[2] The Khwae Noi River has historically been a main waterway, highly significant to the residents of Phitsanulok Province and surrounding areas.
[1][3] The Khwae Noi River, along with the larger Nan River brought growth and prosperity and served as a communication route for Phitsanulok, and the two rivers gave rise to riparian ways of life which heavily influenced the simple traditional culture of the Thai people in the region.
In recent times, due to climate change, the river has flooded during rainy seasons and damaging valuable farmland and also carrying too much water into the Nan (of which it is a tributary), thereby causing further damage.
During the dry season, the water level has been too low, causing drought and harming the agricultural communities in its proximity.
[1][3] As a result of increasing problems with the flow of the river, the royally-initiated Khwae Noi Dam Project was begun in Wat Bot.