The Department of Groundwater Resources (DGR) has for the first time successfully drilled as deep as 1km for fresh water in the Northeast, which will help end the region's water shortage problems.
According to Sakda Vicheansil, director-general of the DGR, the success has become the first of its kind, not only in Thailand but also Southeast Asia.
The initiative is part of the government's bid to better manage water resources, particularly in the northeastern provinces which normally suffer from drought during the dry season each year, he said.
Starting in August, the first successful freshwater well-drilling site was in Ban Hin Khao village in tambon Sawathi in Muang district of Khon Kaen, he said.
The well, found to be capable of supplying 100 cubic metres of fresh water per hour, will be developed into a source of quality fresh water over the next two months. It is expected to benefit more than 10,000 residents in the area, he said.
The know-how from the project will be transferred to other areas in the Northeast to find more sources of quality fresh water to supply the Northeastern Economic Corridor scheme, covering Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Nong Khai, Mukdahan, Nakhon Phanom, Buri Ram, Surin, and Si Sa Ket, he said.
Drilling as deep as 1km into the ground for fresh water is challenging, given the region's complicated geological structures. Not drilling deep enough earlier resulted in back rush water problems, he said. From now on, he said, the problem of freshwater shortages for public consumption, farming and the tourism industry in the Northeast will not be an issue, he said.
What's more, this breakthrough in well-drilling technology will also largely benefit other industries in the region in terms of water security, he said.