Bangkok, 8 October – The ONWR Secretary-General revealed that they are monitoring the water situation in the Yom River to prevent it from affecting Sukhothai city, especially Sukhothai Hospital. They are also reducing the amount of water released from the Sirikit Dam to drain water from Bang Rakam fields, which exceeds its capacity. In Nakhon Sawan, they have increased the amount of water released from the Nan River to store at Bueng Boraphet to reduce the amount of water in the Chao Phraya River. Meanwhile, the Royal Irrigation Department has continuously reduced the amount of water released from the Pasak Jolasid Dam to reduce the impact on the lower Chao Phraya basin.
Mr. Surasee Kittimondol, Secretary-General of the Office of National Water Resources (ONWR), said that ONWR coordinated water management with the Royal Irrigation Department to protect economic areas in Sukhothai city, including receiving water into the Thung Thale Luang flood retention basin, which currently has a large volume of water. He
was concerned about Sukhothai Hospital, which is located at the end of Thung Thale Luang. The province and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation have set up a water barrier around the hospital and are fully prepared to handle the water situation so that it does not affect the hospital’s services.
As for the drainage of water from low-lying fields in the areas of Phitsanulok and Phichit provinces, especially Bang Rakam fields, where the amount of water exceeds its storage capacity and has begun to affect people’s travel, the water discharge from the Sirikit Dam has been reduced to a rate of 5 million cubic meters per day until October 13, 2024, in order to reduce the amount of water in the Nan River, which will allow for better drainage from the fields.
The water flooding in the Ping River Basin in Chiang Mai and Lamphun Provinces will flow into the Bhumibol Dam in Tak Province without affecting the water volume in the Chao Phraya River.
It is estimated that the water flowing into the Chao Ph
raya River in Nakhon Sawan Province will peak tomorrow (October 9, 2024) at a rate of 2,500 cubic meters per second, which is the source of the Chao Phraya River. It is expected that the volume of water flowing through will be approximately 2,500 cubic meters per second. The ONWR has coordinated to use the Boraphet Reservoir to store Nan River water flowing from Phitsanulok and Phichit Provinces before it flows into the Chao Phraya River. Currently, Boraphet Reservoir can hold 290 million cubic meters of water. Due to the reinforcement of the weir crest, this year it can hold another 90 million cubic meters.
The Chao Phraya River from Nakhon Sawan Province flowing to Chai Nat Province will have water from Sakae Krang River flowing in at a rate of 100-200 cubic meters per second. Therefore, the water will flow to the Chao Phraya Dam at a rate of 2,700 cubic meters per second, which is expected to be the highest rate of this rainy season. The management guideline of the Royal Irrigation Department is to drain
water into the irrigation system above the dam on both the east and west sides at a rate of 300 cubic meters per second. Then, they will try to maintain the discharge rate downstream of the Chao Phraya Dam not to exceed 2,200 cubic meters per second to prevent impacts on people downstream of the dam as much as possible, except if there is more rain, the discharge rate may be adjusted to not exceed 2,400 cubic meters per second.
The discharge rate of 2,200 cubic meters per second will affect the areas along the Chao Phraya River, Khlong Phong Pheng, Khlong Bang Ban, Mae Nam Noi, and low-lying areas outside the embankment in Chai Nat Province, Sapphaya District and Wat Sing (Phonang Dam Tok Subdistrict), Sing Buri Province, Mueang Sing Buri District, Phrom Buri and In Buri (Wat Sing, Wat Suea Kham), Ang Thong Province, Pa Mok and Chaiyo District (Wat Chaiyo), Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District, Bang Ban, Phak Hai (Lat Chit Subdistrict, Tha Din Daeng Subdistrict) and Sena (Hua
Wiang Subdistrict), Pathum Thani Province, Mueang Pathum Thani District and Sam Khok Province, Nonthaburi Province, Pak Kret District (Tha It Subdistrict), Mueang Nonthaburi District (Sai ??Ma and Bang Phai Subdistricts). ONWR has informed the provinces downstream of the dam to prepare to move their belongings to higher ground, referring to the water level at a discharge rate of 2,400 cubic meters per second, in order to prepare in advance in case of more rainfall than estimated. Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani Provinces will also be affected by high tides, which ONWR has coordinated with all provinces to prepare in advance.
Mr. Thanet Sombun, Director of the Drainage and Hydrology Office, Royal Irrigation Department, said that water traffic has been managed by maintaining the discharge rate of the Chao Phraya Dam at 2,200 cubic meters per second, but reducing the discharge from the Pasak Jolasid Dam. Currently (8 October 2024), the Pasak Jolasid Dam in Lopburi Province has 683 million cubic meters of water, whi
ch is 71 percent of its capacity. Tomorrow, the Royal Irrigation Department will gradually reduce the discharge from the Pasak Jolasid Dam from 100 cubic meters per second to 50 cubic meters per second. It will then reduce the discharge again the next day (10 October 2024) to a rate of 10 cubic meters per second to reduce the amount of water flowing into the Chao Phraya River, which will reduce the impact on the lower Chao Phraya Basin in Bangkok and its vicinity, which will be affected by high tides from 13 to 24 October.
The Royal Irrigation Department has ordered all irrigation projects in the Chao Phraya River Basin to closely monitor the water situation in order to manage water appropriately for the current situation. They will try to maintain the Chao Phraya Dam’s discharge rate of 2,200 cubic meters per second for as long as possible. In the event of increased rainfall towards the end of the season, there are 10 Chao Phraya Basin water retention areas that can be used as water retention basins. -512-T
hai News Agency
Source: Thai News Agency