BANGKOK(NNT) – The Deputy Prime Minister, Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, has attended a meeting to discuss water management in lowland areas along the Chao Phraya River, address water shortages and prepare for the rainy season this year.

Gen. Prawit, in his capacity as the director of national water administration, attended the meeting of subcommittees responsible for implementing the country’s water management masterplan and overseeing water resource management at the Office of National Water Resources (ONWR). The meeting addressed the drought situation nationwide and laid down measures to mitigate the people’s supply problems. The meeting resolved that relevant agencies will allocate 1.65 billion cubic meters of water between May 1 and July 31, 2020, to ensure sufficient water for daily use and consumption while maintaining the ecosystem. Concerning rice farming in lowland areas, the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) is expected to have only 436 million cubic meters of water in reserve during the dry spell. The department is however, able to distribute water for agricultural use to 265,000 rai of land in Bang Rakam district of Phitsanulok province.

Relevant agencies plan to allocate 65 million cubic meters of water in the first phase, from March to April, and 245 million cubic meters in the second phase, from May to July, to prepare for the harvesting season in August.

The location will then be used as a water retention area to ease the impact of flooding in Sukhothai province. It will also reduce the flow of water into the Chao Phraya River Basin. The meeting ordered related units to provide the information to farmers and members of the public in lowland areas of the 13 provinces along the Chao Phraya River.

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BANGKOK(NNT) – Driving forward large water management projects, Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan has urged related agencies to increase water reserve capacity to keep up with future demand and the 20-year water resources master plan collaboratively.

At a meeting of the large and major projects steering subcommittee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, participants including the Office of National Water Resources (ONWR) Secretary General Somkiat Prajamwong, acknowledged progress in the 25 projects approved by the ONWR with a 125 billion baht budget, 43 preparation projects with a 619 billion baht budget, and forest land usage requests for 75 projects.

DPM Gen Prawit Wongsuwan asked the subcommittee and related agencies to work collaboratively to solve national water issues, such as the drought, water shortages, and flooding, which severely affect villagers. He then urged the ONWR to adopt proactive measures and to have clear priorities to ensure concrete outcomes in its projects, with transparency and efficiency, as well as regular communications with the general public.

The subcommittee has approved the extension of the tap water system at Phetchabun-Lomsak Provincial Waterworks, and the expansion of the Samut Sakhon-Nakhon Pathom Provincial Waterworks Authority’s project, to increase the capacity of the tap water production and feeding system, which will help improve the availability and quality of the basic service, in keeping with the country’s 20-year water resource management master plan.

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