Bhumibol Dam On Early Alert Against Floods: Officials

[webfact]

Dam on Early Alert against Floods

Bhumibol Dam, file photo. Source: wikimedia

TAK: -- Officials at the Bhumibol Dam say that in order to properly prepare for the upcoming rainy-season, water management strategies are being adjusted and they are now releasing the water to make room for more downpours.

Director of the Bhumibol Dam in Tak's Samngao District Narong Thaiprayoon said the water level at Bhumibol Dam has been decreased to 85 percent of the dam's capacity or around 11.5 billion cubic meters of water.

The Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management has launched a policy to release water for irrigation purposes during the drought season.

In addition, the government has ordered that seven billion cubic meters of water must be discharged between December of last year and this April in order to accommodate the upcoming rainy-season.

Officials aim to release 1.65 billion cubic meters of water in January alone to achieve the overall outcome.

If the current speed of drainage is maintained, 1.5 billion cubic meters of water will be discharged in February and March.

Only 800 million cubic meters will be left to be discharged in April.

Narong said that the government has ordered officials at the dam and the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management to adjust water management strategies to prevent severe flooding this year.

However, authorities still want to keep enough water available for irrigation purposes and will meet again to reconsider the issue.

From May to July, officials expect an additional 6.5 billion cubic meters of water to enter the dam.

The amount is acceptable as more water is expected between August and October.

-- Tan Network 2012-01-27

[Ricardo]

Dam intends to release water, during the irrigated-rice growing-season, Shock News !

[sparebox2]

"However, authorities still want to keep enough water available for irrigation purposes and will meet again to reconsider the issue."

This is the main reason from last year flood.

[Payboy]

If there's insufficient rain, we can always push the water back into the dam using a 1,000 boats.

[sjjmmi]

If there's insufficient rain, we can always push the water back into the dam using a 1,000 boats.

[yougivemebaby]

If there's insufficient rain, we can always push the water back into the dam using a 1,000 boats.

I was just thinking about that today! LMAO

[whybother]

The Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management has launched a policy to release water for irrigation purposes during the drought season.

"Launched"??? Isn't that one of the main reasons they've got the bloody dams???

[ginjag]

Dam intends to release water, during the irrigated-rice growing-season, Shock News !

Bloody amazing----ha ha

[hellodolly]

The Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management has launched a policy to release water for irrigation purposes during the drought season.

"Launched"??? Isn't that one of the main reasons they've got the bloody dams???

Yes I caught that too.

Some kind of water management they have coming up with a plan to use the water in a dam in the drought season. How many years has it been there and they are just coming up with that idea?

[zzaa09]

"However, authorities still want to keep enough water available for irrigation purposes and will meet again to reconsider the issue."

This is the main reason from last year flood.

...and copious/record amounts of rain from the SW monsoon coupled with more than our share of fallout from an early and heady typhoon season deriving from the east.

[chainarong]

The fingers are on the pulse , thata boy, your onto it, next year they might be promoted to the Hoover Dam.

[wxyz]

They need more Dams and more Dam jobs. hehehe

Edited January 28, 2012 by wxyz

[webfact]

Interior Ministry orders water to be discharged from Bhumibol Dam

BANGKOK, 28 January 2012 (NNT) - The Interior Ministry has stepped out to calm public worries about the repeat of last year’s flooding and order water at one of the country’s major dams to be discharged.

Mr. Yongyuth Wichaidit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, said that he would not want to see Mr. Smith Dharmasaroja, a renowned expert on natural disaster, leave the state-appointed Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management (SCWRM).

Mr. Yongyuth’s comment was heard after Mr. Smith earlier revealed that water volume at the Bhumibol Dam is now at 90% of its capacity while expressing his dissatisfaction about the government’s water management and flood prevention policies. He also talked about his possible departure from the SCWRM.

The Interior Minister said he agrees that water stored at the dam should be decreased as it is already 3 times more than it was during the same time of 2011.

Accordingly, Mr. Yongyuth has instructed the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to discharge some water from the dam

When asked about reported public resentment against the government’s water management plans, Mr. Yongyuth said that related state offices are to listen to their worries and doubts among those concerned and to quickly solve them.

-- NNT 2012-01-28

[Payboy]

Do your part by flushing Interior Ministry press releases down the toilet as soon as you have them.

[belg]

who thinks, just like me, that another flood will be comming this year around august / september of october ?

[DNPBC0]

We can all keep track of things here:

http://water.rid.go.th/flood/flood/res_table.htm

Click on the reservoir (listed in column on left), and you will see a graph of levels for this year compared with the last two years.

[folium]

"However, authorities still want to keep enough water available for irrigation purposes and will meet again to reconsider the issue."

This is the main reason from last year flood.

...and copious/record amounts of rain from the SW monsoon coupled with more than our share of fallout from an early and heady typhoon season deriving from the east.

The 2011 floods in the Chao Phraya basin are a classic example of a human engineered disaster.

Sure it was a long and heavy wet season but variable rainfall patterns are nothing new. What turned this into LOS's most expensive natural hazard event ever had a lot more to do with human than natural causes.

Building industrial and residential estates all over the floodplain defies logic and highlights how the lack of a significant flood event since 1983 & 1995 in that area clouded perception of risk. Flood plains are fantastic places for rice growing because of the likelihood of flooding. Honda assembly plants are not so happy in such a situation.

Poor planning and preparation further exacerbated the problem and the coup de grace was performed by the hasty release of excess water form the dam complexes to avoid catastrophic failure. Increasingly people are waking up to the fact that dams with their attractive multi-functionality, which seems to make the enormous capital/environmental costs worthwhile, is more of a hideous liability than an asset as juggling the requirements of flood control, electricity generation and water supply in the dry season is a tricky game doomed to disappoint at least one of these objectives on a regular basis.

Wil floods happen again? Of course they will, they are a constant of any river basin. How damaging will they be? Depends entirely on how well that river basin is managed. My hunch is that the dams will be a lot emptier at the end of the rainy season than in 2011. Then we will have people moaning about electricity prices (as more will have to be imported or generated from oil/coal), or the lack of irrigation water for farmers.

$40 billion in damages is a big hit. Will the government invest wisely to keep people/industries out of harm's way, and shape development around the risk, rather than just ignoring it, hoping for the best and just paying the price when it all goes pear-shaped?

[ResX]

The Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management has launched a policy to release water for irrigation purposes during the drought season.

"Launched"??? Isn't that one of the main reasons they've got the bloody dams???

Here in my country we have done this since the first day we operated the reservoirs. We keep on improving our flood control strategy. Last monsoon one of our major reservoirs was sligtly be beaten by floods. We planned to dealt with with 3 billion cubic meter of water from November to December.2011. TOur strategy worked perfectly well until the 3rd week of January 2012 when we got got extraordinary big size of flood. Anyway dealing with flood control one can go wrong. In our case we managed to capture and release 4billion cubic meter of flood waters from Nov 2011-Jan 2012 but we lost some, around 50-75million cubic meter. Most important thing is nobody was displaced from his house.

Back to the article. They palnned to release 7 billion cubic meter over the next few months for Bhumibol. Sound okay to me but it is important for them to know that as far as flood control stratefy is concern the amount of water realese cannot be the main objective. It is volume of the reservoir that needs to be emptied is the right objective. For Bhumibol dam I would say they have to have at least 4.5 to 5 billion cubic meter of reserve for flood control by 1st October this year.

[473geo]

Nice to see, a government trying to learn by the mistakes of others. I hope, in the interests of the people still recovering from the last flood, that all is good this year.

[z12]

Not to worry, PM mr T clone has outlawed floods, all is well.

Time to drain the tub.

Hoepfully none of the Dams have a catastrophic failure, Bangkok would be washed to the sea.

Edited January 28, 2012 by z12

[473geo]

Not to worry, PM mr T clone has outlawed floods, all is well.

Time to drain the tub.

Hoepfully none of the Dams have a catastrophic failure, Bangkok would be washed to the sea.

After that revelation surely property prices in Bankok are destined to tumble........unless of course there is a perception that the statement is alarmist and lacks a little credibility Edited January 29, 2012 by 473geo

[mrtoad]

Only Chalerm is capable of dealing with this effectively, but he's too busy at the moment doing everything else. Maybe Mr H. Toilet could lend a hand and flush away the problems.

[webfact]

Water to be Discharged from Bhumibol & Sirikit Dams

BANGKOK: -- The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand is rushing to drain out the water from Bhumibol and Sirikit dams to 83-85 percent of the dam's capacity to prepare for the upcoming floods.

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand has warned local residents about the water drainage, while director of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Prapaisuwan disclosed that his department is preparing to drain out the water from the Bhumibol and Sirikit dams.

Previously, a large volume of water has been discharged, and that the water level at Bhumibol Dam now stands at 85 percent of the dam's capacity, down from thre previous 99.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the Sirikit Dam's water level decreased to 83 percent of the dam's capacity from the previous 99.8 percent.

The volume of water being discharged this year exceeds previous years due to high volumes of water accumulated in the dam after consecutive rains at the beginning of this year.

On average, approximately 58 million cubic meters of water have been discharged per day.

The highest rate which the dam can discharge water is at 60 million cubic meters.

However, at the Sirikit Dam, only 39-44 million cubic meters of water can be discharged per day as there are residential homes at the end of the water way.

A letter has been submitted to Uttaradit governor to alert residents living at the end of the waterway in Vichai District about the water drainage, while preventive measures have been launched to prevent residents from the effects of the water drainage.

-- Tan Network 2012-01-30

[z12]

Not to worry, PM mr T clone has outlawed floods, all is well.

Time to drain the tub.

Hoepfully none of the Dams have a catastrophic failure, Bangkok would be washed to the sea.

After that revelation surely property prices in Bankok are destined to tumble........unless of course there is a perception that the statement is alarmist and lacks a little credibility

Catastrophic Dam Failure in Eastern Iowa

http://www.weather.c...iver_2010-07-24

The Banqiao Reservoir Dam is a dam on the River Ru in Zhumadian Prefecture, Henan province, China. It infamously failed in 1975, causing more casualties than any other dam failure in history.

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Banqiao_Dam

1928 Catastrophic St. Francis Dam Failure, Los Angeles County: Worst American Civil Engineering Failure of the 20th Century

http://www.semp.us/p....php?BiotID=376

Edited January 30, 2012 by z12

[sparebox2]

<snip>

Catastrophic Dam Failure in Eastern Iowa

http://www.weather.c...iver_2010-07-24

<snip>

American dams are build to last.

This one could possibly be build by the local Indians (Black Indian, not Red Indians) as the name suggest: Lake Delhi Dam

Catastrophic Dam Failure in Eastern Iowa

Lake Delhi Dam

(Julie Koehn/SourceMedia Group News)

The Lake Delhi Dam in Delaware County, Iowa underwent a catastrophic failure on Saturday at around 10:30am local time.

The National Weather Service stated that the Lake Delhi (or Hatwick) Dam near Delhi, Iowa was at least 75 percent breached with a growing gap in the berm alongside the dam. . . .

Edited January 30, 2012 by sparebox2

[Payboy]

A letter has been submitted to Uttaradit governor to alert residents living at the end of the waterway in Vichai District about the water drainage, while preventive measures have been launched to prevent residents from the effects of the water drainage.

Here we go again.

[ResX]

"However, authorities still want to keep enough water available for irrigation purposes and will meet again to reconsider the issue."

This is the main reason from last year flood.

Partly "yes", but not all. The main reason is nobody paid attention to the allocation for flood control for all multipurpose dams in Thailand. Flood control is is not fun. No political milliage can be expected for any politician to champion it. If we allow natural law to dictate decision making in dam operations, flood control will always become the first element to be compromised at least until the flood hits hard. When the flood impacts millions of voters then only may politicians opt to become the champions.

[wxyz]

Soon to be up to your backside in water again.

Edited February 5, 2012 by wxyz

[folium]

"However, authorities still want to keep enough water available for irrigation purposes and will meet again to reconsider the issue."

This is the main reason from last year flood.

Partly "yes", but not all. The main reason is nobody paid attention to the allocation for flood control for all multipurpose dams in Thailand. Flood control is is not fun. No political milliage can be expected for any politician to champion it. If we allow natural law to dictate decision making in dam operations, flood control will always become the first element to be compromised at least until the flood hits hard. When the flood impacts millions of voters then only may politicians opt to become the champions.

Managing any river basin is dam_n (pun intended) hard work and requires coordination, planning and control across many organizations and interest groups. An authoritarian nation like China finds it hard enough, an attempt at comprehensive river management for the entire Chao Phraya river basin (which is what is needed rather than the piecemeal, sticking plaster approach) will struggle given the weight and power of interested groups and the dysfunctional manner of control exercised in LOS in general.

Few politicians anywhere master in long-term strategic thinking, and that's certainly the case here. Nothing serious will happen until either the foreign owned assembly plants relocate en masse or the floodwaters reach the homes of the powerful.

Check out the pathetic saga of the Venice of the west to see how p**s poor planning turns a rich and powerful capital city into a sad pasticje of a tourist destination. Perhaps the Venice of the East is destined to go the same way.

[Ijustwannateach]

Oh goody, they're on alert. But when are they going to DO anything?