Ubon reservoir improvements part of drought-fighting strategy

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chalermchai Sreeon was at the site on Thursday (February 6) discussing ways to combat drought, including better water management.
The medium-sized reservoir completed in 1954 covers 7,500 rai and can hold more than 7.6 million cubic metres of water. It’s a crucial resource for farmers and other residents of the Ban Na Di area.
Chalermchai blamed its current low water level on sediment and weeds, which limit capacity, and that’s what Royal Irrigation Department Office 7 wants the extra money to fix.
“Office 7 will expand the levee by approximately half a metre in height and 640 metres in length and install a metre-high folding weir around the spillway that can be operated by remote control,” he said. 
“This will increase storage capacity by approximately 5 million cubic metres. Then, in the long term in 2021-2024, Office 7 plans to build four electric pumping stations that will increase the irrigation area to 8,000 rai, plus a 16-kilometre road of rubberised asphalt around the reservoir, complete with bicycle lanes. And the reservoir will be dredged to increase storage capacity again, this time by more than 10 million cubic metres.”

Chalermchai said the government was “deeply concerned” about the drought situation and all agencies have been told to prepare manpower and machinery and to get people actively conserving water, while farmers should be encouraged to switch to crops that require less water.
“Improving the Nong Chang Yai Reservoir is part of the resource development we’re undertaking to increase storage volume threefold, from 7 million cubic metres to 23 million,” the minister said. “After it’s dredged, people will be able to make use of the site for exercise and recreation.”