Heavy rainfall across northern Thailand has driven water levels at Bhumibol Dam in Tak province to near capacity, prompting close monitoring and reduced discharge to prevent flooding in downstream areas.
Only 10% of reservoir space remains, about 5 metres in depth, before the dam reservoir reaches its maximum design level.
On Oct 6, senior officials of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) gathered at the dam to assess the situation, review inflow data and prepare potential emergency measures.
The dam reservoir has received a surge of 92.14 million cubic metres of water over the past 24 hours, largely due to heavy rainfall in Chiang Mai province, officials said. This had significantly boosted the reservoir level, with the volume of stored water now at 12.048 billion cubic metres, or 89.5% of total capacity.
Of this, 8.248 billion cubic metres was deemed usable water, up 2.848 billion cubic metres year-on-year. The current water level was measured at 255.37 metres above mean sea level, just shy of the dam’s full threshold of 260 metres.
Egat confirmed that structural inspections had found no signs of damage or irregularities. The dam remained stable and secure, with its infrastructure deemed capable of safely handling the current water volume. The discharge rate has been reduced to 5 million cubic metres per day, following guidelines from the Royal Irrigation Department, to ease pressure on the Chao Phraya River basin.
In Uttaradit province, Sirikit Dam is also approaching capacity. It currently holds 9.164 billion cubic metres of water, or 96.36% of its design volume. Officials plan to release 35 million cubic metres daily into the Nan River to manage inflow and prevent overflow.
Both dams are under continuous observation as Thailand braces for more rain in the coming days. Communities downstream from the dams are advised to remain alert and follow updates from local disaster prevention agencies.