East Water reveals the readiness to transmit water to support the needs of water usage and sustainably solve drought crisis in the eastern region by investing in additional water grid, which is one of the plans to sustainably manage the main water grid in the eastern region. The aim is to create water supply stability and efficiently proceed with the drought prevention plan into the 4^th decade without restriction. This is expected to increase the capacity of water grid project to support the increasing demands of waterusage and sustainable growth.

It has been more than 3 decades that East Water has dedicated workforces and attempts to develop and manage the main water grid in the eastern region. It was initiated from the resolution of the Cabinet in 1992 that resulted in the establishment of East Water to manage the main water grid in the easter region from the original length of 135 kilometers. In the past decades, the main water grid have been developed until it became the longest main water transmission pipeline in the eastern region and would become the most complete water grid in Thailand again at the end of 2023 with the total length of the main water grid of 526 kilometers which can transmit water of more than 1 million cubic meters per day. In addition, 410 million cubic meters of water per year is allocated by Royal Irrigation Department to fulfill the demands of 270 million cubic meters per year of water users. The main water grid can divert 140 million cubic meters of water in Bang Pakong – Chon Buri basin per year. Thus, almost all of main reservoirs in the eastern region can be connecte

Drought has always been the issue of priority of East Region. The Company has collaborated with both government agencies and private entities in solving the problem and deal with difficulties with water users to date. There have been two major drought crises happening in the eastern region of Thailand, which have been resolved by East Water. In 2005, East Water laid Prasae – Khlong Yai pipelines and Bang Pakong Chon Buri pipelines. In 2019, Prasae – Reservoir and Khlong Yai Reservoir were connected and Prasae Reservoir and Nong Pla Lai Reservoir were connected to minimize the loss of a large amount of water as a result of diverting water into Khlong Yai Reservoir through natural canals. Moreover, taking water in the nearby area, such as water budget from Khlong Wang Tanot basin, to support Rayong area to ensure the highest efficiency of water management in Rayong area, reduce water loss and significantly minimize damage which may occur as a result of water shortage.

Currently, East Water is investing in 2 main projects of raw water pipeline, which is the strategy to sustainably solve drought problem in the eastern region. These include:

            1. Construction project of Nong Pla Lai – Nong Kho – Laem Chabang raw water grid in Rayong Province and Chon Buri Province having the length of more than 60 kilometers which connects to the existing Plasae – Nong Pla Lai main water grid of East Water. This would increase the capacity of 120 million cubic meters of water transmission  per year to Chon Buri areas. This project is currently under construction and the permission to lay the pipelines in Rayong highway area has been obtained. Only the request for permission to lay the pipelines in Chon Buri highway area is being made. According to the plan, the construction should be completed in 2023 to be able to tackle the drought problem in Chon Buri area in 2024. The construction of these water grid is expected to enhance the efficiency of direct water transmission from Prasae Reservoir to Chon Buri area.

            2. Construction project of Khlong Luang raw water grid, Chon Buri Province to increase the efficiency of water diversion from Khlong Luang Ratchalothon Reservoir to Nong Kho Reservoir instead of diverting water through Phan Thong canal which results in a huge loss of water. With this, the water budget for consumption and industrial sector may increase by 20 million cubic meters pee year. Currently, the construction has been completed by 90%. Only the laying of water grid and installation of water pumping system in Khlong Luang Ratchalothon Reservoir remain unfinished. Initially, East Water has requested permission from the Royal Irrigation Department as the main supervising agency, and the Royal Irrigation Department allows East Water to jointly utilize it. Also, permission has been requested to the Treasury Department as the area owner since 2021, and the Treasury Department is now considering giving permission. If the permission is granted by the Treasury Department, the construction can be accelerated to solve drought problem in Chon Buri area in 2024.

East Water is determined to solve the drought problem in the eastern region sustainably and successfully. Laying of additional main water grid requires collaborative assistance from both government and private sectors. Easter Water, therefore, truly hopes to receive empathy from all sectors to achieve the goals of the project together. In addition, East Water plans to establish several more projects to tackle drought problem, which also requires collaboration from the government agencies, such as Bang Pakong River diversion pumping project, private water source supply and development project, project of water pumping system management to return water to Lahan Rai Temple, project of water pumping system management to return water to Khlong Saphan, and so on. These projects stabilize and strengthen the efficiency of water budget and water grid of East Water in the eastern region to support the increasing demands in EEC area, creating sustainable growth and strength in the eastern region.