water

  • Environment News

    Drought prompts Tesco Lotus to increase bottled water production

    Tesco Lotus, the Thai division of Britain’s biggest retailer, is boosting bottled water production to help customers cope with drought. The chain says it will increase production of its own branded bottled water and also increase orders of other brands to sell at its branches nationwide, in response to this year’s drought and water shortages, which is predicted to be the…

  • Thailand Weather Updates

    Top 10 ways to save our water

    Hot weather and Thailand’s boom-or-bust water issues (floods in wet season and water shortages in the hot season) are a part of our life. It’s predicted that there will be hotter hot seasons and wet-seasons with less rain in the future. Even if we’re not sure what the future brings we should all be conscious of our water usage, be…

  • Environment News

    Bangkok authorities roll out the water trucks for free drinking water

    As water authorities around Bangkok start rolling out a long-term solution to the increasing salinity of the water further up the Chao Phraya river, locals are being treated to free drinking water. The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority has is transporting tap water from the Mahasawat water factory, in a small district west of the main city unaffected by the saltwater problem,…

  • Thailand Weather Updates

    Thai water officials warn local authorities to get ready for shortages

    The Office of the National Water Resources is warning that water stored in the country’s large and medium size dams is now dropping to the minimum useable level, urging measures from local agencies to ease the impact on the public. This warning goes out with another three months of dry season hanging over Thailand’s head. The annual ‘wet season’ kicks…

  • Health

    Water shortage warnings in 22 provinces

    People living in 22 Thai provinces are being warned to prepare for shortages of drinking water during the upcoming dry season, due to start on November 1. The warning was issued by the National Water Resources Office, citing low levels in reservoirs, which are the main sources for tap water production waterworks in 22 provinces. Areas at risk identified by the…

  • Thailand News

    Thai government extends free water and electricity services for another year

    PHOTO: www.unsplash.com Thailand’s Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana says low-income households will continue to get free electricity and water for another year. The scheme, which assists poorer families, was due to expire at the end of this month. Under the plan, low-income households get up to 230 baht worth of electricity for free each month, along with 100 baht worth of…

  • Environment News

    Phuket’s water bosses claim there will be enough water

    PHOTO: Bang Neow Dam in Thalang, just a few muddy ponds Well into the second half of the Phuket wet season and the three main dams are well below capacity, Bang Wad Dam just over 13% capacity and the Bang Neow Dam in Thalang district around 5%, mostly unusable muddy ponds. The newer Khlong Katha in Chalong is at a…

  • Northern Thailand News

    “No water crisis in the Chao Phraya basin” – Irrigation Department

    PHOTO: Bhumibol Dam in Tak when full, now holding only 4% of capacity The Royal Irrigation Department is assuring farmers and residents in the central and north-east that there is no risk of Thailand of severe water shortages. This is despite little rain in some areas during the annual wet season and the low levels of the Chao Phraya River…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket’s water shortage solution – pump it from the mainland

    For the Thai island surrounded by water, Phuket now faces acute water shortage problems and local officials are scurrying for solutions. This week a 3.5 billion baht plan was announced to pipe potable water across the channel from Phang Nga to Phuket as a remedy for the looming water crisis on the island. At this stage there’s no approval for…

  • Environment News

    Phuket’s looming high season water crisis

    PHOTOS: Siraphat Kanphonngam Water shortages are almost a certainty for Phuket in the next high season with the rainfall for this year’s wet season well below average. The island’s three main catchments – Bang Neow Dam off Srisoonthorn Road, Bang Wad dam in Kathu and Khlong Kratha dam in Chalong – have all increased in their water levels since the dams dropped to…

  • Phuket News

    Water shut-off along parts of Phuket’s west coast

    The Phuket Provincial Waterworks Authority says the mains water supply will be shut off around Patong, Karon and Kata from today until next Friday (June 28). Areas mostly affected will be homes and residences in elevated areas. Works are being carried out on the water-treatment plant in Karon. The water supply to the affected areas will be shut off from 9am to…

  • Phuket News

    Army commander visits Phuket residents to discuss water shortage

    Lt Gen Pornsak Poonsawat, the Commander of the Fourth Army Region (Southern) in Nakhon Si Thammarat, came to Phuket to visit residents over water shortage issues in Rassada. Lt Gen Pornsak says “we were contacted from the Phuket Governor that Phuket is facing serious water shortages. We have come here with water trucks to help residents to join with other…

  • Thailand Weather Updates

    Phuket faces critical water shortages if the monsoon doesn’t arrive soon

    Phuket is now, officially, experiencing water shortages, with water in the province’s three catchments just enough for the supply of tap water until the end of May, and the condition is expected to get worse if the annual monsoon doesn’t kick in soon. The annual south-west monsoon usually starts dragging in moist air and the ‘wet season’ begins sometime around…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket’s water supply in a critical situation

    Phuket’s water lords are now admitting the island’s water situation is in a critical situation – a situation they have had the power to avert but have chosen instead to ‘hope’ for monsoonal rains and go in search of alternative water sources to top up the dwindling catchment resources. Phuket is now in the throws of a water shortage. The…

  • Thailand Weather Updates

    Phuket’s water lords confident of supplies and back-up plans

    PHOTO: Welcome to the moonscape – Bang Neow Dum off Srisoonthorn Road Well in to the second half of April in Phuket and the water situation is still dire, despite repeated assurances from the Provincial Irrigration Office and the Phuket Water Authority. The most recent assessment of the island’s three main catchments were that there was 2.8 million cubic metres of…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket’s water supply scraping the bottom of the three dams

    The temperature hit 34 degrees today, light winds and 10% chance of rain for the rest of today (code for a slight chance of a tropical storm cell dropping its load on some small part of the island). And there’s little rain in sight until maybe Sunday. Meanwhile the remaining supply in Phuket’s three main catchments continues to evaporate today.…

  • Thailand Weather Updates

    Roll out the water trucks – Phuket’s water runs low

    by Salinee Prap Many areas of Phuket have suffered a shortage of tap water, with inconsistent or no flow, prompting business operators and residents to buy water from the private sector. Phuket as an island, is usually self-sufficient with its water supply, with three large catchments on the island serving locals, expats and the 12 million annual tourists. Phuket governor…

  • Phuket News

    Water restrictions on the agenda again as Phuket’s dams get low

    The Phuket Water Authority, swinging wildly between ‘water restrictions’ and ‘there is plenty of water’, now says that water restrictions are again on the cards in a raft of suggestions being put to the Phuket Governor. The chief of the Provincial Waterworks Authority, Graisorn Mahamad, has raised the prospect of water restrictions (again) following the PM Prayut Chan-o-cha ordering water…

  • Phuket News

    Water Authority cancels water restrictions in Phuket

    PHOTO: Bang Wad dam in Kathu The Phuket Waterworks Authority (PWA) has announced a cancellation for water restrictions that were set to hit some some areas around Phuket from tomorrow. The PWA announced start dates for water restrictions to start in some areas of the island on Monday. The restrictions were set on an odd/even rotation and are usually a…

  • Phuket News

    Water restrictions announced as water levels in Phuket reservoirs drop

    The Phuket Waterworks Authority (PWA) has announced a date for water restrictions to start in some Phuket areas. They say the reason is water levels at reservoirs in Phuket are getting low in the dry seasons and they predict it will continue for the next three months. Water will be restricted for residents on even dates starting February 8 for…