Drought coupled with a growing thirst in the Eastern Economic Corridor [EEC] has prompted plans to divert water from the Satung Nam River in Cambodia.
"The Eastern Seaboard has no dependable major river, only reservoirs," said Alongkorn Ponlaboot, assistant to the agriculture minister.
"So the Royal Irrigation Department will conduct a study on diverting water from other rivers, including the Satung Nam, to ensure water supply [for the Eastern Seaboard]," Mr Alongkorn, a Democrat Party list-MP, told media yesterday during his trip to inspect water management efforts in eastern provinces.
Now that demand for water in the East has increased by 11%, officials there need to conduct feasibility studies and hold talks with authorities in neighbouring countries as soon as possible, Mr Alongkorn said.
Though the government insists current reserves are enough to feed the EEC, which covers 30,000 rai in Chachoengsao, Chon Buri and Rayong, the ongoing drought has authorities bracing for a bleak future and looming conflicts over water. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has already declared an emergency in parts of Chachoengsao, with drought now gripping 18 provinces.
The government plans to turn the EEC into a hub of high-level manufacturing for next-generation cars, smart electronics, medical tourism and other new industries.
Water diversion, tapping underground sources and water recycling are key measures it is relying on to meet the demand from the EEC, even as eastern provinces battle drought.
Conservationist Somnuck Jongmeewasin, a member of the House's sub-committee monitoring the EEC project, said authorities might have a hard time finding enough water to feed its mushrooming businesses.
"It is almost impossible for authorities to rely on the Satung Nam, as an official study has stated Cambodia would charge an exorbitant price for supplying water to Thailand," he said. Currently, water from the Satung Nam River is used to power a hydro dam.
Mr Somnuck, a former factory engineer on the Eastern Seaboard, also warned against tampering with underground water. The government plans to draw 70 million cubic metres of water from aquifer to feed the EEC.
He said overuse of underground water will trigger subsidence or even damage the soil's ecological balance. "Groundwater should be saved for the future and used only when necessary. The question is whether we should extract this water to use for the short term," Mr Somnuck said.
In a related development, the Federation of Thai Industries has also joined the state efforts to solve water scarcity by seeking cooperation from industrial estates to reduce water use by 10%.
In Rayong, officials are working with Eastern Water Resources Development and Management Plc (East Water), which runs a water supply business, to divert water from Prasae reservoir to Khlong Yai and Nong Plalai reservoirs, according to deputy Royal Irrigation Department chief Thawisak Thanadechophon.
The Provincial Waterworks Authority is also increasing water supply in Chon Buri by pumping water from Klong Luang reservoir.
In a longer term, his department plans to divert water from provinces outside the EEC. One is the diversion of water through a 45-kilometre pipe from Wang Tanot canal in Chanthaburi to Prasae reservoir.
The work will be done during the rainy season from June to October this year in order to add 70 million cubic metres of water to Rayong, Mr Thawisak said.