BANGKOK, October 1 – Department of Groundwater Resources Director-General Suphot Choemsawatdiphong on Monday revealed that the department is preparing to expand on the result of a pilot project to refill groundwater reserves in Ban Nong Na of Nong Kula sub-district, Bang Rakam district, Phitsanulok.
According to Mr. Suphot, 26,000 cubic meters of water has been successfully recharged into the subsurface water reserve in the area over the rainy season, and the department will expand the pilot project to cover Phichit and Sukhothai provinces. If successful, no less than 935 million cubic meters can be recharged each year, providing a water storage capacity similar to a large reservoir.
The project was initiated to tackle the depletion of groundwater reserves in Phichit, Phitsanulok and Sukhothai. An artificial recharging system with more than 5 rai of surface area would allow agriculturists to break even on the investment within 4 years by saving on costs associated with extraction of otherwise hard-to-reach groundwater.
