Lam Takhong reservoirs buck trend, face water shortage

While many areas of Thailand are facing floods and dams are releasing water to prepare for incoming water, the Lam Takhong Dam is experiencing severe drought. 

In the Lam Takhong reservoirs in Nakhon Ratchasima province, only 22% of usable water remains. Meanwhile, the province's 28 reservoirs can still accommodate more than 700 million cubic metres of water.

The Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Irrigation Project on Monday  reported on the water situation in the large and medium-sized reservoirs. As of this date, there is a total of 515.261 million cubic metres of stored water, with 452.442 million cubic metres being usable, which is 39.07% of the total storage capacity of 1,220.82 million cubic metres.

On Sunday, the area received only 15 millimetres of rainfall, adding 13.971 million cubic metres to the reservoirs, while 4.163 million cubic metres of water were released. 

The four large reservoirs are:

Lam Takhong Reservoir in Si Khiu district, with a storage volume of 88.925 million cubic metres and usable water of 66.205 million cubic metres, representing 22.69% of the total storage capacity of 314.49 million cubic metres.

Lam Phra Phloeng Reservoir in Pak Thong Chai district, with a storage volume of 65.943 million cubic metres and usable water of 65.223 million cubic metres, representing 42.28% of the total storage capacity of 155 million cubic metres.

Mun Bon Reservoir in Khon Buri district, with a storage volume of 74.781 million cubic metres and usable water of 67.781 million cubic metres, representing 50.58% of the total storage capacity of 141 million cubic metres.

Lam Chae Reservoir in Khon Buri district, with a storage volume of 137.750 million cubic metres and usable water of 130.750 million cubic metres, representing 48.79% of the total storage capacity of 275 million cubic metres.

As for the 24 medium-sized reservoirs, as of Monday, they have a combined water storage of 147.862 million cubic metres, with 122.483 million usable (39.52% of the total capacity of 335.33 million cubic metres). 

In total, the 28 reservoirs in Nakhon Ratchasima can still accommodate more than 700 million cubic metres of water.