Scarce rain a headache in NE, amid continuing flood fears

Scarce rain a headache in NE, amid continuing flood fears

Scarce rainfall in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Khon Buri district means the Upper Moon dam reservoir continues to fall. It is now at only half capacity as water is drained off to irrigate 47,000 rai of farmland that depend on it. Photo: Prasit Tangprasert
Scarce rainfall in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Khon Buri district means the Upper Moon dam reservoir continues to fall. It is now at only half capacity as water is drained off to irrigate 47,000 rai of farmland that depend on it. Photo: Prasit Tangprasert

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: The rush to discharge water from brimming reservoirs at many major dams, with more rain forecast, is in sharp contrast to the major concern at Upper Moon dam in Khon Buri district - where there has been almost no rain for about six months.

Farmers on tens of thousands of rai downstream depend on the dam having enough water to irrigate their crops throughout the rest of the growing season.

Chakkri Yingcharoen, chief of the of Upper Moon irrigation area, said on Wednesday the water level  behind the dam had fallen to about 50% of capacity.

While this was not yet alarming, after six weeks with almost no rain falling on the watershed area to top up the reservoir, steps would have to be taken to cope with the situation.

"I was informed on Aug 7 the a royal rainmaking operation has started," Mr Chakkri said.

If successful, artificial rain, generated by a fleet of small planes seeding clouds above areas hit by drought, would raise the level of the reservoir, allowing the dam to support the network of irrigation canals that feed 47,000 rai of cropland.

The dam, built to hold 141 million cubic metres of water, sits on the Upper Moon River in Khon Buri district. The river runs 641 kilometres from southern Nakhon Ratchasima through northern Buri Ram to Surin and Si Saket and then flows into the Mekong River in Ubon Ratchathani, one of northeastern provinces currently suffering from flash floods.

With the Mekong running very high, Ubon Ratchatani and other provinces along the river are on full alert in case it breaks its banks.

The Meteorological Department forecast is for more rain in most areas of the country - except, it seems, along the Upper Moon River.  

The rain is being brought by a monsoon trough in the upper North and Northeast, influenced by a low pressure system in southern China and the strong southwest monsoon in the Andaman Sea, the weather office said on Wednesday.

Water is already being discharged from brimming major dams, including the Nam Oun in Sakon Nakhon and Kaeng Krachan in Phetchaburi province, where residents downstream were slowly being flooded out on Wednesday.

But on the Upper Moon River, concern continues to focus on the lack of water flowing into the dam reservoir. Farmers there are praying for rain.

The Upper Moon dam has been supplying irrigation water to farmers since early July. "We need to continue the job until the end of crop season in late October," Mr Chakkri said. 

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