MRC Warns of ‘Strong Pulse’ in Mekong Water Levels

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) warned Wednesday of a “strong pulse” in the river’s water levels over the next five days.

In a statement released in Vientiane, the MRC said water levels from Stung Treng to Neak Loeung were forecast to increase by 2.60 m over the next five days after rising 0.85 m over the past week.

The statement said Lower Mekong water levels saw “significant increases” over the past week after “heavy rainfall and sudden water releases from dams.”

But river levels at all 67 monitoring stations in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam “remain lower than their alarm or danger points,” the statement said.

Dr. Lam Hung Son, head of the MRC Regional Flood and Drought Management Centre in Phnom Penh, said Lower Mekong dams — including those on tributaries — released “large amounts” of water last weekend.

“Sudden water releases from tributary dams increasingly pose a challenge to accurate forecasting of river levels,” Dr. Son said.

The statement said that rainfall in the Lower Mekong region so far this month was 40 percent above average for the same period between 2015 and 2020.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press