PHUKET, Jan 15 (TNA) – Water reserve in Phuket’s three main reservoirs has dropped below the acceptable level, prompting the authorities to handle the situation of growing threat of water shortage.
Somsawat Chaisinsorn, director of the Phuket irrigation project said that Phuket’s main sources of raw water in three reservoirs – Bang Wad, Bang Niew Dam and Khlong Krata have dropped to low levels at 36 percent, 9 per cent and 51 percent of their holding capacity respectively.
The three reservoirs currently store more than six million cubic metres of water altogether in total. The amount of water in the two reservoirs is adequate for use for only 80 day and the last one for 210 days. Without any measure put in place, the drought will definitely take its toll on public and tourism sectors.
Head of the Provincial Waterworks Authoriy’s Phuket office, Kraisorn Mahamad said demand for water is 120,000 cubic metres per day. The PWA is looking for additional reserved water for tap water production.
The agency purchases 13,000 cubic metres of tap water per day from the private sector and raw water from private mines and acquires more water from natural waterways. Two more weirs have been built at Bangjo canal.
As a result, he said he was confident that there will be no shortage of water in the dry season. In the long term, he added that the two – billion baht project is in the pipeline to produce tap water in Phang-nga province and supply the water to Phuket.
The project got the Cabinet’s approval and is scheduled to be completed in the next five years, he noted. (TNA)
