People urged to conserve water as reservoirs running low
The Office of Natural Water Resources (ONWR) is calling on people to conserve water and refrain from growing off-season rice because the country’s 13 large dams are less than 30 per cent full.
“Four dams in the North, four in the Northeast, two in East, one in the Central region and two in the West are at less than 30 per cent of their capacity,” ONWR secretary-general Somkiat Prajamwong said.
“The country’s 141,489 dams and reservoirs have 42.9 billion cubic metres of water, or are approximately 52 per cent full,” he added.
The office estimates that when the dry season starts in November, the four dams that supply water to the Chao Phraya Basin, namely Bhumibol, Sirikit, Kwai Noi Bumrung Dan and Pasak Jolasid, will only have 6.27 billion cubic metres of water, which is not enough to irrigate off-season rice in the area.
“ONWR will have to carefully manage the use of water in the next growing seasons in case next year’s dry spell lasts longer than expected,” he said.
“We have calculated water for domestic consumption at 18 million cubic metres daily and urge people to conserve water so it does not exceed this amount.”