Thailand's Water System Management
History
Water is considered as an essential resource to ensure survival. Most people in the past moved and settled down near the river sources in order to consume and support agriculture. There are two main rivers in Thailand: the Chao Praya river and Mekong river. The Chao Phraya is a large river located in Central Thailand. It begins at Nakhon Sawan confluence by the Ping, Wang, Yom and Nan river, and flows from North to South through Bangkok to the Gulf of Thailand. The Mekong River on the other hand, runs through China's Yunnan province, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
Because of these two rivers, Thai people built dams to keep and manage water flow throughout the country, especially in remote areas. A dam is an innovation of humanity, constructed for many purposes such as water supply, irrigation and flood control. For Thailand, most water is used for agriculture, so Thai dams have the ability to keep the water and release them out during dry seasons. Another clarify benefit is to push sea water out so that it won't affect agricultural areas and products. Thailand also uses water flows through turbines to generate electricity.
Water is considered as an essential resource to ensure survival. Most people in the past moved and settled down near the river sources in order to consume and support agriculture. There are two main rivers in Thailand: the Chao Praya river and Mekong river. The Chao Phraya is a large river located in Central Thailand. It begins at Nakhon Sawan confluence by the Ping, Wang, Yom and Nan river, and flows from North to South through Bangkok to the Gulf of Thailand. The Mekong River on the other hand, runs through China's Yunnan province, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
Because of these two rivers, Thai people built dams to keep and manage water flow throughout the country, especially in remote areas. A dam is an innovation of humanity, constructed for many purposes such as water supply, irrigation and flood control. For Thailand, most water is used for agriculture, so Thai dams have the ability to keep the water and release them out during dry seasons. Another clarify benefit is to push sea water out so that it won't affect agricultural areas and products. Thailand also uses water flows through turbines to generate electricity.
How dams were built?
The Pak Mun Dam is one of the dams in Thailand, which is in the province of Ubon Ratchathani, in Northeast Thailand. It is built on the Mun River, 5.5km upstream from its confluence with the Mekong. The dam is typed as a roller compact concrete with a maximum height of 17m and total length of 300m. The reservoir has a surface area of 60km² at normal high water level of 108m above the mean sea level (MSL) and a capacity of 225million m³. The dam was built by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and operates as a run-of-the-river hydropower plant. Its operating rules are designed to ensure that the water level does not rise above 106m MSL during the dry season, from January to May and retains a maximum level of 108m MSL for the rest of the year. The storage capacity of the dam’s reservoir is essentially that of the pre-existing river channel.
The Pak Mun Dam is one of the dams in Thailand, which is in the province of Ubon Ratchathani, in Northeast Thailand. It is built on the Mun River, 5.5km upstream from its confluence with the Mekong. The dam is typed as a roller compact concrete with a maximum height of 17m and total length of 300m. The reservoir has a surface area of 60km² at normal high water level of 108m above the mean sea level (MSL) and a capacity of 225million m³. The dam was built by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and operates as a run-of-the-river hydropower plant. Its operating rules are designed to ensure that the water level does not rise above 106m MSL during the dry season, from January to May and retains a maximum level of 108m MSL for the rest of the year. The storage capacity of the dam’s reservoir is essentially that of the pre-existing river channel.
Recent Problem- Salty Tap Water in Thailand
According to Mr. Sa-nga Damapong, the Vice President of the Nutrition Association of Thailand, the recent problem in tap water turning salty in certain areas of Bangkok should not have any affect towards our health because the process of tap water production has high standards. However, if the water gets too salty to the point where you feel like you’re drinking salt water, your body may get sodium chloride. Nevertheless, this will only happen if you drink a large amount of the salty water for every single day.
In addition, Mr. Thanasak Wattanatana, the Governor of the Metropolitan Water, said that the problems occurred in Bangkok and also some areas of Samut Prakarn. He mentioned that the solution in solving this is to bring in water from the west so that the saltiness of water can be reduced. The water’s standard level of saltiness has increased from 250mg of salt per 1 litre of water to 1800mg of salt per liter; The Royal Irrigation Department has also brought water from the dam to help.
Moreover, the reason why the tap water has turned salty is due to the effects of dryness in the Chao Praya River and also the sudden increase in sea water level, causing a high amount of sea water to mix into the Chao Praya River. Therefore, the production of tap water was affected in the east where water from the Chao Praya River was used.
According to Mr. Sa-nga Damapong, the Vice President of the Nutrition Association of Thailand, the recent problem in tap water turning salty in certain areas of Bangkok should not have any affect towards our health because the process of tap water production has high standards. However, if the water gets too salty to the point where you feel like you’re drinking salt water, your body may get sodium chloride. Nevertheless, this will only happen if you drink a large amount of the salty water for every single day.
In addition, Mr. Thanasak Wattanatana, the Governor of the Metropolitan Water, said that the problems occurred in Bangkok and also some areas of Samut Prakarn. He mentioned that the solution in solving this is to bring in water from the west so that the saltiness of water can be reduced. The water’s standard level of saltiness has increased from 250mg of salt per 1 litre of water to 1800mg of salt per liter; The Royal Irrigation Department has also brought water from the dam to help.
Moreover, the reason why the tap water has turned salty is due to the effects of dryness in the Chao Praya River and also the sudden increase in sea water level, causing a high amount of sea water to mix into the Chao Praya River. Therefore, the production of tap water was affected in the east where water from the Chao Praya River was used.
According to the increasing in sea water level, the water is released form Bhumibol dam and Sirikit dam in order to dilute the salt water. However, this situation cannot be resolved because the large amount of water is pumped to do agriculture in several parts of Thailand, so the amount of salt water cannot be repelled. Shockingly, this situation has never occurred in Thailand for the past century.