BANGKOK, 12 July 2015 – The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) keeps watching on water situation on a daily basis so that it can effectively adjust water release plans in case of insufficient amount of rainfall, says RID director-general Suthep Noipairoj.
According to Mr.Suthep, Thailand currently has around 10,000 million cubic meters of usable water kept in reservoirs and dams nationwide which is about 20 per cent of their full capacity.
Most of the water volume comes from main reservoirs whereas only 3 per cent is coming from Bhumibol Dam, Sirikit Dam, Kwai Noi Bamrung Daen Dam and Pa Sak Jolasid Dam located in the Chao Phraya River Basin.
Artificial rainmaking operations on Sunday morning in the northern region was a success, but the water volume gained was still not enough to raise the level of water at Bhumibol Dam. Similar situation happens in Uttaradit’s Sirikit Dam despite a considerable amount of rainfall in Nan Province.
The RID still distributes water from four main dams at the amount of 28 million cubic meters a day for community consumption and agriculture in 22 provinces in the Chao Phraya River Basin.
However, if rainfall is still insufficient to fill more water into main dams, the RID says it needs to either reduce or delay supply of water in order to extend the availability of water beyond the end of July.
