Water Supply (Groundwater, Deep Water Wells)

[KoratCat]

Do people drill their own deep water wells in Korat or do you rely on city water supply??

The city water supply out here in the villages is not always very well taken care of. Sometimes it is just taken directly from the river and pumped completely unprocessed into the city or better village water supply.

Much of the groundwater around here is salty and its use is very limited. But yes, people do drill their own wells sometimes.

The german section of this forum contains a very informative thread with photographs to this topic already:

http://www.korat-info.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=181

It is also very common to use water from the rivers and irrigation ditches. But you gotta be lucky to live close enough to one.

[asiaexpat]

then can i assume from the photographs that people do drill their own deep water wells?

[KoratCat]

then can i assume from the photographs that people do drill their own deep water wells?

Much of the groundwater around here is salty and its use is very limited. But yes, people do drill their own wells sometimes.

Sorry, I missed a post of "asiaexpat from 19 Sep 2006 03:34 pm when moving:

salty? too salty to use for watering crops??

[KoratCat]

salty? too salty to use for watering crops??

In most locations, yes. I have heard of a few drilling projects that were abanoned after they succeeded in finding water.

When I was still living in town and the soi I was living in was not yet connected to pipe water supply, I had a well drilled. Water was easily found, but all our flowers died except one cactus, wo seemed to like it. Our taps and showers inside the house had to be cleaned or even replaced very often because of the high level of chalk in the water.

The ground water up here is not suitable for agriculture, not even rice who can stand some salt. The water for use in the agriculture comes in rivers and irrigation ditches fed by the Lamthakhom reservoir. between Sikhiu and Pak Chong. To make up for little water reserves by using ground water seems hardly possible. Though I have heard of spots were they can use it at least for fish breeding.

[asiaexpat]

then can i assume from the photographs that people do drill their own deep water wells?

Much of the groundwater around here is salty and its use is very limited. But yes, people do drill their own wells sometimes.

Sorry, I missed a post of "asiaexpat from 19 Sep 2006 03:34 pm when moving:

salty? too salty to use for watering crops??

what happened to my salty water post? You were moving things around??


Ok I see you have made a new topic

[Naam Jai (?2008)]

In the Kaeng Khro area ( between Chaiyaphum and Khon Kaen) the Government agrees to dig a water tank for 20,000bht over a 5 year loan, for peasant farmers. The tank about 20x50 metres wide is 3 metres deep but by the time it is stepped and banked it is considerably deeper. The water is then used for growing cash crops in the surrounding area,including chillie, beans, banana, and corn. The once a year ( and every year. No rotation here) rice crop is not sufficient to provide a living and this is being supplemented by producing poultry to sell at various stages of life in an extensive way. Rice is sold, fed to the poultry or eaten by the family. Well water is a possibility but is about ?25 metres below ground in this area. It is said not to be salty. Most smallholdings do not have main electricity so pumping water any distance is expensive. Most use a 6 metres pipe with belt driven power from the farm tractor. I should add that these storage tanks are not very efficient. They leak water, water is evaporated and most depend on the surrounding area small klongs and field flooding for a supply. On the plus side they can breed fish for the table if they don't dry out.

The Thai Government should be putting these small farms on the national power grid,and providing better road access, as was done free, in the UK, in 1948. The Government could as an alternative offer solar power systems. It needs to provide a better advisory service to the farmers who must expand or give up to survive as has happened throughout the western world. Mechanisation is needed and this could be done better through cooperatives than contractors. Again with Government support. Finally until prices are raised, artificially if necessary, and guaranteed through central Government buying schemes, the peasants will remain just that, peasants.
How should these schemes be paid for? A better distribution of wealth in
this Country, of course!