Engineering Institute of Thailand: Strategies to manage water 'faulty'

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Strategies to manage water 'faulty'
Janjira Pongrai
The Nation

Focus on budget rather than solutions

BANGKOK: -- A KEY subcommittee of the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) has attacked the National Water Resources Policy Committee's water management strategy ahead of it being presented to Cabinet for consideration next month.

"It does not genuinely respond to the goals of the country's water resources management," the EIT Water Sources Engineering subcommittee said in a statement yesterday.

According to the subcommittee, the drafting of the strategy has failed to significantly take into account people's opinions despite public forums being held. Many parts of the recent draft seen by the subcommittee have also failed to comply with laid-down framework.

"Most members sitting on the committee have stuck to the old mindset of the use of project-based budget. They fail to prioritise work that needs to be done," it said.

It demanded that relevant agencies explain to the public how they came up with long-term projects under the strategy.

It said given that the draft strategy was by no means a master plan, the identification of long-term projects definitely ran against the academic principle, just like what the Yingluck Shinawatra-led government had done for its Bt350-billion water management modules.

Those modules ended up attracting stiff opposition and were scrapped.

The subcommittee urged the government and government agencies against approving a budget for any long-term project under this strategy, as after the ongoing reforms were completed many planned projects would likely need revisions.

The statement was released in response to reports that quoted National Water Resources Policy Committee chairman General Chatchai Sarikulya as saying that the final draft of the water management plan would be submitted to Cabinet soon.

In the first two years alone, the strategy is going to require a budget of Bt240 billion.

Bancha Kwanyuen, who chairs the EIT Water Sources Engineering Committee, said recommendations from the EIT had gone unheeded even though they were recruited to panels preparing the strategy.

"So, we reserve the right to not approve this water management strategy," he said.

Before this, prominent water expert Royol Chitradon lamented that the water management plan seemed to focus on using a budget of more than Bt990 billion.

"I don't see how it will tackle water-related problems in critical areas," he said.

Pramote Maikald, former chief of the Royal Irrigation Department, also disagrees with the strategy.

"There is no solid academic information to back that this strategy is carefully prepared," he said.

He suspected that it was designed to use the available budget, rather than focusing on delivering long-term solutions to the country's water-related problems.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Strategies-to-manage-water-faulty-30252481.html


-- The Nation 2015-01-23

[Mango Bob]

The only water management strategy they have is for Bangkok. They don't give a damn about the rest of the country. In rural area we have limited time of days that water is available. if at all, and what water coming through pipes is muddy with blowing air. If this happened in Bangkok there would be a coup. Oh, wait we already have a coup.

[halloween]

The only water management strategy they have is for Bangkok. They don't give a damn about the rest of the country. In rural area we have limited time of days that water is available. if at all, and what water coming through pipes is muddy with blowing air. If this happened in Bangkok there would be a coup. Oh, wait we already have a coup.

So if they gave a damn, they would give you a dam?

[NeilSA1]

The only water management strategy they have is for Bangkok. They don't give a damn about the rest of the country. In rural area we have limited time of days that water is available. if at all, and what water coming through pipes is muddy with blowing air. If this happened in Bangkok there would be a coup. Oh, wait we already have a coup.

Were water problems less then, prior to the coup?

[Benmart]

The only water management strategy they have is for Bangkok. They don't give a damn about the rest of the country. In rural area we have limited time of days that water is available. if at all, and what water coming through pipes is muddy with blowing air. If this happened in Bangkok there would be a coup. Oh, wait we already have a coup.

Were water problems less then, prior to the coup?

One cannot correct history by comparing it to today.

The problems of the past are being worked on today.

I live in the present and don't blame the past for it.

Resentments of yesterday, that are not forgotten, remain resentments none-the-less.

One Day at a Time.

Edited January 23, 2015 by Benmart

[rametindallas]

The only water management strategy they have is for Bangkok. They don't give a damn about the rest of the country. In rural area we have limited time of days that water is available. if at all, and what water coming through pipes is muddy with blowing air. If this happened in Bangkok there would be a coup. Oh, wait we already have a coup.

Mango Bob, please stop making everything political. The same parts of Thailand have been flooding for centuries. Thai people no longer build on stilts above flood waters but build Western-style homes on concrete slabs at ground level. Of course water is getting into more houses because of building in known flood plains, building inappropriate housing, and more people. Bangkok is the money-making center for Thailand and if you sacrifice Bangkok out of 'fairness', you injure the entire Thai economy. If Thailand would implement and enforce zoning laws, fewer people would be affected by the regular flooding. None of these problems are caused by recent governments nor have they been effectively addressed by recent governments. This is a forever recurring problem that needs to be managed and not politicized. In the part of the US where I was raised, huge tracts of land cannot be built on because of flooding or the land is so low that sewage/waste water cannot be drained. In Thailand, that substandard land is sold to the less well-off who try to make the best of it on their own. The fact you can't get clean/regularly available drinking water from your taps is either a water management problem or the area is not suitable for human habitation. Please don't forget you live in Thailand.

[Ulic]

That's the way all government departments work. Spend your budget or loose it next year.

Also the department with the biggest budget is the most important, so maximize your budget.

[h90]

The only water management strategy they have is for Bangkok. They don't give a damn about the rest of the country. In rural area we have limited time of days that water is available. if at all, and what water coming through pipes is muddy with blowing air. If this happened in Bangkok there would be a coup. Oh, wait we already have a coup.

I always thought my wife is cleaning the floor with some chlorine cleaner as it smells so terrible strong of chlorine in the bathroom in Bangkok after shower.

Well now my wife isn't at home since 2 weeks and it still smells. And my nose is a bit damaged and not sensitive at all. Point is: Water might be better in Bangkok than in the rural areas. But still it is of very bad quality.

Well maybe after the next coup it gets better....

[rickirs]

"In the first two years alone, the strategy is going to require a budget of Bt240 billion"

Not a problem - the Junta-led government can get an MOU with China to lend Thailand the funds to pay China to build the projects. Another Junta success story!