People will be asked to conserve water instead of throwing it during the Songkran festival in April due to the worsening drought, but the government is confident the taps will not run dry.
Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is deeply concerned about the drought. The prime minister hopes people will use water sparingly and listen to the advice of authorities and take whatever steps are necessary to keep the tap water running.
“The government is preparing for a water conservation campaign and will ask people to adopt the traditional method of rod nam dam hua [sprinkling a small amount of water on others] when celebrating the Songkran festival and refrain from throwing buckets of water to reduce water use,” he said.
Traditionally people poured just a little water on other people's hands as a way of blessing each other during the festival.
Gen Prayut has also asked the Tourism and Sports Ministry to make sure foreign tourists do not misunderstand the severity of the drought and cancel their holiday plans to Thailand out of fears of the water supply being cut off, Maj Gen Sansern said.
He gave assurances the country will not run out of water, but said there are real concerns about the lack of it, so the government will intensify efforts to raise awareness and promote conservation.
Citing information from the Royal Irrigation Department, Maj Gen Sansern said the country's four major dams have a combined 3,068 gigalitres of water available for consumption.
That amount does not take into account the so-called dead volume, which is water in the dams which is unusable.
The assurances were made after some reports claimed there will not be enough water before the next rainy season.
However, Maj Gen Sansern said there are no water reserves for farming and the government has urged farmers to switch to crops that consume less water due to an expected severe dry season this year.
“The government is assuring people there is sufficient water for consumption and for maintaining the ecological system until the dry season ends. As for the farming sector, most farmers are aware of the low supply for agricultural use and those who choose to grow rice will do so at their own risk,” he said.
Despite the assurances, Maj Gen Sansern said several areas have been hit hard by drought. The government has declared 46 districts in 12 provinces drought-striken areas so the governors can allocate funds for relief operations, including dispatching water trucks.
He said the government’s artificial rain-making operations was set to start on March 1 in Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Sawan, Kachanaburi, Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, Chanthaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Surat Thani.
Rain-making is one of eight measures to cope with drought, he said. Another measure is to dig about 2,000 artesian wells across the country as part of drought relief operations in the Chao Phraya River basin. The wells should help ease the hardships of more than 225,000 households.
The cabinet has also approved a 93 billion baht package to fund three loan schemes for the farming sector to lessen the impact of the drought and to spur the country’s economy, he added. More than 670,000 people are expected to benefit from the loan programme.
The tourism industry is also bracing for the water shortage.
Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yutthasak Supasorn said hotel and restaurant operators are worried about the drought and the adverse effects it will have on their businesses if the situation worsens.
He said tourism-related businesses will get information from authorities so they can plan for a possible water shortage. Mr Yutthasak added that if the drought extends into May or June, it could have an adverse impact on the tourism sector.
However, he said the Songkran festival is only a three-day period and is unlikely to be affected.
Supawan Thanomkiat, chairwoman of the hotels association, said the industry aims to cut down water consumption by 30%.