Thailand rations water as drought hits dam
dpaPublished: Apr 28, 2014 1:00 PM | Updated: Apr 28, 2014 1:04 PM
Thailand’s irrigation department has started rationing water as drought has lowered dam reservoirs nationwide, media reports said yesterday.
The country’s two major dams were at 18 percent of their capacity.
Thailand’s irrigation department has started rationing water as drought has lowered dam reservoirs nationwide, media reports said yesterday.
“We have to stop distributing water for agriculture,” Royal Irrigation Department director-general Lertviroj Kowattana said.
The department said the country’s two major dams, the Bhumibol and Sirikit, were at 18 percent of their capacity, the Bangkok Post reported.
The two dams feed into the Chao Phraya River that passes though Bangkok before emptying into the Gulf of Thailand. When the Chao Phraya gets low, salt water from the Gulf effects Bangkok’s fresh water supply.
“The overall amount of water throughout the country has continued to drop because we have to drain it to maintain the ecological system and push back salty water,” Lertviroj said.
The department has advised rice farmers to postpone planting their crops until June, the normal start of the rainy season.
- dpa
“We have to stop distributing water for agriculture,” Royal Irrigation Department director-general Lertviroj Kowattana said.
The department said the country’s two major dams, the Bhumibol and Sirikit, were at 18 percent of their capacity, the Bangkok Post reported.
The two dams feed into the Chao Phraya River that passes though Bangkok before emptying into the Gulf of Thailand. When the Chao Phraya gets low, salt water from the Gulf effects Bangkok’s fresh water supply.
“The overall amount of water throughout the country has continued to drop because we have to drain it to maintain the ecological system and push back salty water,” Lertviroj said.
The department has advised rice farmers to postpone planting their crops until June, the normal start of the rainy season.
- dpa
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