For most of her life, 59-year-old farmer Tip Kamlue has irrigated her fields in northern Thailand with the waters of the Kok River, which flows down from neighboring Myanmar before joining with the Mekong River that cuts through Southeast Asia.
But since April, after authorities warned residents to stop using the Kok's water because of concerns over contamination, Tip has been using groundwater to grow pumpkins, garlic, sweet corn and okra.
"It's like half of me has died," Tip said, standing by her fields in Tha Ton subdistrict, and looking out at the river that she is now forced to shun.
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