Atum Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 I don't know much about this topic, which is why I am asking. Why can't the storage levels/water levels be brought up to 99% or so temporarily to limit floods? I know the levels cannot stay at 99% for half the year or more because it is smart to have some extra capacity for water storage in case of massive new rainfall. But to do this for a month or even two, would that be dangerous as well? And could a dam break just from keeping it at 99% - or even a 100%? Can a dam overflow or is it always possible to open the spillways to prevent it from overflowing every time - and thus prevent the dam from eventually breaking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atum Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 http://www.thaiwater.net/DATA/REPORT/php/rid_dam_1.php?lang=en I don't know if this is correct, but it would seem the Bhumibol Dam is only at 47% capacity. Couldn't it have been higher? To help limit the flooding south of that dam - in the Central Plains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robblok Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 1) Dams can break.. so you can't hold more then 100% plus if its over 100 it floods out of itself and no control. So its better to release water now then to wait before its out of control. Also by discharging water before at a time the tides were not as high (soon they will be real high) more water can be drained. By discharging gradually instead of at once (once you got too much water you will have to discharge a lot) you got less flooding. As for the Bhumibol Dam.. it could be just in the wrong place they are not stupid here and unlike in 2011 they did not let political gain (releasing water later to save rice thus making it worse later on) control their actions but experts are in control now trying their best to limit the problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwasaki Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Old City reservoir is letting water out to head South. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanrchase Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 8 hours ago, Atum said: http://www.thaiwater.net/DATA/REPORT/php/rid_dam_1.php?lang=en I don't know if this is correct, but it would seem the Bhumibol Dam is only at 47% capacity. Couldn't it have been higher? To help limit the flooding south of that dam - in the Central Plains. There are 26 MCM going in and only 1 MCM being released according to your link. Suggests they are limiting the flooding south of the dam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1FinickyOne Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Bhumibol Dam was at 6% - - I am sure they are glad it is higher - - that said, I don't know much about it but water is readily released for probably a variety of reasons... "keeping" it at 99% would mean pumping water into it from somewhere and would have brought great relief during the recent time of drought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgrahmm Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 There is also some danger.....They use a lot of earth dams.....If/as they dry out during droughts they can lose their integrity..... If hit with a large bulk of water quickly there is the very real possiblity of a failure.... It's been pretty low for awhile...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBOP Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Dam Disasters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBOP Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 (edited) Also lets not forget the worst dam failure in history the Banqiao Dam. Killed an estimated 171,000 people when the dam overflowed resulting in a catastrophic failure. 11 million homeless. Edited October 11, 2016 by RBOP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTIRIOS Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 ...duhh......one has to conclude that they are absolutely clueless as to how to handle it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubster Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 People cannot predict long range weather and as with 2011 the people are at the mercy of mother nature. What could be predicted in 2011 and 2016 is that if it rains a lot it would be a good idea to have all the debris cleaned up ahead of time so that the water can make it to the sea, also all pumps properly maintained and new canals dug during the dry season. You would think than one government might learn something from a past governments mistakes. Nope, to busy crucifying the last one to look forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubster Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 2 hours ago, RBOP said: Also lets not forget the worst dam failure in history the Banqiao Dam. Killed an estimated 171,000 people when the dam overflowed resulting in a catastrophic failure. 11 million homeless. I would not stick around below any dam above 90% capacity in saturated conditions. I have worked with to many engineers to trust them with my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acharn Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 15 minutes ago, Grubster said: People cannot predict long range weather and as with 2011 the people are at the mercy of mother nature. What could be predicted in 2011 and 2016 is that if it rains a lot it would be a good idea to have all the debris cleaned up ahead of time so that the water can make it to the sea, also all pumps properly maintained and new canals dug during the dry season. You would think than one government might learn something from a past governments mistakes. Nope, to busy crucifying the last one to look forward. I like this explanation better than the idea that water was released for political reasons. The explanation given at the time, that the rains in the last month of the rainy season were much heavier than anticipated seemed reasonable to me at the time and still does. In 2011 we also had heavier rain early in the season than we usually do, so the dams were fuller than usual when we came to the last month. No wonder officials turn to astrologers for reassurance. It must be nerve-wracking to be responsible with insufficient information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canopy Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 (edited) So it seems the lesson here is the dams in Thailand are too small. If there is more rain than predicted then they flushed too little and bangkok gets flooded. If there is less rain than predicted then they flushed too much and farmers don't have enough water for their fields. I saw in the news they want to take action against Yingluck as she was biased to the farmers. And ever since the flood year, it seems they have been biased towards saving bangkok. Edited October 12, 2016 by canopy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickudon Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 In 2011, one dam went from one third full to completely full in one month. You cannot really predict weather more than 1 week ahead. It looks like this year water levels are already 50% higher than this time last year. With the ground absolutely saturated and the rice paddies full (in our area, some rice already dying as too much water), dams could fill up pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannot Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 On 10/11/2016 at 10:41 AM, pgrahmm said: There is also some danger.....They use a lot of earth dams.....If/as they dry out during droughts they can lose their integrity..... If hit with a large bulk of water quickly there is the very real possiblity of a failure.... It's been pretty low for awhile...... gawddddddddddd i feel so reassured........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 In an ideal world, and given rising-demand for electricity in Thailand, it would seem sensible to be considering building more dams, but I've never heard that they are doing so ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe666 Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 On 10/11/2016 at 7:55 PM, Acharn said: I like this explanation better than the idea that water was released for political reasons. The explanation given at the time, that the rains in the last month of the rainy season were much heavier than anticipated seemed reasonable to me at the time and still does. In 2011 we also had heavier rain early in the season than we usually do, so the dams were fuller than usual when we came to the last month. No wonder officials turn to astrologers for reassurance. It must be nerve-wracking to be responsible with insufficient information. There were 5 storms that blew thru in a few months causing the problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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