Chinese dams still blamed for floods
Bangkok Post 21 August 2008
KULTIDA SAMABUDDHI
MUKDAHAN : Villagers living along the Mekong river remain unconvinced by authorities' claims that Chinese dams have nothing to do with the week-long flooding in the province.
They have demanded the government seek information from Chinese officials about the dams' impact on the lower Mekong to better protect downstream communities from run-off.
Floods have eased in many northeastern provinces on the banks of the Mekong river after water levels have receded. But questions are being raised over the real cause of the flooding.
The Mekong River Commission (MRC), a four-member organisation set up to manage the river, the Water Resources Department, as well as Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej have defended China's dam operations.
The MRC's statement says the high water levels were due to above-average rainfall which saturated the river catchments. The flooding was not caused by water released from Chinese dams, as their storage volume was far too small to affect the Mekong's flood hydrology.
But people believe the run-off was not only caused by rainfall, but also water discharge from the Chinese dams.
"It was different from previous seasonal flooding. The water rose very quickly and the current was stronger than usual," said villager Boonda Bangsai, whose eight-rai sticky rice field in Muang district has been inundated by overflow from the Mekong since last week.
She said this year's flooding came almost a month earlier than usual.
"I think the Chinese dams upstream might have something to do with this," said the 56-year-old farmer.
China has built three large-scale dams, Manwan, Dachaoshan and Jinghong. The latter was completed in June. The fourth dam, Xiaowan, is under construction and due for completion in 2012.
Napassorn Charoensuk Maliwan, who runs a riverside restaurant in Muang district, has seen high fluctuations in water levels. "The water level goes up and down very fast which is unprecedented," said Ms Napassorn, 46.
Two months ago, floods from the Mekong swept away part of her riverside restaurant. She had to move the balcony four metres inland, but is still not safe.
Ms Nappassorn's restaurant and many houses on the two-kilometre stretch of the riverbank are now only a metre away from the river.
"We don't have any scientific proof or data to back our assumption that the overflows and strong currents are caused by the dams' operations, but we know that something has gone wrong with the Mekong," she said.
Ms Nappassorn, also president of the Mukdahan Restaurant Operators Association, called on the government to seek information from the Chinese government about the dams' operations.
"We want to know when they open or close the dams and how they affect the lower Mekong," she said.
Chuchart Premchit, chief of the hydrological survey office in the province, admitted the reason for the Mekong overflowing was unclear.
"Sometimes we've found the rising water level has been inconsistent with rainfall volume," he said, adding that more meteorological data in the lower Mekong countries is needed to find the cause of the rising water levels.
Fisherfolk communities in Ubon Ratchathani's Khong Chiam district also suspected Chinese dams of causing ecological changes to the river.
"The river's highs and lows are hard to predict now since they're not seasonal. Some years, we've seen water levels rise sharply in the dry season. We know nothing about the dams, but we believe they cause some impact on the river," said fisherman Kamphan Choedchai, headman of the flood-hit Pha Chan village. |
