Bma Kicks Off Canal Dredging Plan To Prepare For Rainfall

[Lite Beer]

BMA kicks off canal dredging plan to prepare for rainfall

BANGKOK, 5 January 2012 (NNT) - The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has begun the dredging of city canals in order to get ready for the arrival of heavy rain.

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Deputy Governor Wallop Suwandee said on Saturday that he has urged officers at the Department of Drainage and Sewerage to speedily draw a conclusion on the dredging of all canals and sewers in the capital.

Mr. Wallop said that the preparation is intended to make this year's work more systematic and as efficient as possible. Special attention is particularly needed at major waterways, such as Taweewattana Canal, Mahasawat Canal, Prem Prachakorn Canal and Ladprao Canal, where Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra expects all works to be completed by the end of May.

The BMA Deputy Governor conceded that the City Hall is worried about an earlier-than-usual arrival of the rainy season as rainfall in January alone proved to be 3-4 times higher than average.

He added that, so far, the Department of Drainage and Sewerage has managed to lower water level in many canals by 50-100 centimeters, from the mean sea level.

If the amount of rainfall in the capital is not more than 60 millimeters, the BMA is confident that the city canals will be able to cope with the situation. However, if rainfall amounts are more than that, there will likely be slight flooding for 2-3 hours before the situation returns to normal, according to Mr. Wallop.

-- NNT 2012-02-05

[asanee]

but then to start with the most obvious in many of those canals: remove all the illegal squatting housing built above them with obvious just dropping any refuse they have under the floor in the water and all hell will break loose about those poor de..ils having noting (except enough to pay off to look other way to cityofficials). Plus that this is just a minor sidepoint-it does not solve any floods only relieves the aftermath a little bit.

[Bakseedaa]

but then to start with the most obvious in many of those canals: remove all the illegal squatting housing built above them with obvious just dropping any refuse they have under the floor in the water and all hell will break loose about those poor de..ils having noting (except enough to pay off to look other way to cityofficials). Plus that this is just a minor sidepoint-it does not solve any floods only relieves the aftermath a little bit.

In Bangkok there is so much illegal building on top of canal waterways and most of it by rich and elite Thai people who have the place sewn up.. a commitee should be formed of Red Shirts to make sure these illegal buildings come down , even the ones owned by the Shinawatra family...

[givenall]

Here we go again. As usual the regency is gone. I thought they had already started and now i see they are going to start. it is kind a late since the rain started to come early.

This government really sucks

[anterian]

Here we go again. As usual the regency is gone. I thought they had already started and now i see they are going to start. it is kind a late since the rain started to come early.

This government really sucks

It's damned all to do with government and 100% to do with culture. Have you ever noticed how few Thais, particularly working class Thais, wear a watch? Time is not a critical factor to most Thais.

[jaiyen]

Thais dont need a watch cos they spend a lot of money on a mobile phone and spent most of their time looking at it so they always know what time it is.

[473geo]

Good to see action being taken, any investment to lower or eradicade the amount of deaths, damage to the infastructure, and economy, is a sound worthwhile effort. Encouraging to see the BMA, army,and government working together for the benefit of Bangkok and Thailand.

[Pib]

Good indeed...but it should have started years ago...but late is better than never. And I say this after being flooded in western Bangkok...dredging of the Taweewattana and Mahasawat Canals will benefit western Bangkok...but we have a lot more canals than just those two. For example I have a small, 50 foot wide canal that runs right behind my house...this very canal is the one that overflowed and flooded thousands of homes in my area. Wonder if the government will be dredging the hundreds of such small canals around Bangkok...probably not is my guess.

[473geo]

Good indeed...but it should have started years ago...but late is better than never. And I say this after being flooded in western Bangkok...dredging of the Taweewattana and Mahasawat Canals will benefit western Bangkok...but we have a lot more canals than just those two. For example I have a small, 50 foot wide canal that runs right behind my house...this very canal is the one that overflowed and flooded thousands of homes in my area. Wonder if the government will be dredging the hundreds of such small canals around Bangkok...probably not is my guess.

Probably not? your home was flooded.....find somebody who can ask the question on behalf of your neighbourhood, make a noise in the right place, find out if there are plans to dredge 'your' canal

Will you do this?.............probably not......

Edited February 5, 2012 by 473geo

[hellodolly]

Once again we have a start on a project to benefit all of Bangkok and the nay sayers arrive. May I point out this is not the Thai government with it's panels studying the situation it is the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

They may or they may not get it all done but at least give them a chance.

They are doing something Physically. That is more than can be said by the Government wit their 350,000,000 baht to use in actual work.

Give them a moth and see how they make out.

[Pib]

Good indeed...but it should have started years ago...but late is better than never. And I say this after being flooded in western Bangkok...dredging of the Taweewattana and Mahasawat Canals will benefit western Bangkok...but we have a lot more canals than just those two. For example I have a small, 50 foot wide canal that runs right behind my house...this very canal is the one that overflowed and flooded thousands of homes in my area. Wonder if the government will be dredging the hundreds of such small canals around Bangkok...probably not is my guess.

Probably not? your home was flooded.....find somebody who can ask the question on behalf of your neighbourhood, make a noise in the right place, find out if there are plans to dredge 'your' canal

Will you do this?.............probably not......

Actually the question has been asked by a moobaan group of unhappy campers (which the Thai wife and I are part of and attend the meetings) to our Khet office and the Khet Office don't know....they are asking and supposedly pressing for more to be done in our Khet. Petitions have been submitted to the Khet Office and moobaan manager asking for various improvements such as canal dredging, water drainage improvements, building the canal walls higher, additional moobaan pumps, etc. So far only the moobaan manager has agreed to buy some additional moobaan pumps, improve drainage within the moobaan, and build up walls along portions of the canal wall bordering parts of the moobaan--these projects are underway...I can see the construction everyday within the moobaan when we walk the dogs. Unfortunately, unless the canal walls are built up on the other side which the moobaan has no control over and the govt accomplishes water drainage improvements in areas outside our moobaan it won't help as much. There are no known govt funded water managemenet improvements in our western Bangkok area we know of other than the dredging of the two major canals to the north and west of us mentioned above. So far the moobaan manager is doing a lot more than the govt...the govt is talking a lot...hopefully they have more water management improvements planned for our khet but I'm not holding my breath.

[MAN2SIN2BKK]

I know it's out of Bangkok and hence of no interested to the powers that be, but the Rangsit canals in Pathumthani are an absolute mess still with floating rubbish creating new dams and piles of stinking fly infested rubbish piled up on the entrances to the Preuksa developments in Khlong 3. The water hyacinths are coming back. A few "dwellings" on the Rangsit canal are being removed by Khlong 2, but go to Khlong 4 towards Lam Lukka and nothing has been done.

When will the dredging started and importantly finished completely without leaving any of the water hyacinths and wooden footbridges to created dams?