A water expert has called
on the government to build another major flood-diversion channel as quickly as
possible in order to drain a large amount of water from the Chao Phraya River
into the sea.
The government should
spend about Bt200 billion to build a 258-kilometre-long, 160-metre-wide channel
that would pass through Chai Nat, Lop Buri, Saraburi, Nakhon Nayok and Samut
Prakan provinces, Thailand Water Resources Association (TWRA) president Apichart
Anukulamphai said yesterday.
The project is aimed at
lowering the amount of run-off from the Chao Phraya itself and reducing the
impact of flooding in the lower Chao Phraya region.
Apichart presented the
project at the "The Water and Flood Management Model, Flood Diversion
Conceptual Framework, and Analysis to reduce the impact from 2012
flooding" seminar, organised by the TWRA and the Metropolitan Waterworks
Authority.
Last year, more than more
than 5,300 cubic metres of floodwater per second flowed into the Chao Phraya,
whereas the river had the capacity to carry only 3,500 cubic metres per second.
If the government went
ahead with the project proposed by the association, the new flood-diversion
channel in the eastern Chao Phraya could redirect about 1,500 cubic metres of
water per second to the sea, while another 300 cubic metres per second would
drain into the western Chao Phraya via the Makham Thao-U-Thong canal and the
Tha Chin River, he said.
The new channel would run
from Ta Nam Oi in Nakhon Sawan through the Manorom watergate, Chai Nat's Pasak
Canal and then the Phra Ong Chaochaiyanuchit Canal before emptying into the
Gulf of Thailand in Samut Prakan province.
However, Apichart said the
project had been proposed to the government several times before, but there had
been no response from the authorities.
WATER PANEL'S PLANS
Meanwhile, Hydro and Agro
Infomatics Institute director Royol Chitdon, who sits on a Water and Flood
Management Committee sub-panel, said the committee has developed a plan to
reduce the impact of flooding in Bangkok caused by run-off water from the North
Under the plan, 20 million
cubic metres of water per second would be diverted from the Chao Phraya to the
eastern area, via the Bang Pa Kong river, onwards to the Pra Ong
Chaochaiyanuchit canal and then into the sea.
Royol said the committee
would use the Rapeepat Canal to drain about 60 cubic metres of water per
second. The canal has a maximum capacity to carry about 200 cubic metres per
second.
The committee also has an
alternative option to use Bangkok's artificial waterways, starting with the
Hok, Saen Saeb, Phra Khanong and Samrong canals, which are able to drain about
20 million cubic metres per second into the sea.
However, it will not use
this option if there is heavy rainfall in the city, he added.
For western Bangkok, the
committee will drain about 200 million cubic metres of water per second into
the Tha Chin. Some water will also be discharged into the Prapimon and
Prayabanlue canals.
Meanwhile, Deputy
Transport Minister Chatchart Sithipan said the ministry was erecting a
temporary embankment surrounding Bangkok to prevent the capital from flooding.
Construction is scheduled
to be complete by the end of the month, with about 20 per cent of the work
having been done to date, he said.
(By Pongphon
Sarnsamak, Chularat Saengpassa - THE NATION)
