Builders of Laos dam say they’re not responsible for lack of flow in Mekong River

Both the government of Laos and the builders of the Xayaburi dam are dismissing allegations that damming of the Mekong River, for the trial run of electricity generators, is one of the reasons for the sharp drop of water levels in the downstream stretches of the Mekong River. Water levels in the reservoir, 30 metres above the river, is about 2.75 metres deep.

Builders of the dam, CK Power Company (Thailand), a subsidiary of Ch Karn Chang, made the denials today.

Deputy managing director of CK Power Company, Anuparb Wonglakorn, says that the company raised the water level in the reservoir for technical purposes once in October last year.

He offered as the excuse that the influence of El Nino this year was largely to blame for the lowest amount of water flowing into the Mekong River in a century. He also criticised the Jinghong dam, in China’s southern Yunnan province, for releasing less water downstream, causing hardship for Lao people and Thais downstream, who rely on water from the Mekong, not only for consumption but for fishing and navigation.

Anuparb suggested that the Mekong River Commission, made up of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, should invite Myanmar and China for talks about sustainable water management in the Mekong River.

SOURCE: Thai PBS