Two Ayutthaya Watergates In Need Of Urgent Repair: Expert

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Two Ayutthaya watergates in need of urgent repair: expert

Chularat Saengpassa

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

Grave risk to parts of capital unless canals fixed effectively

A water-engineering expert yesterday identified the urgent repair of two watergates in Ayutthaya as crucial to protecting Bangkok from severe flooding.

Sutat Weesakul of the Asian Institute of Technology's Water Engineering and Management Programme said that if the authorities did not quickly and efficiently fix the watergates on the Khao Mao and Bang Wa canals, his institution and a part of Bangkok's Don Muang district would face a grave risk of being inundated.

Also at risk are Thammasat University's Rangsit Campus and nearby areas, he said, as a massive volume of run-off water from Ayutthaya heads down to Bangkok.

"We need to close the sluice gates of Khao Mao and Bang Wa canals in Ayutthaya immediately. If we can do this, Bangkok will be safe from flooding," Sutat said.

REPAIRS BLOCKED BY LOCALS

The watergates are unable to function because they were damaged and repairs have not been carried out amid strong protests from locals.

"The authorities can't keep fighting the flow of water from many fronts. The two crucial watergates in Ayutthaya must be fixed and closed," he said.

He added that if the gates were closed, the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) would then be able to open the sluice gates of Canals 7-10 and better manage the overall water flow.

Local residents and politicians in the downstream areas of Canals 7-10 have reportedly expressed opposition to the idea of opening the gates on their waterways. They are concerned that their houses will be seriously inundated as a result.

"As we know, the condition of the watergates of Canals 7-10 is not so strong. If we do nothing, these gates will be broken in the near future anyway," the expert said.

He also believes that if the two gates in Ayutthaya were to be closed, locals in the neighbourhood of Canals 7-10 should cease their opposition.

Sutat called on other government agencies to assist the RID more with its important mission and urged people to stop protesting against authorities' efforts to tackle the floods.

He said the flood-water level in areas near Khao Mao and Bang Wa watergates would rise only a little when the gates were completely closed.

The water volume that the authorities have now had to try to push into the sea is the second-biggest on record, he said. The largest volume was in 1942, while the third-biggest was in 1995.

Some 450 million cubic metres of water are currently being pushed into the Gulf of Thailand per day. At such a rate, the accumulated run-off volume will still rise by 150 million cubic metres daily, flooding more areas, he calculated.

Sutat also suggested that the government drill gullies into roads along Rapeepat Canal in a bid to drain water from Pathum Thani.

"If we cannot stop the flow of flood water from Pathum Thani into Bangkok, we must drill roads and divert water into the eastern areas of the capital," he said.

HIGHER TIDES PREDICTED

Insisting that the situation is now very worrying, he said: "The sea level will rise late this month, so the government needs to act faster now."

Supoj Towijakchaikul, deputy permanent secretary of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, said the level of Rangsitprayoonsak Canal at the Chulalongkorn watergate was now very high.

"It's brimming. We have to form sandbag walls." He said 6 billion cubic metres of water was now racing down the Chao Phraya River towards Bangkok. It will reach the capital on either Thursday or Friday next week.

"This amount of water is three times as big as the huge volume that just passed through Bangkok," the official said.

He supported the idea of dismantling a portion of some roads so as to facilitate the flow of water to the sea more quickly, describing it as a solution to avoid prolonged flooding.

"We need to form a team and communicate this plan to affected people. Besides, they should get fair financial compensation," he added.

-- The Nation 2011-10-19