Water situation in Thailand remains critical

[webfact]

Water situation in Thailand remains critical



BANGKOK, 5 November 2015 (NNT)-The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has urged everyone in Thailand to use water wisely.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikalaya said although the amount of water in the Chao Phraya and Mae Klong Rivers combined is higher than expected by 570 million cubic meters, the overall water situation still remains critical.

The water in 4 major dams, which have 4.2 billion cubic meters of water in total, will have to be managed carefully to make sure there is enough for household consumption and farming activities until April next year.

In Sukhothai province, provincial governor Piti Keawsalab has instructed related officials to pump up water from the Yom River and store it in a 300- rai lake called Nong Pla Mho in preparation for the next dry season.

Meanwhile, Lampang authorities are going to help residents affected by water shortages in 13 districts. The villagers are urged to conserve water and use it efficiently.

The authorities will also ask the Ministry of Commerce to donate rice in the government stockpile to families who could not grow rice for their own home consumption this year. Farmers have also been advised against growing off season rice as there is only 40 million cubic meters of water left in Kew Lom Kew Kho Ma Dam.

-- NNT 2015-11-05

[i claudius]

The other day i had to use a loo ,when i got in there water was pouring out of the pipes into the drain and obviously had been for ages , dont be silly there is no water shortage ,this proves it .

[thesetat2013]

If I was a Thai I would have to blame you for that loss of water simply to save face. I don't think low water supply will stop anyone from doing the same they have always done. Just as these idiots are counting on the water to replenish in April. The blame game will be spread pretty wide if the rain season starts a little later than normal next year.

[worgeordie]

This is only the beginning of a crisis ,but I am sure the Government

will have plans to make sure we don't run out of water like drink

beer!

regards Worgeordie

[anotheruser]

The more things change the more they stay the same...

[Thian]

The government should make an emergencyplan and warn us for what we can expect to happen.

Will BKK run out of electricity? Then i don't want to be here.

Will BKK run out of fresh water out of the taps?

Will there be rural provinces without any water?

Mai pen lai won't work against serious draught.

[otherstuff1957]

This shows the current and historical levels of water in Bhumipol Dam, which is the largest reservoir in northern Thailand. The water lever should be no higher than the black line and no lower than the grey line.

Edited November 5, 2015 by otherstuff1957

[Thailand]

They should have seen this coming and made provisions with the obvious lack of rainfall this season.

Oops, sorry, forgot where I was!

[halloween]

This shows the current and historical levels of water in Bhumipol Dam, which is the largest reservoir in northern Thailand. The water lever should be no higher than the black line and no lower than the grey line.

Untitled.jpg

Not as I understand it. AFAIK the black is the old operating curve, the grey the new operating curve ordered by the PTP government after the flood shortly after they took office. If you go back one more year, you can see how over a 6 month period the levels were dropped from the upper to the lower curve, and then below as excessive rice scam usage and lower rainfall never allowed the dams to recover even to the new lower limit.

That decision to drop the operating curve wasted a huge volume of water and may yet prove to be disastrous.

[halloween]

"....to pump up water from the Yom River and store it in a 300- rai lake called Nong Pla Mho........."

Yeah, much smarter than building a dam.

[leftorright]

This shows the current and historical levels of water in Bhumipol Dam, which is the largest reservoir in northern Thailand. The water lever should be no higher than the black line and no lower than the grey line.

Untitled.jpg

Not as I understand it. AFAIK the black is the old operating curve, the grey the new operating curve ordered by the PTP government after the flood shortly after they took office. If you go back one more year, you can see how over a 6 month period the levels were dropped from the upper to the lower curve, and then below as excessive rice scam usage and lower rainfall never allowed the dams to recover even to the new lower limit.

That decision to drop the operating curve wasted a huge volume of water and may yet prove to be disastrous.

That would seem to make more sense indeed. It's the horizontal lines that indicate max. capacity and the minimum level at which the dam can still release water. My interpretation of the graph is that we will enter dry season with about 1,000 [unit] in stock whereas last year about 2,000 were used (needed?) to provide downstream areas with sufficient water until rains started to replenish the dam (and more than that in 2014 and 2013). The big question is how long this year's 1,000 units will last.

Otherstuff: do you have a similar graph for the Sirikit dam, or can you tell where these graphs can be found on the web?

[chainarong]

Christ this makes an appearance at least once a week with a different photo, of course Thailand has a water problem , it has been evident for at least a decade and it was probably caused by consecutive Administrations doing jack crap so lets cut to the chase , stop ya talking and start doing the right thing by the people of Thailand and if it means cancelling the High Speed . slow speed trains , so be it.........

[Thian]

Christ this makes an appearance at least once a week with a different photo, of course Thailand has a water problem , it has been evident for at least a decade and it was probably caused by consecutive Administrations doing jack crap so lets cut to the chase , stop ya talking and start doing the right thing by the people of Thailand and if it means cancelling the High Speed . slow speed trains , so be it.........

Bangkok can't live without the skytrains....

And without the hydrodams and sufficient water in the chaopraya river it also can't produce electricity or fresh drinkingwater.

[lovelomsak]

Christ this makes an appearance at least once a week with a different photo, of course Thailand has a water problem , it has been evident for at least a decade and it was probably caused by consecutive Administrations doing jack crap so lets cut to the chase , stop ya talking and start doing the right thing by the people of Thailand and if it means cancelling the High Speed . slow speed trains , so be it.........

Bangkok can't live without the skytrains....

And without the hydrodams and sufficient water in the chaopraya river it also can't produce electricity or fresh drinkingwater.

Why does Bangkok need electricity and drinking water anyways.They can just go to bed when the sun sets and drink juice.

[lovelomsak]

Christ this makes an appearance at least once a week with a different photo, of course Thailand has a water problem , it has been evident for at least a decade and it was probably caused by consecutive Administrations doing jack crap so lets cut to the chase , stop ya talking and start doing the right thing by the people of Thailand and if it means cancelling the High Speed . slow speed trains , so be it.........

Bangkok can't live without the skytrains....

And without the hydrodams and sufficient water in the chaopraya river it also can't produce electricity or fresh drinkingwater. or just article 44 to get what they need

[LawrenceN]

This shows the current and historical levels of water in Bhumipol Dam, which is the largest reservoir in northern Thailand. The water lever should be no higher than the black line and no lower than the grey line.

Untitled.jpg

I took photos of the water level in the Mae Kuang Dam near Chiang Mai from July through October. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/840743-water-level-at-mae-kuang-dam/

There's a link to a similar graph in that thread for anyone interested. As of this week, that reservoir stands at 12.xx% capacity.

When I wondered why water was being release with levels already so low, someone replied that he had had a conversation with the chief engineer at the dam who said he was ordered to continue to release water (which eventually ends up in the Chao Phraya) because it is needed to counteract saltwater intrusion at the mouth of the river near Bkk. Good policy? The guy setting national priorities for the Irrigation Department thinks so.

[SOTIRIOS]

...anything to do with damming activities up north...hmmm...a high-speed train project...etc...etc...

[waldroj]

The junta remains silent about imposing any water restrictions in BKK.

It may consider itself to be the government, but I tell you this, it is not a 'responsible' government, as it has failed miserably to introduce any drought management policies (even though alarm bells have been sounded throughout 2015)!

Prayut, you're the person who should be leading this - you have the power, use it to do something.

Your first responsibility (to the nation) at this late stage, should be to immediately impose national water restrictions, including a 'drought levy' on top of the ridiculously cheap price that users currently pay for water from the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority in BKK.

At the moment, people have no reason to conserve water, so make them pay (much) more if they choose to selfishly abuse what is now one of Thailand's most precious resources.

The extra money raised should then be made available, as part of drought relief, to ease the dreadful plight facing rural families as the drought intensifies over the coming months.

Prayut, you are the one who can restore some happiness to these people. Start walking the talk or be dammed as a fraud!

[GAZZPA]

This is only the beginning of a crisis ,but I am sure the Government

will have plans to make sure we don't run out of water like drink

beer!

regards Worgeordie

Isn't beer made with water? Beer shortage on the way! Yikes,,,

[GAZZPA]

This shows the current and historical levels of water in Bhumipol Dam, which is the largest reservoir in northern Thailand. The water lever should be no higher than the black line and no lower than the grey line.

Untitled.jpg

Wow, taking your graph as it stands thats a horrific scenario, it is clear that if the water consumption is the same as last year the water will run dry for sure. I was taking a lot of the press with a pinch of salt, this is bringing it home just how drastic the situation is.

Should be emergency crisis for this government surely?

[GAZZPA]

Will they cancel the usual water chucking during Songkran? Surely they will have to do this if peoples lives could be on the line?

[Orac]

"The water in 4 major dams, which have 4.2 billion cubic meters of water in total, will have to be managed carefully to make sure there is enough for household consumption and farming activities until April next year."

Are they expecting something to happen in April or are they just incapable of looking more than six months ahead?

[tominbkk]

Can somebody answer me this - I was at the Shangrila Hotel last week for conferences, and enjoyed going out on the deck to watch the river. It appears an awful lot of water was flowing past at a rapid pace. Is that not water that can be used?

Sorry if this is a very simple question or concept I don't understand.

[halloween]

This shows the current and historical levels of water in Bhumipol Dam, which is the largest reservoir in northern Thailand. The water lever should be no higher than the black line and no lower than the grey line.

Untitled.jpg

I took photos of the water level in the Mae Kuang Dam near Chiang Mai from July through October. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/840743-water-level-at-mae-kuang-dam/

There's a link to a similar graph in that thread for anyone interested. As of this week, that reservoir stands at 12.xx% capacity.

When I wondered why water was being release with levels already so low, someone replied that he had had a conversation with the chief engineer at the dam who said he was ordered to continue to release water (which eventually ends up in the Chao Phraya) because it is needed to counteract saltwater intrusion at the mouth of the river near Bkk. Good policy? The guy setting national priorities for the Irrigation Department thinks so.

If a minimum flow isn't maintained, the salt level at the water treatment intakes will rise. No, it can't be removed during treatment.

[leftorright]

This shows the current and historical levels of water in Bhumipol Dam, which is the largest reservoir in northern Thailand. The water lever should be no higher than the black line and no lower than the grey line.

Untitled.jpg

I took photos of the water level in the Mae Kuang Dam near Chiang Mai from July through October. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/840743-water-level-at-mae-kuang-dam/

There's a link to a similar graph in that thread for anyone interested. As of this week, that reservoir stands at 12.xx% capacity.

When I wondered why water was being release with levels already so low, someone replied that he had had a conversation with the chief engineer at the dam who said he was ordered to continue to release water (which eventually ends up in the Chao Phraya) because it is needed to counteract saltwater intrusion at the mouth of the river near Bkk. Good policy? The guy setting national priorities for the Irrigation Department thinks so.

If a minimum flow isn't maintained, the salt level at the water treatment intakes will rise. No, it can't be removed during treatment.

With salt water intrusion becoming a recurrent threat to tap water production for Bangkok and forcing dam/water managers to maintain a certain level of flow in the Chao Praya river at the expense of other interests upstream, it would seem sensible to explore the feasibility of relocating the intake point (for BKK’s tap water production) way up north, further out of reach of salt water. Does anyone know if this is happening already?

[otherstuff1957]

This shows the current and historical levels of water in Bhumipol Dam, which is the largest reservoir in northern Thailand. The water lever should be no higher than the black line and no lower than the grey line.

Untitled.jpg

Not as I understand it. AFAIK the black is the old operating curve, the grey the new operating curve ordered by the PTP government after the flood shortly after they took office. If you go back one more year, you can see how over a 6 month period the levels were dropped from the upper to the lower curve, and then below as excessive rice scam usage and lower rainfall never allowed the dams to recover even to the new lower limit.

That decision to drop the operating curve wasted a huge volume of water and may yet prove to be disastrous.

That would seem to make more sense indeed. It's the horizontal lines that indicate max. capacity and the minimum level at which the dam can still release water. My interpretation of the graph is that we will enter dry season with about 1,000 [unit] in stock whereas last year about 2,000 were used (needed?) to provide downstream areas with sufficient water until rains started to replenish the dam (and more than that in 2014 and 2013). The big question is how long this year's 1,000 units will last.

Otherstuff: do you have a similar graph for the Sirikit dam, or can you tell where these graphs can be found on the web?

Thanks for clarifying the black and grey lines. I just assumed that they were seasonal recommended levels. Graphs for all of the dams can be found here:

http://www.thaiwater.net/DATA/REPORT/php/rid_bigcm.html

There is supposed an English version as well, but it doesn't seem be working now.

There is lots of other info at the main site: http://www.thaiwater.net/web/

but I don't read Thai well enough to do much more than figure out the names of the dams.

[FangFerang]

Remove the word "Water" from the headline and you have real news story...

[leftorright]

This shows the current and historical levels of water in Bhumipol Dam, which is the largest reservoir in northern Thailand. The water lever should be no higher than the black line and no lower than the grey line.

Untitled.jpg

Not as I understand it. AFAIK the black is the old operating curve, the grey the new operating curve ordered by the PTP government after the flood shortly after they took office. If you go back one more year, you can see how over a 6 month period the levels were dropped from the upper to the lower curve, and then below as excessive rice scam usage and lower rainfall never allowed the dams to recover even to the new lower limit.

That decision to drop the operating curve wasted a huge volume of water and may yet prove to be disastrous.

That would seem to make more sense indeed. It's the horizontal lines that indicate max. capacity and the minimum level at which the dam can still release water. My interpretation of the graph is that we will enter dry season with about 1,000 [unit] in stock whereas last year about 2,000 were used (needed?) to provide downstream areas with sufficient water until rains started to replenish the dam (and more than that in 2014 and 2013). The big question is how long this year's 1,000 units will last.

Otherstuff: do you have a similar graph for the Sirikit dam, or can you tell where these graphs can be found on the web?

Thanks for clarifying the black and grey lines. I just assumed that they were seasonal recommended levels. Graphs for all of the dams can be found here:

http://www.thaiwater.net/DATA/REPORT/php/rid_bigcm.html

There is supposed an English version as well, but it doesn't seem be working now.

There is lots of other info at the main site: http://www.thaiwater.net/web/

but I don't read Thai well enough to do much more than figure out the names of the dams.

Thanks for the links, very informative.