Water
Water resources
Cambodian CSOs seek Lao dam discussion at summit
Frustrated by Laos ploughing ahead with its controversial Don Sahong dam despite past promises to consult neighbouring countries, Cambodian civil society representatives have called on Prime Minister Hun Sen, US President Barack Obama and ASEAN chair Le Luong Minh to raise the issue at next week’s ...
Water to be stored in 36 disused mines
Thailand’s Primary Industries and Mines Department is preparing 36 disused mines for water storage to help address the drought crisis. If the mines can be used as planned, their combined capacity will be 166 million cubic metres, said director-general Chat Hongtiamchant. He said his department found 36 ...
Mekong diversion under way in Thailand
The Thai government’s planned diversion of billions of cubic metres of water from the Mekong River, described last week by a Thai Ministry of Water Resources representative as being as far as two years away, has already begun. The pumping, which is pulling water from the ...
Mekong pumps to ease Isan drought
Thailand’s Royal Irrigation Department has begun pumping water from the Mekong River and redirecting it to drought-afflicted regions of the Northeast. The RID has shied away from using the term “diverted”, instead saying only that it is “using” the water as it looks to bypass consultation ...
Ayeyarwady monitored as levels plummet
As the water level of the Ayeyarwady River is set to fall about 30 feet (9.1 metres) below its rainy-season peak, water authorities are sending out staff to camp out along the banks to help river traffic avoid running aground. Mandalay Region’s Department of Water Resources ...
Thailand begins water rationing in three provinces
Thailand’s Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) has begun rationing water in three provinces as the severity of the drought, expected to be far worse than last year, has started to affect tap water production. Ratana Kitchawan, the PWA’s director, on 20 January said three branches of the PWA are ...
Water shortage 'will hit after Songkran'
Conserving water must be made an urgent national priority to cope with a water shortage crisis expected to hit Thailand after Songkran if precautions are not taken, a consultancy firm says. Water stocks in four major reservoirs which are the main sources of water in the Chao ...
Donors slash funding for MRC
As disputes multiply over the use of the Mekong, including over planned upriver dams in Laos contested by Cambodia and Vietnam, and a newly unveiled Thai plan to divert water to its drought-ravaged farms, the body tasked with mediating among the four nations is losing ...
Canal repair reduces Yangon water supply
Householders in 19 Yangon city townships are being urged to store water as repair work proceeds on the canal that supplies much of the city’s water. The city’s Irrigation Department will be working on the canal between the Ngamoeyeik dam and the city’s Nyaunghnapin pumping station ...
Dammed if they don’t: Mekong countries face crucial choice
In the wake of COP 21 and a new global climate accord, now is the time for the countries of the Lower Mekong Basin to redouble their efforts to protect the rice bowl of Southeast Asia. This region is among the world’s most vulnerable to climate ...
