The Irrigation Department is currently draining around 200,000 cubic metres of water from 13 medium size reservoirs (for more information on the water management of Chiang Mai click here)
These 13 reservoirs were found to contain over 80% of water already and needed to be drained to make room for the coming rains.
A further ten medium sized reservoirs currently contain 60 million cubic metres, and average at just under 60% of capacity which means they have a way to go to reach the worrying 80% capacity.
A further 116 smaller reservoirs currently contain around 37 million cubic metres of water which sit at around 57%.
The Meteorological Department has warned that this year’s rainfall may be around 5-10% above average and say that capacity is being created by all relevant departments to manage it all.
Authorities also say that equipment is all currently on standby, from backhoes to JCB vehicles and water pump trucks. There are also 59 available pumps and equipment being gathered from 39 organisations and offices.
Those living in vulnerable areas are asked to prepare to move their belonging to higher ground just in case.
