Water Retention Area 'May Be Better Solution Than Mae Wong Dam'

[webfact]

'Monkey cheeks' backed over dam

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

Water retention area 'may be better solution than Mae Wong dam'

BANGKOK: -- Top Water Resources officials want the government to build "monkey cheeks" - a retention area - as a way to manage flood and drought problems in the Sakae Krang watershed, instead of building a dam in the Mae Wong National Park.

"I do not oppose the dam project but building a dam would take a lot of time. It won't resolve flood and drought problems in the near future," department director-general Jatuphon Burutphat told The Nation.

"The department will make a recommendation to the government to build 'monkey cheeks' in Sakae Krang watershed to retain water," Jatuphon said.

The Sakae Krang is a tributary of the Chao Phraya River.

Water Resources staff are working on 10 projects - worth Bt42 million - to develop watershed areas in Nakhon Sawan and Uthai Thani provinces. These projects, expected to be finished by the end of this year, aim to resolve flood and drought problems in local areas over the long term.

The Mae Wong Dam project was proposed by the Royal Irrigation Department and approved in principle by Cabinet on April 10. The government would spend about Bt13 billion to construct the dam in Mae Wong National Park in Nakhon Sawan province.

The dam is aimed at resolving flood and drought problems and is expected to retain 258 million cubic metres of water and help irrigate more than 291,900-rai of arable land in Nakhon Sawan, Khampaeng Phet and Uthai Thani.

But Water Resources officials learnt recently that a major dam in Uthai Thani province - located not far from Mae Wong dam site - has been unable to deliver sufficient water to farmers over 10 years of operating.

"Local people in Nakhon Sawan province's Lat Yao district last week asked us to develop 700 rai of land as 'monkey cheeks' to retain water for them. You see, there is an alternative way [to dams] to resolve such problems," he said.

To date, the government has allocated Bt5 billion to the department for 1,585 projects to resolve flood and drought problems in several areas. Water Resources officials will improve watershed areas across the country by building 'monkey cheek' areas and maintenance canals. About 60 per cent of these projects have been done and the rest are expected to be finished by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, a Cabinet resolution in 2009 required all projects in watershed areas to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and seek approval from the National Environment Board's Experts Panel before allowing any construction to go ahead.

The Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP)'s new secretary, General Wichan Simachaya, said the department would ask the government to permit a "short cut" and not require environmental experts to assess EIAs for projects, under the plan to reduce damage from flooding. It will be submitted directly to the NEB or its sub-committee and sent to the Cabinet for approval.

"If the report is sent to the environmental expert panel, it would take a lot of processes and time. This would delay the plan to prevent flooding this year," he said.

-- The Nation 2012-05-15

[Reasonableman]

It appears then that the proposed dam was intended for flood mitigation and possibly irrigation purposes. No mention of electricity generation here at all. "Monkey cheeks" are strategies to retain excessive amounts of water locally rather than allowing them to flow downstream uncontrollably. The assumption that the proposed dam was needed/intended for electricity generation thus seems to be incorrect.

[OzMick]

Almost any dam is capable of generation, but the cost of generating plant and connection to the grid may not be economically viable at the current price of power. That is likely to change as prices continue to increase. WHEN the dam is built, and it may not be in the near future, I expect the HEP will either be included or allowance made for retrospective installation (not difficult in most cases.)

Generation does not cause any loss of water, and not utilising what is basically free energy when the water is released is illogical.

Edited May 15, 2012 by OzMick

[Reasonableman]

Mae Wong National Park

Mae Wong National Park is situated in the Dawna Range. This park lies in Mae Wong and Mae Poen districts of Nakhon Sawan Province and Pang Sila Thong district of Kamphaeng Phet Province, in the West of Thailand. The park is very rugged and hilly along the Dawna Mountain Range, especially on the north and west. With the highest peak, Khao Mo Ko Chu at 1,964 m. above sea level it is one of highest mountain ranges in Thailand. Three main rivers, of which the Mae Wong River is the biggest, drain the park. The famous places in the park are Mae Krasa, Mae Rewa, Mae Ki Waterfalls, Mokochu Peak and Chong Yen.

Formerly, Mae Wong National Park was the centre of hill tribes, for example, Hmong, (Mien) Yao, Muzer and Karen, so there are areas that are deforested, but secondary growth has established itself quickly and there are large areas of beautiful forest with huge, mature trees. The park was declared a national park on 14th September 1987 as the 55th park of Thailand. This 894 km2 park is located approximately 350 kilometers northwest of Bangkok in the provinces Nakhon Sawan and Kampaeng Phet, West Thailand, and is part of the western forest complex: the largest remaining tract of forest in Thailand. The area consists of rugged winding mountains and is the source of several waterways, including the Mae Wong river that feeds the low-lying agricultural areas in the Kamphaeng Phet and Nakhon Sawan provinces. The park’s main area is covered by mixed deciduous forest, which has Tectona grandis, Afzelia xylocarpa, Pterocarpus macrocarpus and Xylia kerrii as dominant trees. Evergreen forest is found among deep, wild pig, Asiatic jackal, squirrels, civets and porcupines, amongst others. With more than 450 species of bird, the park is the most accessible part of the western forest complex and gives birders the opportunity to see some species that are really hard to find or absent elsewhere in Thailand.

On April 10, 2012 Thailand's Cabinet approved the THB 13 billion dam project at Mae Wong River, although scientists have warned that it will make the tiger at risk. The dam will destroy around 1,760 hectares (17.6 square-kilometer) of about 900 square-kilometer national park of low-lying forest, the best habitat for wildlife, including the tiger. The new access roads could also make possibility of illegal activity. [From Wikipedia]

http://www.thejakart...-asia-risk.html

Edited May 15, 2012 by Reasonableman

[OzMick]

DON'T PANIC

" Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi ........expressed confidence that the dam will not produce any impact on the environment."

Doesn't that make you all feel much better about the project?

[Reasonableman]

DON'T PANIC

" Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi ........expressed confidence that the dam will not produce any impact on the environment."

Doesn't that make you all feel much better about the project?

http://www.ethailand.com/news/plodprasop-sorry-for-false-alarm-239328.html

[hellodolly]

Yes typical Government they really don't care about the ecology of the country.

Not one single proposal from them to preserve the ecology.

"The Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP)'s new secretary, General Wichan Simachaya, said the department would ask the government to permit a "short cut" and not require environmental experts to assess EIAs for projects, under the plan to reduce damage from flooding. It will be submitted directly to the NEB or its sub-committee and sent to the Cabinet for approval."

[OzMick]

I'm a little bemused over the reference to the Uthai Thani dam which can't supply farmer's demand for water. Do they want more water than flows down the river? Is that the fault of the dam? Is the water used for HEP at inappropriate times for the farmers?

Monkey cheeks seem to be the new magic bullet, at least for flood mitigation. Are they useful for irrigation storage? Won't most of it evaporate if spread shallowly over a large area?

[londonthai]

do the monkey cheeks now, to prevent floods within near future and later on do the dam (which takes time and is a long time solution).

sounds very peculiar, that after 10 years of operating (and after approval of mae wong), the dam was classed as insufficient to deliver volume of water.

I would think, that monkey cheeks are located in a flood prone areas, in low lands, close to the rivers and canals. Might be difficult to use them for irrigation during droughts, as water would have to be pumped to the higher grounds and far to the agricultural fields.

[OzMick]

do the monkey cheeks now, to prevent floods within near future and later on do the dam (which takes time and is a long time solution).

sounds very peculiar, that after 10 years of operating (and after approval of mae wong), the dam was classed as insufficient to deliver volume of water.

I would think, that monkey cheeks are located in a flood prone areas, in low lands, close to the rivers and canals. Might be difficult to use them for irrigation during droughts, as water would have to be pumped to the higher grounds and far to the agricultural fields.

From what I read about the Uthai Thani dam it's not that the dam is not big enough, the claim is that it has only ever once been full. So the required water usage must exceed the river flow unless water is being released for some other reason such as hydro-generation (and I don't even know if it has that!)

OK did a search. The Uthai Thani dam is Tab Salao which I infer has no hydro-generation. Why? The linked article refers to a proposed water transfer project from Srinakharin dam, and loss of generation from that dam. This may not proceed. BTW all dams in the area experiencing record lows due to the drought.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CEwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsydney.edu.au%2Fmekong%2Fdocuments%2Fupdate1.2.pdf

Simply there is not enough water in the river, so they blame the dam for not catching it.