Eastern Water confident of area supply

Water resources for the Eastern Seaboard are expected to be ample for all industrial, farming and business activities during this year’s dry season.

SET-listed Eastern Water Resources Development and Management Plc (EASTW) yesterday reported water resources equalled 80% of full storage capacity of 340 million cubic metres. That is deemed sufficient to cover this year’s demand for raw water, which is expected to rise by 6% from 282 million cu m last year.

Wanchai Lawattanatrakul, chief executive of the state majority-owned company, said he did not expect a shortage such as occurred in 2005. That year, water resources equalled less than 30% of storage capacity when the dry season came.

He aims to reassure the public after several water experts voiced concerns about a possible shortage during this year’s dry season, which is expected to be worse than last year’s.

“We don’t think that sort of incident will be repeated, as our entire water policy has been adjusted in line with what we learned from the shortage,” he said.

In the worst-case scenario of a severe hot season, Eastern Water can ramp up its project to develop a second water pipeline from the Prasae reservoir to its existing water grid. Operation of the second pipeline has already been moved up to mid2015 from next year.

The 2.9-billion-baht project is expected to bring an additional 70 million cu m of raw water to the grid.

Eastern Water also revised its four-year capital expenditure budget from 2014-17 worth 7.59 billion baht. Some 5.5 billion baht will be used to enhance reservoir capacity including 2.2 billion for the new Tabma reservoir holding 47 million cu m of water from the Rayong River starting next year.

A planned 450-million-baht reservoir in Chon Buri province to store an additional 30 million cu m remains on track and is expected to be ready about mid-year. Mr Wanchai said the projects would boost reservoir capacity 40% to 477 million cu m.

EASTW shares closed yesterday on the SET at 11 baht, unchanged, in trade worth 8.01 million baht.