The northeastern part of Thailand is considered to be the least developed region compared with the other regions of the country. Due to erratic rainfall, shortage of agricultural rainwater, and low soil fertility, income in this region is the lowest in the country. The shortage of irrigation water is the main cause of poverty in Northeast Thailand. Further large-scale dams cannot be constructed in Northeast Thailand due to topographical constraints. The development of water resources through the construction of small-scale ponds is the only feasible method of irrigation in the region. However, small-scale ponds are seldom used for irrigation in spite of their large number. In this report, the situation of water resources in Northeast Thailand is reviewed. Then, some issues concerning the current utilization of small-scale ponds will be discussed. Subsurface dams will be proposed as a new method of effectively using excess rain water in the rainy season.