Water Levels Drop, Fail to Rise Again on Mekong River Along Thai-Lao Border
Water levels on a stretch of the Mekong River along the border of Thailand and Laos, already low because of equipment testing at China’s upriver Jinghong Dam, have failed to rise again, raising concerns in communities living downstream, sources say.
Chinese authorities at the end of December had announced that discharges of water from Yunnan province’s Jinghong Dam would be reduced from 1,900 cubic meters per second to 1,000 cubic meters per second starting on Jan. 5.
Though testing was set to end on Jan. 24, water levels in the area have still not been restored, sources in the area say.
“The Mekong River water level is still low, and a long stretch of sand has emerged because the Chinese are not yet releasing water,” the owner of a floating restaurant in the town of Chiang Saen in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province told RFA on Feb. 2.
RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney.
