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The rapid rate of water infrastructure development in the Mekong Basin is acause for concern due to its potential impact on fisheries and downstreamnatural ecosystems. In this paper, we analyze the historical water levels ofthe Mekong River and Tonle Sap system by comparing pre- and post-1991 dailyobservations from six stations along the Mekong mainstream from Chiang Saen(northern Thailand), to Stung Treng (Cambodia), and the Prek Kdam station on theTonle Sap River. Observed alterations in water level patterns along theMekong are linked to temporal and spatial trends in water infrastructuredevelopment from 1960 to 2010. We argue that variations in historicalclimatic factors are important, but they are not the main cause of observedchanges in key hydrological indicators related to ecosystem productivity.Our analysis shows that the development of mainstream dams in the upperMekong Basin in the post-1991 period may have resulted in a modest increaseof 30-day minimum levels (+17%), but significant increases in fall rates(+42%) and the number of water level fluctuations (+75%) observed inChiang Saen. This effect diminishes downstream until it becomes negligibleat Mukdahan (northeast Thailand), which represents a drainage area of over50% of the total Mekong Basin. Further downstream at Pakse (southernLaos), alterations to the number of fluctuations and rise rate becamestrongly significant after 1991. The observed alterations slowly decreasedownstream, but modified rise rates, fall rates, and dry season water levelswere still quantifiable and significant as far as Prek Kdam. This paperprovides the first set of evidence of hydrological alterations in the Mekongbeyond the Chinese dam cascade in the upper Mekong. Given the evidentalterations at Pakse and downstream, post-1991 changes could also be directlyattributed to water infrastructure development in the Chi and Mun basins ofThailand. A reduction of 23 and 11% in the water raising and fallingrates respectively at Prek Kdam provides evidence of a diminished Tonle Sapflood pulse in the post-1991 period. Given the observed water levelalterations from 1991 to 2010 as a result of water infrastructuredevelopment, we can extrapolate that future development in the mainstreamand the key transboundary Srepok, Sesan, and Sekong sub-basins will have aneven greater effect on the Tonle Sap flood regime, the lower Mekongfloodplain, and the delta

Historical impact of water infrastructure on water levels of the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap system