PWA chief upbeat on water supply
RESERVES ENOUGH FOR DRY SEASON
>> The Provincial Waterworks Authority has estimated that there will be sufficient water supplies through this year’s dry season.
PWA governor Seree Supratid yesterday expressed confidence the drought will not affect tap water production nationwide during the upcoming dry season as only 3% of the country’s water reserves have been used.
Despite adequate amounts of water, Mr Seree asked for cooperation from the public on using water sparingly in a bid to save supplies for the dry season next year, adding the PWA is also working on other measures to cope with water shortages.
According to the PWA’s assessment, of 234 water production stations across the country, only three are at risk of a shortage.
The three are in Chiang Rai’s Phan district, Yasothon’s Loeng Nok Tha district and Chon Buri’s Ban Bung district.
Mr Seree said the PWA has devised measures to tackle water scarcity in the three areas.
Water from nearby branches will be discharged to the three stations while trucks will deliver water to drought-affected areas, he added.
In Nakhon Ratchasima, Sutthiroj Kongkaew, director of the water supply and maintenance unit at Lam Takong dam in Sikhiu district, yesterday said water conserved in the dam was adequate to produce tap water until this year’s rainy season.
Currently, the dam contains 98 million cubic metres (cu/m) of water, or 31% of its total capacity. The water amount was slightly less than expected by the Royal Irrigation Department.
Mr Sutthiroj said authorities needed to increase the amount of water released from the dam, from 170,000 cu/m a day to 432,000 cu/m a day, to more than 100 tap water production plants downstream in five districts: Sikhiu, Sung Noen, Kham Thale So, Muang and Chalerm Phrakiat.
The release of water was conducted in line with a resolution of a water management panel, chaired by a Nakhon Ratchasima governor, which stipulates water can be discharged from the dam at up to 435,000 cu/m a day.
As for Nakhon Ratchasima municipality, aside from receiving 40,000 cu/m of water from Lam Takong dam, it also obtained water from Lam Chae dam in Khon Buri district, Mr Sutthiroj added.
Meanwhile, in Chai Nat, a dried-up Wat Khok canal due to a low level of water in the Chao Phraya River has forced farmers to pump up water from artesian wells to feed more than 4,000 rai of paddy fields in tambon Wat Khok of Manorom district.
Many farmers have turned to growing alternate crops that consume less water as advised by the government.
Among the crops is gluay namwa banana, or sugar banana, which produces high yields and uses less water than rice farming.
Banana bunches sold to middlemen can fetch 10-12 baht, but the price can rise to 15 baht if planters sell their fruit by themselves.
Banana farmers i n tambon Wat Khok earn more than 9,000 baht per rai per month.