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Bangkok told to brace for salty tap water

BANGKOK — People in and around Bangkok should brace for salt water intrusion due to a critical water shortage in dams and prepare to save fresh water for consumption.

A schoolgirl drinks from a fountain installed as part of an Abhisit government project to show that Bangkok tapwater was safe to drink. Soon, it will probably also be salty. Photo: Bangkok Post

A schoolgirl drinks from a fountain installed as part of an Abhisit government project to show that Bangkok tapwater was safe to drink. Soon, it will probably also be salty. Photo: Bangkok Post

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BANGKOK — People in and around Bangkok should brace for salt water intrusion due to a critical water shortage in dams and prepare to save fresh water for consumption.

The warning comes after the Royal Irrigation Department announced yesterday (June 24) it will cut water discharges from four key dams in the Chao Phraya River basin in a bid to conserve water reserves in the dams in order to help people until April next year.

Reductions in water discharged from dams will raise salt levels in the Chao Phraya River due to occasional sea water intrusion and this might affect the quality of raw water for tap water production, Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) Governor Thanasak Watanathana said.

“To avoid salty-tasting water, each household should stock 60 litres of fresh water for drinking,” he said, adding that mobile water distribution points will also be set up to deal with water shortages.

“I am certain we can produce tap water for people in Bangkok as usual, but it might not be consistent and may have a salty taste when sea water intrudes into the river,” he said.

People can check water quality in real time at the MWA website. Once the electrical conductivity level of water is higher than 700 units, people should stock up on water for consumption since tap water will have a salty taste when the conductivity level reaches 1,200 units.

Mr Thanasak insisted the MWA would be able to produce enough tap water for people living in the capital and surrounding areas. In the worst-case scenario, the MWA can divert water from the Srinakarin and Vajiralongkorn dams in Kanchanaburi province.

According to the MWA, out of 5.2 million cubic metres of tap water produced daily, 3.9 million cubic metres come from reservoirs in the Central Plains which have been affected by severe drought with the rest coming from the two dams in Kanchanaburi.

Mr Thanasak said in response to the shortage of water, the MWA will reduce production capacity at Bang Khen tap water plant from 3.9 million cubic metres per day to 3.6 million cubic metres, resulting in lower tap water pressure at certain times.

On average, tap water consumption per head in Bangkok is 222 litres per day, compared with 150 litres per day in cities such as Chiang Mai and Nakhon Ratchasima.

Speaking after yesterday’s sub-committee meeting on water management, Royal Irrigation Department (RID) Deputy Chief Suthep Noipairoj said the panel decided to reduce water released from the four major Chao Phraya dams to 28 million cubic metres per day from 33-35 million cubic metres a day.

Discharges from the Bhumibhol, Sirikit, Kwae Noi and Pasak Jalasit dams will be decreased from Monday, Mr Suthep said.

As a result, some 136,000 hectares out of 550,400 hectares of paddy fields could be at risk of becoming parched, he said.

At a discharge level of 33 million cubic metres a day, there could be enough water to last until late July, while rainfall that is expected in August should fill the dams, so that water reserves will be sufficient until the end of the next dry season at the end of April next year, Mr Suthep said.

Meanwhile, an economic ministers committee meeting approved an 84-million-baht budget to extract groundwater from 880 locations to relieve possible drought conditions on 136,000 hectares of rice growing land. Implementation of the plan will be completed by July.

On Tuesday, a cabinet agenda document issued by Government House stated that a budget of 51.4 billion baht (S$2.04 billion) would be sought for groundwater development.

Red-faced government officials yesterday admitted the actual figure was 51 million baht which the economic ministers committee meeting later bumped up to 84 million baht.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said relevant agencies have warned the drought could drag on until early next year. “I am now trying to review the whole problem,” Mr Prayut said. “Soldiers have been deployed to take control of the situation and prevent problems,” he said.

Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency Director Anond Snidvongs na Ayutthaya said it is clear that the effects of El Nino are being felt.

This year’s El Nino will reduce rainfall this rainy season, causing water shortages, Mr Anond said. Contingency plans must be made to tackle the problem, he said.

However, drought could still be mitigated by the effects of the Indian Ocean dipole phenomenon, which could bring rain from late August to September, he said.

Short spells of rain could occur every 30-60 days, and this should also help mitigate drought. He said rainfall will be 18 per cent, 10 per cent and 5-6 per cent less than average in July, August and September respectively. BANGKOK POST

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