Former PM Srettha argues that Thailand's water crisis stems from fragmented government data systems rather than infrastructure alone. He advocates building a unified "Open Water Data Platform" where all agencies—central, provincial, and local—access the same real-time water data (levels, rainfall, flood risk, dam status) to make coordinated decisions. This data infrastructure approach would also enable fair, transparent compensation for residents who sacrifice land for public flood protection, and improve SCADA control systems for critical river basins. The column emphasizes that data integration is both a technical and equity issue.