Climate change and groundwater resources in Thailand

The average temperature of Thailand is projected to increase by 2-3 °C, and the annual rainfall is projected to increase by 25% and up to 50% in certain areas. The climate change in future is expected to provide changes in hydrological cycle and therefore impacts the groundwater resources too. In this study, we analyzed the general climate change trends and reviewed the groundwater conditions of Thailand. The climate changes, hydrologic variability and the impact of climate change on groundwater sustainability are also discussed based on a national groundwater monitoring program. Currently, there are 864 groundwater monitoring stations and 1 524 monitoring wells installed in Thailand. Moreover, the impact of climate change on groundwater-dependent systems and sectors is also discussed according to certain case studies, such as saline water intrusion in coastal and inland areas. Managing aquifer recharge and other projects are examples of groundwater adaptation project for the future.

Isotope and REE Characterization of Groundwater Aquifers within the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Programme in Sukhothai (N.-Thailand)

Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) was a pilot project for solving flood and drought problem in the northern part of Chao Phraya River basin, Thailand. This part of Thailand always faces flooding in rainy season and drought during dry season every year. The overexploitation of groundwater during dry season leads to continuously decline of water level in this area. In this project, the excessive surface water during rainy season was stored by injection of this treated surface water through recharge wells into the underground aquifers. This would serve to raise the water level, which can be extracted for use during the dry season. To assess the efficiency of the ASR process some tracers are required. The aim of this study is to prove the suitability of natural tracers to follow up the artificial recharge process;emphasis will be placed on Strontium (Sr) isotopic composition. The results showed that the change in 87Sr/86Sr ratios could be observed during an artificial recharge due to the different isotopic fingerprint of surface water and groundwater. However, the flow direction of the injected water cannot be clearly interpreted because of the limited number of monitoring wells, small distance between each monitoring well and the short duration of injection.

Advances and Practices on the Research, Prevention and Control of Land Subsidence in Coastal Cities

Land subsidence severely threatens most of the coastal plains around the world where high productive industrial and agricultural activities and urban centers are concentrated. Coastal subsidence damages infrastructures and exacerbates the effect of the sea-level rise at regional scale. Although it is a well-known process, there is still much more to be improved on the monitoring, mapping and modeling of ground movements, as well as the understanding of controlling mechanisms. The International Geoscience Programme recently approved an international project(IGCP 663) aiming to bring together worldwide researchers to share expertise on subsidence processes typically occurring in coastal areas and cities, including basic research, monitoring and observation, modelling and management. In this paper, we provide the research communities and potential stakeholders with the basic information to join the participating teams in developing this project. Specifically, major advances on coastal subsidence studies and information on well-known and new case studies of land subsidence in China, Italy, The Netherlands, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand are highlighted and summarized. Meanwhile, the networking, dissemination, annual meeting and field trip are briefly introduced.

Hydrogeochemical Features of Karst in the Western Thailand

the hydrogeochemical features of typical karst region in Western Thailand were discussed based on the high-resolution automatic hydrochemical monitor and karst spring water quality test data. The standard dissolution tablet method was employed to calculate dissolution rate of different lands and main characters and dynamic factors of Thailand karst growth were analyzed. Comparing with the typical karst spring region in the southwest China,karstic water of the Western Thailand has the features of high calcium(100-120 mg/L), high contents of bicarbonate ions(8.6-9.3 mmol/L) and high specific conductance(700-820μs/cm);the dissolution quantity of soils in the dry season was between 28.95 mg/m^2·d and 214.84mg/m^2·d; the annual dissolution quantity was twice-three times greater than that of Jinfo Mountain in Chongqing or Guangxi Mashan County peak cluster depressions, indicating that under the condition of tropical monsoon climate, the karst process in river catchment was significantly stronger than that of subtropical karst region in the southwest China.

Groundwater in Thailand

This article offers a brief description of the water resources situation of the Kingdom of Thailand, a country with a population of over 65 million people and a surface area of 513,120 km^2. The average annual rainfall is 1,430 mm and the total water resources are estimated at 215,000 Mm^3 （million of m^3）-year^-1. The hydric demand in the country is 70,000 Mm^3.year^-1, 6% of which is groundwater in origin. Over 70% of the water is used for agriculture. Thailand is the world＇s leading exporter of rice. The main problems faced by the Water Authority in Thailand are pollution, floods and droughts, depending on the geographical zone. From the hydrogeological point of view, the Central Plain is the main groundwater reservoir in the nation. Intensive extraction of groundwater over a long period of time has caused three main problems： a decline in groundwater levels, land subsidence, and seawater intrusion. These problems have been especially pressing in the area known as Greater Bangkok.

Managed Aquifer Recharge Using Infiltration Pond： Case Study of Ban Nong Na, Phitsanulok, Thailand

The Upper Chao Phraya River Basin, Thailand, has been facing continuous groundwater level decreases due to over-extraction for irrigation. MAR （managed aquifer recharge） using infiltration pond was investigated and constructed. A recharge experiment at the pilot site at Ban Nong Na, Phitsanulok Province, was conducted during 2009 to 2011 to mitigate the declining shallow groundwater level. The HELP3 and MODFLOW models were applied to explore the current groundwater recharge. The MODFLOW was used to simulate the recharge mechanism of the experiment in the 1,260 m2 infiltration pond during July to November, 2010. The simulated results showed the groundwater influx and outflux for the year 2010 were 1.34 Mm3 1.57 Mm3, respectively. The annual shallow groundwater extraction was 1.40 Mm3 resulting in the groundwater system deficit of 0.23 Mm3 and causing groundwater level decline at the rate of 0.25 m/yr. The critical zone with groundwater level deeper than 8 m from the ground surface covers 19% of the study area of 4.12 km2 and it would be increased up to 85% within the next 10 years （2020）. To achieve the groundwater system balance, the deficit amount of 0.23 Mm3 is needed and six infiltration ponds are required.

Ranking the Suitability of Sub-watersheds for Ponding-Based Methods of Managed Aquifer Recharge in Lower Yom River Basin, Thailand

The study area is located in the Lower Yom River Basin covering an area of about 970 km^2 in the lower part of Northern Thailand, which is underlain by sequences of unconsolidated alluvial deposits derived from the Yom and Nan River floodplains. Groundwater has been heavily exploited largely for agriculture from the shallow gravel, sand and silt aquifer in the basin. Drastically declining water levels, up to 10 m in some areas, has been observed within the past decade, creating difficulties with lift irrigation for the local farmers. Therefore, the Department of Groundwater Resources, Thailand, considers that groundwater artificial recharge may be useful for recovering the static water levels within the most hydrogeological suitable areas. The objective of the paper is to rank the suitability of sub-watershed in the Lower Yom River Basin for conducting a pilot-scale testing of MAR （managed aquifer recharge） by ponding system. Hydrogeological and non-hydrogeological parameters were used to formulate the site selection criteria. Boolean logic and Fuzzy logic were used for delineating the 19 sub-watersheds in the Lan Ba watershed. Detailed hydrogeological investigations were conducted in the 10 most prospective sub-watersheds. Of these, the Nong Na 3 sub-watershed covering an area of about 500 hectares was determined to be the most appropriate site for the MAR pilot construction and testing.

Artesian Flowing Wells Field of Phu Tok Aquifer

Phu tok Aquifer is the most productive water bearing rock in the Northeastern region of Thailand. Generally, well drilled in this aquifer yields approximately 20–50 m3/hr with some wells yield over 150 m3/hr. This aquifer characterized both unconfined and confined aquifer. Data collected from core sampling and TV bore hole show water bearing fractures in the fine grained massive sandstone intercalated with thin shale layers. These intermittently bedding plane fracture zones were found vertically at 60-65 and 95-110 m below ground surface. Three directions of vertically fractures were also found at 103-104 m in the test well with underlain densely sandstone until 120 m of depth. Wells drilled to 60-70 m fractures at the area where surface elevation between 150 and 170 m above mean sea level were artesian well with rising water about 1-3 m. Natural discharge rate from 2-5 inches of diameter casing is 5-10 m3/hr. Fractures at 90-110 m yield 150 m3/hr through 6 inch casing well with 5-6 m of risen water above the ground. It is found from pumping test of Phu Tok Aquifer that hydraulic conductivity of unconfined aquifer at shallower than 50 m is 0.005-17m/d. Transmissivity and storage coefficient are 0.05-20 m2/d and 7×10-3-0.725 respectively. The confined aquifer at depth not exceed 90 m has hydraulic conductivity value of 0.2-10m/d while transmissivity and storage coefficient are 3.19-150 m2/d and 1×10-10-1.6×10-2. Another confined aquifer at 90-120 m of depth have hydraulic conductivity value of 0.08-15 m/d and transmissivity and storage coefficient values of 1.7-178 m2/d and 4×10-7-4.5×10-3 respectively.