Hydrological assessment of Chamcar Bei, Cambodia

In collaboration with Delft University of Technology, Engineers Without Borders, Samsam Water and Bridges Across Border Cambodia, four master students Water Management will visit Cambodia to perform a hydrological assessment. All students are at the end of their studies and want to use their gained knowledge in a field situation. By the afore mentioned organisations, the group was pointed at Chamcar Bei’s problem, where they will be working on for the next couple of months.

Chamcar Bei is a little village in South Cambodia in the Kep province where 97% of the 610 families is depending on agriculture for their first necessities.

Depending on the rainy season
The local organisation Bridges Across Borders Cambodia however has concluded that only 25% is able to grow crops all year round. This shows that the majority of the farmers is depending on the rainy season when growing crops such as rice and vegetables.

The current water management system in Chamcar Bei consists of several big reservoirs which retain stormwater in the rainy season. If necessary this water can be transported to the farmers through irrigation channels. However, this irrigation system does only reach a small part of the village, moreover most irrigation channels are in poor condition.

Climate Change
Due to a decrease in the amount of rainfall combined with less frequent rainfall, there is less water available to retain than in former years, which has led to a strong increase in water shortage.

In order to renew, improve, expand and optimize the current water system more data is needed about the water availability. The way to gain this data is performing an extensive hydrological research.

Hydrological Research is necessary
The hydrological research will include:

• Mapping water resources, such as rain, rivers, wells and groundwater
• Determining the water quality of the various water resources
• Investigating which water resource is used for which purpose

Primarily this research will focus on a precise determination of the available water throughout the year. Only if this is known it will be possible to properly design a new irrigation system that would divide the water equally over the farmers.

Project details

Project location:	Chamcar Bei, Kep province, Cambodia
	(find climate data for this location)
Project manager:	Cedrick Gijsbertsen
External website:	http://hydrologycambodia.wordpress.com/
Period:	2012

Project partners

TU Delft

Bridges Across Borders Cambodia

Engineers without Borders

Final report hydrological assessment Chamcar Bei.

Size:	14.72 MB
Date:	2012-04-01
Author:	Dirk M. Eilander, Tim H.M. van Emmerik, Gert Mulder, Marijn M. Piet
Contact:	hydrologycambodia@gmail.com
Reference:	http://hydrologycambodia.wordpress.com/reports/