Water Raiding May Threaten Angkor's Temples

The five star hotels around the ancient temples of Angkor are oases of green: sleek, new buildings ringed by tropical forests and sprawling lawns. But the water used to keep them so is being sucked from ground-water under the city, threatening the stability of the centuries-old, World Heritage-listed landmark. The unchecked development and widespread, unregulated pumping of groundwater through out Siem Reap City has raised concerns that the temples, including the world's largest religious monu¬ment, Angkor Wat, could crack or crumble if too much water is drained away.

The temples and towers of the 402-square-km Angkor site sit on a base of sand, kept firm by a constant supply of groundwater that rises and fells with the seasons, but which is now being used to supply a burgeoning city. With the number of visitors to the northern Cambodian province approaching 2 million a year, in¬creasing pressure is being put on the scarce water resource. Thousands of illegal private pumps have been sunk across the city, pulling millions of liters of water from the ground each day.

UNESCO, the cultural arm of the UN, says that no one knows just how much water is being drawn from the ground, or how much can be taken safely. "We know there are a lot of hotels pumping their own water, but we don't know how much they are consuming," said Philippe Delanghe, the head of Unesco's cultural unit "If we discover there is an overuse of water, this can have an effect on the temples, because the temples are built on a mixture of sand and water, which keeps them stable. 'If you're going to suck away the water, this might cause stability problems. It is only an 'if now, but it is important we understand this issue." Water is already a precious commodity in Siem Reap City, particularly during the dry season, when tourist numbers are highest

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