Ubolrat Dam to the brim
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People living downstream of Khon Kaen's Ubolrat Dam might end up being flooded in until the New Year because the dam will be releasing 50 million cubic metres of water every day.
The dam, which has gone 118 per cent beyond its capacity, has prompted related officials to hold an urgent meeting yesterday to seek possible solutions.
Pinyo Thongsing, assistant chief of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand’s Northeastern Hydropower Plant, said the dam contained 2,859 million cubic metres of water, well beyond its capacity of 2,531 million cubic metres, and that up to 80 million cubic metres was pouring into it on a daily basis. Since the dam will be releasing 50 million cubic metres from today or tomorrow, he expressed concern about the dam’s water management and the impact it will have on people downstream.
Since this is the largest volume of water the dam has encountered in its history, with still more pouring in, it is unable to get rid of the excess in a month’s time like before, he said. Since it is not possible to know how long the dam will have to keep releasing 50 million cubic metres of water daily, he warned residents downstream to brace for floods that could last for a while, even until the New Year.
