Eastern Thailand headed for water shortage in five years

NATURAL RESOURCES / WATER MANAGEMENT

Eastern Thailand headed for water shortage in five years

YUTHANA PRAIWAN

Eastern Thailand may face water shortages within five years unless additional resources can be made available to meet growing demand, says Chakramon Phasukvanich, the permanent secretary for the Industry Ministry.

He said raw water reservoirs in the region could run dry as demand grows from 300 billion baht worth of new petrochemical complexes planned in the area.

Water resources would be put under additional pressure as new independent power plants, automotive plants and other industrial projects come online.

Eastern Thailand's tourism industry is also consuming vast quantities of water in places including Pattaya, Rayong and Trat.

Work is under way to link the main water reservoirs in the region _ Bang Pra, Nong Pralai and Dok Krai in Chon Buri to the Bang Pakong River. The Prasae reservoir in Chanthaburi is also being expanded in efforts to secure supplies following a severe water shortage in 2004.

''However, the projects are not considering the effect from climate change,'' said Mr Chakramon.

To prevent future shortages, he recommends that the next government increase existing reservoir capacity and build more reservoirs in the region. He added that the tap water and the raw water distribution systems were also major concerns since the network is overseen by different ministries including the Interior Ministry's Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA), East Water Plc, the Industry Ministry and the Royal Irrigation Department.

Water consumption in the area would also rise with the growth of tourism, said Praphant Asava-aree, the president and CEO of Eastern Water Management and Development Plc (East Water), the sole raw water suppler for industries and for the Provincial Waterworks Authority in the east.

He said the water supply in the east was 210 million cubic metres annually, 35% of which was consumed by households and tourism, a proportion that has been projected to rise 50%.

Tap water distribution is estimated to be 30-40 million cubic metres a year short of consumption of 60 million cubic metres due to the poor management by the state authorities.

Although a pipeline is being built to link Chanthaburi's Prasae reservoir to the main reservoirs in Chon Buri, bringing capacity from 210 million to 450 million cubic metres annually, the reservoir will not be up and running for a few years.

East Water has closely monitored water shortages and is working with the Energy Ministry to create more supply to match future demand.

A source from the Royal Irrigation Department said the next government should accelerate development of new industrial complexes in other areas of the country as the East cannot accommodate additional developments.

The industrial sector should apply technology that integrates water saving, a reuse and recycling process and a water supply management unit. The energy sector will also require more efficient water circulation technology.

Uthai Chantima of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand said the industrial sector was adopting water saving technology, especially in petrochemical and power plants, by extracting seawater to treat by reverse osmosis, which could reduce consumption from reservoirs by 10% per year.