold a meeting with provincial governors on Tuesday to discuss guidelines and steps for gathering community people's needs so it could be complete within 30 days.

After the videoconference, Ubon Ratchathani Governor Somsak Jangtrakul said he had instructed relevant agencies to survey the amount of water available for farming, industries and commercial use, as well as tap-water-making activities to ensure effective water-management planning.

"One of the measures in Ubon Ratchathani was to retain as much water passing through the province as possible so the soil remains moist.

"Once we get all the information on water use and available amounts of water, we might need to close Pak Mul Dam to save water for use throughout next year," he said.

In related news, the Royal Thai Armed Forces' public disaster |mitigation centre yesterday urged all Army regions to prepare to aid flood-hit people in the |upper provinces of Thailand between today and Monday as storms loom.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Prayut-calls-for-water-plan-30270496.html


-- The Nation 2015-10-09

[chainarong]

It is a step in the right direction that P.M. Prayut - O calls for a water plan , provided that action is taken and there is less talk, as this seems to accompany anything that requires strong leadership from most Thai departments , the best possible solution would be dam construction in water run off areas ,then sea water using reverse osmosis , using underground water will lower your water table, that could blow up in your face in a bad year of drought , resulting in salinization , bearing in mind that successive Administrations have only paid lip service to this important commodity preferring High speed trains and the like, instead of investing in infrastructure that will ensure the rice harvest and domestic customers will have plenty of water for years to come, then investing in other area's , in other words, get your basics right the rest will follow.

[Oziex1]

Once again I ask are the announcements turned into action?

Just have to wait and see.

Also there were reports of many water bores drilled in the NE to supply water, any one know if that happened?

[ratcatcher]

"Armed forced mobilized to aid victims of looming storms"

The looming storms may just be an army of disgruntled and angry farmers who have not been able to plant more rice.

There is much blame to attribute to the weather this year, but successive governments have squandered billions over the years without properly securing that most vital commodity, WATER.

More storage systems and better collection systems need to be initiated not just discussed and mulled. Far5mers need to be able to grow crops more suited to dry conditions when water shortages do occur.

Get on with it Prime Minister and forget the submarines and other toys.

[Eric Loh]

Looks like the PM is plucking ideas from the air without giving much careful thoughts. The idea of desalination of sea water is just another of his once in a moment spark that has his staffs scratching their heads. Why do Thailand need very expensive desalination plants when we have excess of fresh waters from the rivers and dams. Singapore need these plants because of land scarce of securing water catchment reservoirs and have to depend 90% of water from Malaysia. And they need 3 desalination plants costing over almost 100B Baht. What we need is a comprehensive irrigation and water resource plans which previous governments already have but never implemented due to politics, courts and environmentalists impediments. Just dust off any on these blueprints and don't need to re-invent another hair brain idea.

[trogers]

Storing sea water? Am I in Laos?

[LannaGuy]

Let him talk to God he think's the two of them are pretty close I hear

[Srikcir]

"he had instructed officials from the Water Resources Board to brainstorm for ideas to tackle the ongoing drought"

If you have to tell officials to find solutions, maybe it's time to REPLACE them.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

Some people just know enough to be dangerous. How long would it take to build under ground storage or desalination plants and at what costs ?

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

It is a step in the right direction that P.M. Prayut - O calls for a water plan , provided that action is taken and there is less talk, as this seems to accompany anything that requires strong leadership from most Thai departments , the best possible solution would be dam construction in water run off areas ,then sea water using reverse osmosis , using underground water will lower your water table, that could blow up in your face in a bad year of drought , resulting in salinization , bearing in mind that successive Administrations have only paid lip service to this important commodity preferring High speed trains and the like, instead of investing in infrastructure that will ensure the rice harvest and domestic customers will have plenty of water for years to come, then investing in other area's , in other words, get your basics right the rest will follow.

Wrong my friend the previous administration wanted to build a big dam but was stopped by protests from locals and bunny huggers as it would have flooded a part of a national park and farms. There are very limited dam sites in Thailand and I would like to know from you where you want to build a massive salt water lake to implement your desalination idea. What will the dam cost and how long will it take to build ? What will it cost you to pump the water from the sea to the dam ? Who will pay for these costs ? Remember the salt water would seep into the underground water and make it unusable. As I said in another post some people just know enough to be dangerous.

There are no quick fixes only longterm strategies and policies that will bear fruit in the long run. Strategies like improving the irrigation systems which would save the 30% of irrigation water that is at present lost. Research into better rice cultivars to improve yield with less water, research into alternative crops and the development of the market for these crops etc etc. Unfortunately the kneejerk reactions and face saving ideas will only waste more money like the stolen high speed train plans.

[BAYBOY]

It beggars belief.

Here we are, nearly a year into our current drought, ( which was forecasted well before it started,) and the Government now is asking those affected for some answers to how Thailand can survive this drought, and the next years expected lack of water.

The seemingly total lack of planing, advancing any new ideas to assist water conservation, looking at the long term effects of what ever they propose, what other crops may be used in a change from Rice, etc, getting the public to conserve water nationwide, all will be solved in 30 days following investigation by the Provincial Governors, (none who would have ever been farmers) bodes well for the Nations future.

In the 16 years I have lived in rural Thailand I have never seen any thing done to improve the water situation here.

The endless pumping of water to rice fields, with no thought of it ever going to stop, shows how the oncoming lack of water will kill the end of the rural economy in Thailand. The plan to drill hundreds of bores across Thailand with out looking in to how the aquifers will cope or last, shows how little long term planning is going on. It is all for the "now".

Climate change will continue to evolve, and the water situation here will get a whole lot worse in the next 5 years. Then the all the people of this country will have problems that they never thought would happen.

My father in law lived to 96 and only saw serious flooding in his village twice.. 2007 and 2011 .My Mother in law grew fruit for 50 years and never had a serious water problem on her land, the worst being without water in the canals for 2/3 days. Last week we got water to her land (now owned by my wife) for the first time since November last year.

The returns from most types of farming here are so low that the young generation have no interest in farming and this is the other problem Thailand will have in the coming years..... what to do with all these rural people with no incomes, because of no water to use and low prices for crops.

Cheers.

BAYBOY

-

[bassman]

_{"I'm not sure if we will have to resort to mining water in future," he said. "Or we might have to find people to invest in digging for underground water to keep in reserve or even storing seawater just like other countries to turn it into freshwater in 30-50 years."}

_{Surely this is a misprint, store sea water when you border an ocean, so you can turn it into fresh water in 30-50 years. Probably because no one are allowed to take notes at meetings anymore and they did not recall correctly!}

[sawadee1947]

calling is not enough. Let actions follow. Go to Singapore. They'll tell you how to do....or you're afraid of losing face...?

[waldroj]

The only thing the WRB can possible achieve now will be their brainstorming session, and I suspect little will come from that either.

Nowhere in this article does it say the government is advocating the use of water-saving devices in homes, hotels, offices and factories. Nor does it mention the the government will raise the cost of water to consumers in an effort to encourage them to use less. And, the most glaring omission of all, there is nothing mentioned about TAT running an education campaign aimed at all tourists entering the country (to alert them to the need to conserve water)!

Nothing else they can do at this time (short of resorting to magic) will mitigate the impact of the current drought. A horse, and an open barn door make an appropriate metaphor.

In yet another example of government failure, the Nation’s news article is at least six months too late in coming. It should have been about the government’s plans before the start of the rainy season (at which time there may have been a chance of taking meaningful action). These guys had plenty of warning of the onset of current El Niño, but did SFA about it.

Even the photograph in this article is appropriate in highlighting the incompetence and mismanagement that has taken place – it shows water flowing from a hydroelectric power station! Did anybody think to shut down the hydro stations to conserve water?

One only hopes now that they don’t interfere with the farmers too much at this stage, as they and their families are about to become the real victims of this failure to act when there was a chance of doing something.

[waldroj]

_{"I'm not sure if we will have to resort to mining water in future," he said. "Or we might have to find people to invest in digging for underground water to keep in reserve or even storing seawater just like other countries to turn it into freshwater in 30-50 years."}

_{Surely this is a misprint, store sea water when you border an ocean, so you can turn it into fresh water in 30-50 years. Probably because no one are allowed to take notes at meetings anymore and they did not recall correctly!}

One assumes he means desalination!

[Praematura]

It's funny some of you are surprised at the Thai response. But here's a spoiler their will be no remedial measures or government action taken. Instead of buying subs from China they should build desalinization plants. The Chinese giving kickbacks to the generals for the sub purchases could just as well get equivalent kick backs for building these plants.

Thais will not save water. Look at the trash everywhere, no one does anything so expecting them to have the foresight to fix the water issues in the long term is laughable.

Edited October 9, 2015 by Praematura

[trogers]

I would have thought they would come up with a combo plan of actions. Coastal regions rely on desalination and water recycling, like Singapore.

Far inland on rain collection, storage and distribution.

[jackted]

What`s more important buying 3 submarines or providing adequate water for the population?

[Thai at Heart]

I will take that deal to store sea water for 50 years.....is he expecting the seas to dry up sometime soon. Tell u want, get some of these illegal fishing boats to drag the south Pole ice to Thailand......

[Thai at Heart]

The only thing the WRB can possible achieve now will be their brainstorming session, and I suspect little will come from that either.

Nowhere in this article does it say the government is advocating the use of water-saving devices in homes, hotels, offices and factories. Nor does it mention the the government will raise the cost of water to consumers in an effort to encourage them to use less. And, the most glaring omission of all, there is nothing mentioned about TAT running an education campaign aimed at all tourists entering the country (to alert them to the need to conserve water)!

Nothing else they can do at this time (short of resorting to magic) will mitigate the impact of the current drought. A horse, and an open barn door make an appropriate metaphor.

In yet another example of government failure, the Nation’s news article is at least six months too late in coming. It should have been about the government’s plans before the start of the rainy season (at which time there may have been a chance of taking meaningful action). These guys had plenty of warning of the onset of current El Niño, but did SFA about it.

Even the photograph in this article is appropriate in highlighting the incompetence and mismanagement that has taken place – it shows water flowing from a hydroelectric power station! Did anybody think to shut down the hydro stations to conserve water?

One only hopes now that they don’t interfere with the farmers too much at this stage, as they and their families are about to become the real victims of this failure to act when there was a chance of doing something.

Every shopping centre has a car wash in the basement using thousands of cubic of clean water every week. They can't even force people not wash their cars every week.....

[farmerjo]

The government wont be able to mine for water.

The protesters will shut it down quick smart with the fear it has mining in the word.

[trogers]

The government wont be able to mine for water.

The protesters will shut it down quick smart with the fear it has mining in the word.

Not true. Say the word 'gold' and you would have a sea of miners...local and inter-provincal...

[lovelomsak]

Rainy season is coming to an end a little late to start on any new projects this year other than desalinate seawater.

[andersonat]

We're now almost at the end of the Rainy Season in Thailand, and it *has* rained in Thailand (although less than in previous years), yet the reservoirs are almost empty.

- Can anyone please tell/explain to me where this year's (rain)water went ?

[bangon04]

"PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday said he had instructed officials from the Water Resources Board to brainstorm for ideas to tackle the ongoing drought"

what a truly wonderful idea. Thailand is lucky to have such a visionary leader in charge. After all these years of chronic endemic water mismanagement and laissefaire, Thailand now has found the answer to its water problems.....

[Eric Loh]

The only thing the WRB can possible achieve now will be their brainstorming session, and I suspect little will come from that either.

Nowhere in this article does it say the government is advocating the use of water-saving devices in homes, hotels, offices and factories. Nor does it mention the the government will raise the cost of water to consumers in an effort to encourage them to use less. And, the most glaring omission of all, there is nothing mentioned about TAT running an education campaign aimed at all tourists entering the country (to alert them to the need to conserve water)!

Nothing else they can do at this time (short of resorting to magic) will mitigate the impact of the current drought. A horse, and an open barn door make an appropriate metaphor.

In yet another example of government failure, the Nations news article is at least six months too late in coming. It should have been about the governments plans before the start of the rainy season (at which time there may have been a chance of taking meaningful action). These guys had plenty of warning of the onset of current El Niño, but did SFA about it.

Even the photograph in this article is appropriate in highlighting the incompetence and mismanagement that has taken place it shows water flowing from a hydroelectric power station! Did anybody think to shut down the hydro stations to conserve water?

One only hopes now that they dont interfere with the farmers too much at this stage, as they and their families are about to become the real victims of this failure to act when there was a chance of doing something.

Every shopping centre has a car wash in the basement using thousands of cubic of clean water every week. They can't even force people not wash their cars every week.....

Rather than forcing people not to wash their cars, the government should include waste water recycling in the water plan. Recycle waste water can be used for agriculture and industrial. Only 10% of waste water is recycle and that is extremely low when we have 14 million cubic meter of waste water daily.

[billd766]

Some people just know enough to be dangerous. How long would it take to build under ground storage or desalination plants and at what costs ?

https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-a-water-desalination-plant-cost

A typical large scale desalination plant produces 100,000 cubic meters of water per day. Assuming a per capita consumption of 300 liters per day, this equates to 300,000 people. The installed cost of desalination plants is approximately $1m for every 1,000 cubic meters per day of installed capacity. Therefore, a large scale desalination plant serving 300,000 people typically costs in the region of $100 million. The costs of infrastructure to distribute water must be added to this.

To cover just BKK alone with perhaps 9,000,000 people would cost around B3Bn $dollars without any infrastructure costs added on or at 35 baht/1USD over 1 Tn baht and that is for BKK alone.

[billd766]

I would have thought they would come up with a combo plan of actions. Coastal regions rely on desalination and water recycling, like Singapore.

Far inland on rain collection, storage and distribution.

See my post #27 on this thread.

[speedtripler]

Just make water too expensive to throw on anyone and the songkran problem will end instantly....

Raise it up to the same price as say.. beer for that whole month.... 55thb a half litre should be enough

There won't be a wet t-shirt in sight...

[anotheruser]

Why not just stick with tried and true technologies such as cloud seeding? Send more planes and you can even control when and where the rain falls at your convenience. This seems like an obvious solution.