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Abstract:To better understand the variation of water quality in the Mekong River, sampling and measurement were scheduled twice a week for about 3 years at Vientiane, followed by basic statistical analysis of the observed data. The frequent measurement revealed detailed characteristics of the water quality variation, which had not been detected by monthly observation in the previous studies. The variation in total ionic content was considered to be governed by dilution of the amount of water. Increases in turbidity could be attributed to physical effects including surface soil erosion and bed material resuspension at the time of discharge increase. Nitrogen concentrations were stably low during the low flow period and abruptly increased in May. After the annual maximum in late May, the nitrate concentration steadily decreased regardless of the remarkable rise in the discharge from mid-July, whereas the ammonium concentration remained at a similar level until October. It was considered that the first small discernable runoff after the long dry season flushed the accumulated nitrogen in the surface soil and mobilized the nitrogen in the riverbed. The variation in phosphorus concentrations was different from that in nitrogen concentrations. During the high flow period, continual dilutions at discharge peaks and occasional large additions of phosphorus by surface runoff were suggested.

The Mae Lao Irrigation Scheme is one of the largest irrigation projects in Northern Thailand. According to the field reconnaissance, water shortage usually occurs during the dry season. And it is very difficult to equally distribute available water to the paddy fields from the upstream to the downstream parts of the system. To understand and identify the causes of the problems, the measurement of water level and flow rate along all canals may be effective. However, it is not easy to achieve this in such a large-scale irrigation system. Thus, the numerical simulation becomes the second option. The objective of this study is to identify and quantify the real water shortage causes by developing an Unsteady Irrigation Water Distribution and Consumption model which can simulate the water movement and consumption in the whole irrigation system. The beneficial area of the right main canal is modeled based on the physical aspect of the system. The components of the model consist of canal networks, control structures, and paddy fields. A canal is divided into several portions called reach. The Saint-Venant equations are applied to describe the unsteady water movement in each reach. Flow movement at the control structure is expressed by the boundary condition. The paddy fields are modeled to make paddy block and connected to each reach. The water consumption in each paddy block is estimated by Paddy Tank model. The numerical model is successfully developed showing the ability to simulate the water movement and consumption properties in this irrigation system.

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This paper introduces an irrigation system developed in the floodplain of a lake and studies the water management technique of the irrigation system by estimating the total water balance of the whole system. The system is characterized by a reservoir combined with a dike system in the floodplain of the Tonle Sap Great Lake and an irrigation system. Two main models are used for calculating the total water balance. The first model is the water balance of the reservoir. The inputs to the model are water level of the reservoir, precipitation, lake evaporation, infiltration, and area-volume curve of the reservoir. The outputs are inflow and outflow of the reservoir. The supply from the reservoir to paddy fields is computed from the outflow. The second model is the water balance of paddy fields, based on which the water requirement in paddy fields is derived. The reference evapotranspiration needed to calculate the water requirement is simulated for monthly time series using the FAO Penman-Monteith model. Since there is no drainage network in the irrigation system, surface drainage and runoff are not included in the calculation of the water balance, and seepage is considered negligible in the flat floodplain area. The evapotranspiration, rice variety, soil type and irrigated area are used to simulate water consumption in paddy fields. Finally, the two models are connected to produce the total water balance from the reservoir to paddy fields. The total outflow from the reservoir is estimated and the total water consumption for dry season cultivation is also determined. Finally, the efficiency of the whole system is examined.

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Water temperature affects nearly every physical property of concern in water quality management and, unfortunately, the change of water temperature is often associated with undesirable. Control of water temperature therefore becomes a prerequisite for maximum utilization of water resources. Reservoirs often provide a means for exercising such controls. In this study, to evaluate artificial effect to the downstream environment, changes in river water temperature by dam construction were estimated. Then mitigation effect by the adoption of surface intake on the dam site was examined.

This paper reveals the industrial structure of Cambodia, based on some results from input-output analysis, and discusses the role of the agriculture and fishery sectors for its pro-poor growth. As a preparation for the analysis, we estimated an input-output table of Cambodia. An input-output analysis shows the following results. In Cambodia's economy, the garment industry plays an important role, realizing 14% of GDP and 500% of self-sufficiency. However, it induces smaller domestic income than the former Thailand fiber industry. This means that, compared with Thailand, it is difficult for Cambodia to actualize high savings and to secure funds for domestic investment. The agriculture, fishery, and food industry sectors have a tendency to induce both wide and high distribution of domestic income. These sectors have high potential to realize pro-poor growth in Cambodia.