Phatthalung Builds Dams To Prevent Songkhla Lake From Evolving Into Land

Thais News:

Tamode (ตะโหมด) Community in Tamode District, Phatthalung Province, constructs dams to trap sediment to help slow down the Songkhla Lake from turning into land.

The dams are a joint cooperation between the Department of Water Resources and the Tamode Community. The construction of the dams took place in 2004 and some of them have been completed.

Director of the working group responsible for the management of the Songkhla Lake, Thawanchai Phanchai (ถวัลย์ชัย พาลชัย) reveals that the head watershed forest of the lake has continuously deteriorating, negatively affecting the ecology of the lake. In addition, the lake has become shallower due to collapses of land around the watersheds and highlands of the lake. At present, the sedimentation rate of the upper part of the lake stays between 4 – 6.9 millimeters a year. If the sedimentation continues at this rate, the lake will be completely turned into land in the next 200 years.

Mr Thawanchai says that the completed dams have trapped sediment of many cubic meters. The Department and the community have a plan to construct more dams at every 100 – 200 meters along the watersheds of the lake.