Bang Pakong river too high to be used for run-off
Play
The Royal Irrigation Department's Hydrology and Water Management Office on Wednesday outlined the difficulty in draining run-off via eastern Bangkok.
Even though the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has the drainage capacity for 10 million cubic metres per day, it is operating under the capacity due to the closure of two watergates at Nong Chok Canal and Prawet Burirom Canal.
The two watergates are under the jurisdiction of the RID. The two canals are Bangkok's eastern floodways to reroute run-off from the North to drain into the sea via Bang Pakong River.
In its rebuttal, the RID said the two watergates could not be opened because the water level in Bang Pakong River is presently higher than the two canals.
If the watergates are lifted, water would flow back into the capital, exacerbating the inundation. What the RID can do under the circumstances is to pump the water from the Bangkok side across the two watergates and into Bang Pakong River.
In northern Bangkok, the RID has mobilised 12 pumps to divert water from Bang Kanak Canal and Nakhon Nuang Khet Canal to Bang Pakong River.
On Wednesday, the Nong Chok pumping station had to suspend work and shut down Khlong Luang Pheng watergate in order to prevent the overflow of water from Chachoengsao from spilling into Prawet Burirom Canal, which would lead to the inundation of Lat Krabang Industrial Estate and Suvarnabhumi Airport.
