Shrinking Pattaya Reservoirs

[forcebwithu 4,822]

Mabprachan Lake water levels are extremely low. This pic is of the NE side of the lake.

 

They're now sucking every last drop out of the low areas.

Better get your soapie in before the pumps are sucking mud.

 

Looking east towards the new park they've been working on over the past year.

 

The new park is looking good.

 

Once they finish the landscaping, hopefully with plenty of shade trees and a return of the rains, the park should be a nice place to spend an afternoon.

 

But for now the view from the park is pretty bleak.

 

Fishing is easier though. Grab a bucket and scoop the fish up.

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2019 by forcebwithu
Replaced small pics w/links to larger pics in album

[Billions 687]

If the lake dries out,what might be the consequences for Pattaya?

[jacko 8,786]

If the lake dries out,what might be the consequences for Pattaya?

There are reportedly some other sources of water and the lake is but a fraction. That said, a month or two ago some local oink was telling us how we would not have a water shortage, apparently, more recently, a little back-peddling from the same guy,

 

I commented on the low lake level elsewhere, after viewing it as I enjoyed a curry at The Fisherman Cafe Friday..... but thanks forcebwithu, the pics are worth a thousand words.

Edited September 8, 2015 by jacko

[SunnyValentine 173]

This area has been recently renamed to "The desert formerly known as Mabprachan Lake"!

[LBJ 533]

The same thing happened 26 years ago when I lived in Pattaya.

[Gary 4,108]

What happened to the big pipeline from a river just south of Bangkok? They have been working on it for several years.

[forcebwithu 4,822]

What happened to the big pipeline from a river just south of Bangkok? They have been working on it for several years.

 

My understanding is it was finished and was being used to replenish the water in Mabprachan, that is until Bangkok started having water problems of their own.

[Chang_paarp 253]

Any "embarrassing finds" emerging with the lake drying up?

 

One time they allegedly found a couple of bodies.

[atlas2 4,329]

How's the lake these days?

[Lantern 193]

One would hope it was full again after that heavy rain on the 17th.

[nkped 1,208]

One would hope it was full again after that heavy rain on the 17th.

It took a long time to get that empty.

[forcebwithu 4,822]

What a difference two weeks and a tropical storm can make in lake levels. Here's pics from two weeks ago and from today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2020 by forcebwithu
replaced forum conversion thumbnail pics with large pics

[MM 6,562]

That's more improved than I thought it would be. Great.

[atlas2 4,329]

Nice comparison.........Thanks......You have your uses.........

 

May the 4th be with you!!

[Lantern 193]

That's good to see. Thanks.

[midlifecrisis 4,040]

There are reportedly some other sources of water and the lake is but a fraction. That said, a month or two ago some local oink was telling us how we would not have a water shortage, apparently, more recently, a little back-peddling from the same guy,

 

I commented on the low lake level elsewhere, after viewing it as I enjoyed a curry at The Fisherman Cafe Friday..... but thanks forcebwithu, the pics are worth a thousand words.

Coastal cities should invest in desalination plants. This is a growing trend in California. Saudi Arabia already is a big user of desalinated water.

 

The more we use and develop the technology, the less expensive it will become.

 

A plant near San Diego will provide about 7% of its water needs. Build two and you have 14% and so on. That is in a state where farmers in the Central Valley are pumping the aquifer to the point the valley floor is sinking. Certainly, a four year drought is not helping nor is overpopulation. The south (LA) pulls water from Mono lake, the Colorado river and northern California rivers for its needs.

 

Consumer education also helps folks learn to not waste water.

 

Water is one of the world's increasingly biggest issues:

 

http://growingblue.com/water-in-2050/

[jacko 8,786]

Saudi Arabia and California are rather different than Thailand, particularly where rainfall is concerned.

Desal plants are very expensive to build and run using a lot of power,

The high salt content discharge could also cause environmental impact.

I wonder if cleaning of used water would be a better way to go.

Also Pattaya struggles to get rid of rain water when we have it!

Edited September 21, 2015 by jacko

[midlifecrisis 4,040]

Saudi Arabia and California are rather different than Thailand, particularly where rainfall is concerned.

Desal plants are very expensive to build and run using a lot of power,

The high salt content discharge could also cause environmental impact.

I wonder if cleaning of used water would be a better way to go.

Also Pattaya struggles to get rid of rain water when we have it!

Understood! The point is, freshwater resources are finite and we all need to be mindful of that. We waste a lot of water. Learning how to not waste water or finding methods, as you suggest, which are appropriate for a regional water plan are essential.

 

Citizens, businesses (industry) and agriculture can all do better as regards water management.

 

It is estimated that 70% of fresh water is locked up in glaciers, etc, means that if global warming continues, that runoff will be in the seas and not available for human and wildlife consumption.

 

Please note that this is not a political statement.

[jacko 8,786]

Understood! The point is, freshwater resources are finite and we all need to be mindful of that. We waste a lot of water. Learning how to not waste water or finding methods, as you suggest, which are appropriate for a regional water plan are essential.

 

Citizens, businesses (industry) and agriculture can all do better as regards water management.

 

It is estimated that 70% of fresh water is locked up in glaciers, etc, means that if global warming continues, that runoff will be in the seas and not available for human and wildlife consumption.

 

Please note that this is not a political statement.

So three cheers for global warming which will release glacial waters and increase rainfall! Some glaciers do feed into lakes, Lake Argentina, for example.

[forcebwithu 4,822]

Maybe they'll cut Songkran in Pattaya from nine days to one... I know, never going to happen, but hope springs eternal.

[Gary 4,108]

I'd be worried if the water level of the Great Lakes starts to drop.

 

www.epa.gov/greatlakes/basicinfo.html

Jun 11, 2015 - The Great Lakes are the largest surface freshwater system on the Earth. Only the polar ice caps contain more fresh water. 84% of North America's surface fresh water. about 21% of the world's supply of surface fresh water.

[midlifecrisis 4,040]

So three cheers for global warming which will release glacial waters and increase rainfall! Some glaciers do feed into lakes, Lake Argentina, for example.

I find my disagreement with global warming advocates is not in the basic science that greenhouse gasses contribute to surface warming but in the predictions they make.

 

The planet has been much warmer in the past and much wetter. The Sahara was once a jungle. Global warming advocates and even the governor of California are blaming global warming for the drought. However, historically this has happened before and proved by science:

 

"Through studies of tree rings, sediment and other natural evidence, researchers have documented multiple droughts in California that lasted 10 or 20 years in a row during the past 1,000 years -- compared to the mere three-year duration of the current dry spell."

 

http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_24993601/california-drought-past-dry-periods-have-lasted-more

 

Confronted with that evidence, what makes someone think global warming is causing this current drought?

 

There is one prediction that claims that Norther Europe could also become colder because of global warming. This has to do with melting ice making the gulf stream colder which would limit its ability to convey warm water and air from the tropics, up the coast of North America and across the North Atlantic to Northern Europe.

 

Making predictions is a tricky proposition. San Diego was once a swamp. Now it is arid. Nobody can predict whether it will become even more arid or revert to a swamp over time, given a change in climate.

[MM 6,562]

And now back to Lake Mabprachan....

[forcebwithu 4,822]

Couple of pics from yesterday. Starting to see the tops of the low areas on the NE side of the lake.

 

And the small land bridge on the SW side is again becoming visible.

[jacko 8,786]

I believe I am losing 0.5-1.0 cm each day from my pool due purely to evaporation and a few thirsty birds.