Orchid farms threatened by salt water

MORE than 3,000 rai of orchid farms in Nakhon Pathom province are under threat of being ruined by salty water.
Latest salinity tests show 6 grams of salt per litre of water in the Nakhon Chaisi River.
Although the amount of salt has reduced from 12 grams per litre, it is still much higher than the standard of 2 grams.
This river is connected to the Chinda canal, where the orchid farms are located.
“Farmers are getting worried,” Royal Irrigation Department deputy director-general Suthep Noipairoj said yesterday. He reckoned that this area in Samphran district was one of the country’s important bases for orchid production.
According to Suthep, salinity in the river has increased because of high tides. The waterway is linked to the sea, though it is known by another name in a seaside province. The Royal Irrigation Department has been trying to tackle this problem by diverting fresh water from nearby waterways to both the Nakhon Chaisi River and Chinda Canal.
“We have used this strategy since Tuesday and we have seen improvements,” Suthep said.
In addition, the department has helped erect big bags between the Nakhon Chaisi River and the Chinda canal so as to prevent the river’s salty water from increasing the salinity of the canal and the orchid farms it waters.
“We have also installed pumps to ensure water circulation,” he said.
Suthep hoped that the problem of salty water would end by the middle of this month.
Meanwhile, Kangwan Deesuwan, the deputy director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s (BMA) Water Drainage and Sewerage Department, yesterday revealed that the city administration had got Bt547 million from the government for three water-management projects.
Kangwan said the first project involved dredging 36 canals with a Bt118-million budget.
“We will have to complete the task by September,” he said.
He said the second project was to construct two dykes to increase the capital’s water-drainage efficiency.
“The construction should be completed by 2019,” he said.
Kangwan added that the third project focused on the improvement of the BMA flood-prevention centre.
“As for the third project, we will complete it by 2016,” he said.
The budget for the BMA-run projects was granted after the Cabinet approved the Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage’s water-management strategy. The strategy covers 4,227 projects, including the three to be implemented by the BMA.
The Cabinet has agreed to allocate Bt164 billion for the implementation of the strategy.