Thailand Droughts Thread

[PeteC]

New water storage project to tackle drought

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... le-drought

The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry is planning to build an additional 421 water storage facilities in the fight against a looming water shortage, which is believed will be the worst in 10 years.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chalermchai Sri-on said they would comprise "new large, medium and small-scale water source projects", including kaem ling water catchment areas.

"The new storage facilities will increase water capacity by 942 million cubic metres," he said on Friday, adding that up to 1.2 million rai of new irrigation areas will benefit from the move.

The minister did not discuss the budget for the project or the construction period but was adamant the projects are required.

The country is undergoing uncertain rain patterns which are leading to unusually low water levels in major reservoirs and rivers, Mr Chalermchai said, who added the phenomenon stems from climate change.

Provinces along the Chao Phraya River, which flows into the Gulf of Thailand, last year used more water than the annual allocation planned by the Royal Irrigation Department (RID). This has raised fears of severe saltwater intrusion into the Samlae tap water production plant in Pathum Thani's Muang district, which supplies water for Bangkok and its adjacent areas. As a short-term solution, officials will divert 850 million cubic metres of water from the Mae Klong River to the Chao Phraya to maintain the quality of tap water.

However, in the long run, the government needs to expand water storage capacity as the country cannot rely on existing facilities, Mr Chalermchai said.

Up to 40,000 ponds, each with a capacity of 1,260 cubic metres, will be created for farmers working in irrigation areas in a bid to "delay aridity", he said.

Artificial rainmaking operations are also being planned to cover 25 river basins, the minister added.

If water stocks are still not enough or remain critically low, "underground water will be the last resort", Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa said.

Thailand has a total of nearly 30 million cubic metres which is "equal to a small reservoir", Mr Varawut said, but added the Groundwater Resources Department needs to dig more artesian wells. In parallel to water supply development, people must also use resources wisely.

"I believe many farmers already have that economical habit," Mr Varawut said, urging Bangkokians and residents in other large cities to follow suit.

Meanwhile, the RID is preparing to help farmers who cannot grow crops during the dry season by hiring 41,000 to work in irrigation-related jobs for three to seven months, department head Thongplew Kongchan said.

[PeteC]

High water salinity 'to persist until May

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30380133

The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) said on Wednesday (January 1) that the saltwater intrusion problem in the city's (Bangkok) supplies will last until May.

“Doctors have warned patients with kidney, heart, brain and high blood pressure problems to use the water carefully,” he said.

According to the MWA’s real-time water-quality monitoring system, the situation of saltwater intrusion was as follows;

On January 1, 2020, at 8.30pm, salinity was 720 milligrams per litre.

On December 31, 2019, at 7.40 pm, salinity was 660mg per litre.

On December 30, at 6.30pm, salinity was 740mg per litre.

On December 29, at 6pm, salinity rose sharply to 1,030mg per litre.

On December 28, at 8.40pm, salinity had almost doubled to 2,030mg per litre.

[handdrummer]

"maintain the quality of tap water." Seriously? I don't know what comes out of your tap but I wouldn't drink what comes out of mine.

[thecolonel]

For three months of spring last year, Phnom Penh had daily blackouts and water shortages. Part of the reason was that the Chinese had restricted Mekong water flow so that they would enough water in Xishuangbanna for the tourists to enjoy the water splashing festival.

Hua Hin had only a day or two of rain during October 2019, when there are usually daily downpours in previous years. The drought has already started and its effects in the new year will be very severe.

Are you sure about the October rainfall for hua Hin? Whilst I didn't arrive until November my contacts reported a fair amount of rain prior.

Also the reservoir at a Palm Hills golf was pretty full when I got here.

Not saying you're wrong, just find that surprising...

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[Ratsima]

salt.jpg (39.93 KiB) Viewed 1002 times

Good advice from a spokesperson (Narumon Pinyo Sinwat) for the prime minister's office:

Salty tap water -> If you're using water for cooking reduce the flavoring.

Note: I have no idea whether or not this is genuine, but she is a spokesperson for the government.

[benmo]

Certainly on soi102 the rainfall in October and November was far less than normal. But as we know it can be very localised

[Dannie Boy]

Certainly on soi102 the rainfall in October and November was far less than normal. But as we know it can be very localised

I’d agree that the rainfall in mid-late 2019 was lower than in most previous years - I don’t think it’s an area specific issue but more of a generalisation in this area (I’m on the HH side of Cha Am).

[thecolonel]

Certainly on soi102 the rainfall in October and November was far less than normal. But as we know it can be very localised

I’d agree that the rainfall in mid-late 2019 was lower than in most previous years - I don’t think it’s an area specific issue but more of a generalisation in this area (I’m on the HH side of Cha Am).

Well, you boys were here and I wasn't so that's that!

Also, the lakes at Springfield Golf are low(unlike Palm Hills which is odd) and my caddy there tells me that they've been dumping tonnes of water on the course last few months(more than she's seen before) maybe to make up for that lack of October rainfall?

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[PeteC]

A bit of trivia to keep in mind. Huge amounts involved from what to us at times seems little more than a shower.

"One inch of rain falling on 1 acre of ground is equal to about 27,154 gallons and weighs about 113 tons."

[Nereus]

Before the days of SI units water was measured in "acre feet":

https://www.watereducation.org/general- ... -acre-foot

But these ones are US gallons, not "proper" ones!

[PeteC]

Ubol Ratana Dam at lowest level in 40 years

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30380721

Ubol Ratana Dam in Khon Kaen province was at 19 per cent of capacity on Friday (January 17) with 472 million cubic metres in the reservoir – its lowest level in 40 years.

Concern is rising over the impact on surrounding farmland and fish habitats.

Rice farmer and fisherman Sawang NuayKiao said the water level at the dam, which opened in 1966, has steadily dropped, as has the number of fish he can catch every day.

“I used to sell Bt200-Bt300 worth of fish a day. Now I’m only catching Bt100-Bt200 worth.”Nor is he able to grow as much rice as he once did, he said, due to limitations in irrigation.

[Big Boy]

I'm sure the article is much better than my Mk 1 eyeball (after all I saw huge underwater obstacles with tentacles on the same flight ), but I flew from Khon Kaen last week, and was very impressed at how high the water was in lakes and man made ponds - they all looked close to capacity i.e. you can normally see a void between water level and high water mark. I did the same flight during the last drought, and it really looked like a drought.

[PeteC]

Chal Phraya dam water critically low

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ically-low

CHAI NAT: The water in the Chao Phraya dam reservoir in Sapphaya district is at a critically low level due to the unrelenting and spreading drought, and the rate of discharge is again being reduced.

As of Monday morning, the water level on the northern side of the dam was at only 13.45 metres, below the standard retention level of 16.50m.

This indicates this year's drought is more serious than last year's, when the water level on Jan 20 was 15.60m.

If there is no fresh inflow from the North, the amount of water would fall below the operating level in four months, local reports said.

The Chao Phraya dam is currently discharging water at the limited rate of 75 million cubic metres per second - only enough to maintain the ecological system and push back the salty water in the Chao Phraya river.

Officials said water must be kept at an operating level for as long as possible as the dry season is unlikely to end soon.

[PeteC]

A drought video from the Bangkok Post. A simple little thing, but gets the message out to those not familiar with the drought or the country.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/vdo/thailan ... he-big-dry

[Nereus]

Yes it is a drought. But it is NOT caused by El Niño/La Niña.

https://public.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/c ... iña-update

November 2019
Sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific have been neutral with respect to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (signifying that neither El Niño nor La Niña have prevailed) since July 2019. During October and early November, sea surface temperatures warmed to near El Niño levels, but most tropical Pacific atmospheric indicators have remained neutral. WMO Global Producing Centres of Long-range Forecasts (GPCs-LRF) indicate that sea surface temperatures are most likely to return to near-average levels after November and remain at ENSO-neutral levels into the first half of 2020. Given current conditions and model outlooks, the chance of ENSO-neutral conditions prevailing during the period December 2019 through February 2020 is estimated at about 65%, while the chances for El Niño and La Niña are 30% and 5%, respectively. Considering the increased uncertainty in long-range forecasts during the coming seasons, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services will continue to closely monitor changes in the state of El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) over the coming months.

In summary:

Since July 2019, the tropical Pacific has been in an ENSO-neutral state. During October and early November, a temporary warming of the waters occurred. This is being attributed to sub-seasonal variability and not the onset of an El Niño.

Model predictions and expert opinion indicate a 65% chance of ENSO-neutral conditions continuing during December-February 2019-2020, while the probability for El Niño is near 30%. For the March-May 2020 season, the chance for ENSO-neutral is 60%, El Niño is 25% and La Niña is 15%.

Sea surface temperature anomalies in the east-central Pacific Ocean are most likely to be in the range from 0.1 degrees Celsius below average to 0.5 degrees Celsius above average during December-February 2019-2020.