Surface water
Rivers and lakes
Mekong reels from drought, saltwater
Drought and saltwater intrusion have worsened in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta this year, threatening rice crops and the daily life of residents. Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said: “Saltwater intrusion [began in] November 2015, one and half months ...
The Mekong river: Damned if you do
The Mekong watershed nurtures extraordinary biodiversity, with new species of plants and animals discovered every year. It has also nurtured humans. Tens of millions of people—much of the population of Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam—depend on the Mekong. Planners think the Mekong has a gift to give: hydropower. ...
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 ...
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 ...
'No dodging' EIA on water plan
The development of two controversial water diversion projects would comply with an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study requirements, the Thai government insists. Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Gen Chatchai Sarikulya said on 12 January the government wants to study the prospects of diverting water from rivers forming a ...
Thai Government set to divert water from key rivers
The Thai government plans to divert water from rivers which form natural boundaries with Thailand’s neighbours into major dams in a long-term measure to battle drought. Suphot Tovichakchaikul, chief of the Department of Water Resources, said on 11 January that aside from the country’s local sources, water ...
Devastated farmers blame polluting factories for tons of dead fish on southern river
Officials are still awaiting test results but fish farmers believe that untreated waste discharged by factories along the Dong Nai River had killed a large number of fish in just one night. A total of 241 families in Dong Nai Province said they woke up on ...
What is the value of the Mekong river?
Putting a value on the Mekong River and measuring the impact it has on the gross domestic product (GDP) of downstream countries has for a long time been a strategic target of bureaucrats and non-governmental organizations seeking to measure and protect the world’s twelfth longest ...
