Thai Prime Minister Prayot Chan Ocha on Tuesday urged citizens to turn off taps and reduce showers to cope with droughts sweeping the north and center of the country.
Last week, the Bangkok Water Authority announced that tap water had become salty after seawater infiltrated the Chao Phraya River, the source of most of Thailand's water needs.
A government spokeswoman told reporters that the cabinet agreed today, Tuesday, to spend three billion baht ($ 100 million) to drill wells and extract ground water in order to alleviate the drought, which is expected to worsen within the next few months.
Thailand's dry season starts in November and usually runs until April, although this year the authorities announced that it could last until June. The authorities declared a drought in agricultural areas in 14 provinces in the center, north and northeast of the country.
With water stocks declining, the government has asked farmers in some provinces near the Chao Phraya River basin not to grow rice out of season.