Pursat provincial governor Khoy Rida has announced tighter controls on irrigation water supplies, as provincial authorities prepare for the possibility of prolonged drought associated with the El Niño weather phenomenon, raising concerns over water availability during the approaching dry season.
The governor has directed local authorities to secure agreements with farmers who have already harvested their rice to temporarily suspend further planting, as the province seeks to conserve reservoir supplies for people, livestock and the hundreds of families whose crops have been affected by water shortages.
Speaking to a media, Rida explained that the provincial administration has developed contingency plans for both flooding and drought, taking into account the province’s geography, irrigation networks and existing reservoirs.
The governor noted that government investment in dams and major reservoirs had strengthened Pursat’s capacity to supply water for domestic consumption, livestock and agriculture.
However, he acknowledged that water levels in the province’s two major reservoirs were uneven, with one having reached full capacity while the other remained below capacity because water accumulation had been unusually slow this year.
“Water has been coming in very slowly this year,” he said.
The situation has prompted provincial authorities to prioritise essential water needs, particularly domestic consumption and emergency assistance for farmers whose crops have already suffered damage.
Rida said farmers who had completed their rice harvest would be required to suspend further planting to avoid depleting the reserves needed to withstand a potentially prolonged dry spell.
“Those who have already finished harvesting must first agree to suspend further planting. They will not be allowed to sow another crop. If they go ahead and plant without sufficient water, I will not release irrigation water for them,” he said.
He highlighted that conserving water for human and animal survival was a necessary precaution against a prolonged drought.
“This water must be reserved for a long period of drought. We need to preserve it for the lives of people and animals,” he said.
While restricting additional rice cultivation, the provincial administration plans to continue releasing water to assist farmers in selected areas where crops have already been damaged.
Rida said the intervention would focus on the Svay Angkeo, Ou Sandan, Me Tuek and Boeung Khnar communes, where some farming households have been struggling with inadequate irrigation supplies.
He noted that the damage did not affect every agricultural plot within those communes, but rather specific areas where several hundred families required water to restore their crops.
A major challenge, according to the governor, is ensuring that irrigation water reaches downstream communities rather than being diverted by farmers located closer to the head of the canal network.
He explained that authorities would monitor irrigation canals to prevent unauthorised pumping for newly planted crops, particularly in upstream areas.
“If upstream farmers also start another crop, the water will not reach the lower areas. That is why we must prevent unauthorised pumping,” he added.
To enforce the measures, Rida instructed village, commune, district and municipal authorities to work directly with farmers who have completed their harvests, secure agreements to suspend further planting and explain the importance of water conservation.
He appealed for public understanding, warning that changing weather conditions and limited reservoir supplies might make it impossible for farmers to cultivate successive rice crops as they had in previous years.
“I appeal to all residents to understand that, if conditions change in this way this year, we cannot continue growing one crop after another as we normally do,” he said.
Pursat is an important agricultural province, with extensive rice-growing areas, diversified crop production and irrigation systems that depend partly on water originating in the Cardamom Mountains and stored in reservoirs.
Effective dry-season water management is critical to the provincial agricultural economy, particularly when farmers require irrigation simultaneously while available reserves remain limited.
Beyond existing reservoirs, Rida expressed hope that the Stung Pursat 1 Hydropower Project, expected to begin operations in November, will contribute not only to electricity generation but also to emergency water management.
“Once the dam starts operating, we will obtain electricity, but we will also have some water available for emergency intervention,” he said.
Located in Veal Veng district, Pursat province, the Stung Pursat 1 Hydropower Project has an installed generation capacity of 80 megawatts and forms part of broader efforts to develop energy and water infrastructure in the Cardamom Mountains region.
He cautioned that even with additional water sources, irrigation supplies could not necessarily support the same scale of agricultural production as in years with abundant rainfall.
El Niño can alter rainfall patterns and increase drought risks in parts of Southeast Asia, making water conservation particularly important ahead of the dry season.
Rida urged farmers to cooperate with local authorities to ensure that available supplies reach communities facing the most urgent shortages while sufficient reserves are maintained for the months ahead.