Flowing reservoirs bring King’s bounty
Once reliant on communal wells for their scarce water supply, Ratchaburi locals say their lives have improved vastly since they alerted the former Crown Prince to their plight, writes Aree Thongboonrawd
Once, residents of tambon Yang Hak of Ratchaburi’s Pak Tho district appealed to then Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to help resolve their grievances over a lack of water for farming. Now, 27 years later, the Crown Prince has inherited the crown as His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, and villagers are able to grow crops throughout the year with the abundant water harnessed from five reservoirs in the district.
The appeal was made when the Crown Prince, during one of his many upcountry tours, visited residents in Ban Thai Prachan of tambon Yang Hak as well as Ban Huay Muang of tambon Tranaosri of Suan Phung district on April 10, 1991.
The Crown Prince passed on his initiative to establish water sources for the locals for farming and consumption. The Office of the Royal Development Projects Board, the Royal Irrigation Department and agencies in charge of water resources acted on the royal initiative by building five reservoirs for the locals.
These reservoirs receive water from watersheds in the Tranaosri mountain range and from collecting rainfall.
The tasks were directed by former chief of the Royal Irrigation Department (RID), Pramote Maiklad, who was asked to follow through with the Crown Prince’s wish to turn expanses of arid land into fertile harvesting grounds.
Reporters were recently invited on a trip to revisit the reservoirs. The trip was hosted by the Pid Thong Lang Phra (loosely translated as “unsung hero”) foundation which disseminates information about the royal initiatives and guides them on ways to apply them to their daily lives.
Two of the reservoirs, built some time before 1995, were Ban Phu Krut and Huay Phu Krut reservoirs. Ban Phu Krut is an earth reservoir with a capacity of 585,280 cubic metres of water. This facility feeds 1,600 rai of farmland and 320 households. The Huay Phu Krut stores less water, at 270,750 cubic metres. It feeds 130 households.
In 1997, the Khao Hua Daeng earth reservoir was built with the ability to store up to 612,000 cubic metres of water and feed 1,000 rai of farmland and 308 households.
Construction of two other reservoirs
His Majesty’s kindness is the reason the water is piped to our homes every second. ANUSORN RITLAM VILLAGE HEADMAN OF TAMBON YANG HAK, RATCHABURI
— Ban Thai Prachan and Hin Si Ton Bon — got under way about two years later.
The Ban Thai Prachan has a storage capacity of 600,000 cubic metres of water which it irrigates to feed 1,300 rai of farmland and supplies to 150 households. The Hin Si Ton Bon, meanwhile, is the biggest of the five reservoirs, able to save up to one million cubic metres of water which can serve 1,700 rai of farmland and feed 200 households.
Construction of a sixth reservoir, Ban Prong Phrom, is in the pipeline. The RID is conducting a feasibility study and working on the design of the project, to be built in 2022. The reservoir will supply an additional 200,000 cubic metres to the district.
The five existing reservoirs have been maintained in workable condition and are the main suppliers of precious water to the predominantly farming residents of tambon Yang Hak and nearby areas. The locals have joined local authorities in conserving the forests from where the water flows into the reservoirs.
However, as time passes, some reservoirs are silting up, which lessens water storage capacity. The natural resources and local administration bodies were alerted to the problem and a state budget has been disbursed to dredge the reservoirs.
Authorities will drew up a long-term plan to keep sediment upstream from building up and depositing in reservoirs. The plan includes regular dredging and putting in pipes to draw water from upstream sources to the reservoirs instead of letting the water flow naturally to the reservoirs via creeks and bringing dirt and soil along with it.
The supply of water from reservoirs has to be managed so it can be distributed sufficiently to all catchment areas all year round.
Explaining the history behind the reservoirs, Thawal Tingthong, the former kamnan of tambon Yang Hak, 64, recalled how he brought the issue of water shortages to the Crown Prince’s attention 27 years ago.
“There is a marked improvement in people’s livelihoods today compared to the past,” said Mr Thawal.
More than two decades ago, he said, residents were forced by scarce water to farm only once a year, if they were lucky. The concept of storing water was alien to many locals who lived at the mercy of the rain. There were months when went without a drop of rain when the rainy season came late.
They were also barred by authorities from hunting wild animals, picking forest food or felling trees to make charcoal, which they thought could earn them some money and ease their plight. Life was difficult for people in the communities off the beaten the track, Mr Thawal said.
Soon, they came to realise that water was key to their survival. If they had enough water to last them through the year, the could farm crops or raise livestock.
According to Mr Thawal, after the residents heard the Crown Prince was coming to visit them, they prepared a petition to be presented to him. They appealed to the Crown Prince to have the reservoirs built, to give them a new lease on life.
After the reservoirs were up and running, residents earned substantially more from the year-round farming. They were financially better off and many families could send their children to school.
“He (now His Majesty the King) may be glad to hear that the worst is behind us and our lives have improved a lot now,” said Mr Thawal.
Chan Thongwi, leader of a local group called “the Ban Phu Krut reservoir users”, has vivid memories of those tough times when people went in search of water to drink.
The 53-year-old man said locals decided to dig communal wells. Everyone, including women and old men, endured long walks on gravel roads carrying heavy buckets of water they had fetched from the wells back to their homes.
People were desperately short of water for farming so they were left with no choice but to plant drought-resistant crops, such as maize and the pest-susceptible cotton, which is known to require pesticide spray to fight bug attacks and produce healthy yields.
In some years when rainfalls was critically low, crop yields hit rock bottom, he said.
“After the reservoirs were built, water never ran short again,” said Mr Chan.
“With water no longer an issue, we began planting a greater variety of crops, including chili, citrus fruits, rambutans, durians, mangoes as well as short-life crops, such as cucumbers and long beans,” he added.
Anusorn Ritlam, the Moo 5 village headman in tambon Yang Hak, said the farms generate tens of thousands of baht a month for many families who grow vegetables and cash crops.
Residents make a point to meet regularly to discuss adjusting the water supply to households in the communities served by the reservoirs. The idea is to make the most of the available water and maintain a fair distribution to prevent conflicts.
“His Majesty’s kindness is the reason the water is piped to our homes every second,” said Mr Anusorn, adding more young people return home to farm after graduating these days, which takes care of the problem of youngsters migrating to work in big cities.
Suchart Kanchanavilai, chief of Ratchaburi Provincial Irrigation Office, said residents have helped by offering to help maintain the reservoirs.
The locals also devised a water management plan that gives an overview of how much water should be allocated to communities in different periods of the year.
Mr Suchart said provincial authorities have floated an idea to organise an event to mark the royal visit 27 years ago.