Suthep Noipairoj, director of the Royal Irrigation Department, announced yesterday at Government House that the amount of water needed for the whole country this year could be divided into four sectors.

They are: 2 per cent of total of water needed, or 2,460 million cubic metres, is for human consumption; 3 per cent, or 2,396 million cubic metres, is for industry and tourism; 18 per cent, or 12,359 million cubic metres, is for environmental sustainability; and 71 per cent, or 53,034 million cubic metres, is for agricultural use. In the current first quarter 15,487 million cubic metres of water is expected to be used, although 20,733 million cubic metres had been predicted – the discrepancy blamed on poor water-distribution systems. He said that over the past two years 4 billion cubic metres of water had been used to combat drought.

Supoj Tovichak-chaikul, director-general of the Department of Water Resources unveiled a 10-year plan. It consists of six strategies – building water-supply systems for 1,888 villages; improving water resources; drilling artesian wells; dredging and cleaning canals; rehabilitating watershed forests; and establishing and integrating water management as a one-stop service gathering information.