Buildings and roads by canals monitored for structural woes

BANGKOK officials have ordered close monitoring of buildings and roads for structural damage due to the very low water level in the current dry season. They have also warned people not to plant rice.

Deputy Bangkok governor Jumpol Sumpaopol said yesterday that Bangkok was also hit by the drought, as water in many canals and wells had been reduced to a very low level. This caused the soil to become unstable and could affect structures nearby.

Jumpol said that many roads beside canals had been damaged, such as Klong Krathumlom Road, Klong Sibsong Road and Klong Sibsam Road. Most of these areas were in eastern Bangkok.

 

BMA keen to prevent subsidence 

“The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is addressing this problem by trying to keep the water level in the canal high enough to prevent a landslide into the canal and fixing damaged roads,” he said.

“The BMA also ordered all 50 district offices in Bangkok and the Public Works Department to check the strength of buildings and roads, and prepare to address this problem.

“Experts on building structure from district offices will also |meet with property owners to |alert them on how to look out for cracks on buildings.”

With agricultural areas still in some parts of Bangkok, he said that farmers were warned not to plant more rice to avoid crop failure. The city administration is preparing for a shortage of water for consumption by providing water tanks in areas that run short.

 

Lamtakong basin also affected

Meanwhile in Nakhon Ratchasima, Lamtakong Dam has already cut its discharge of water, as the water level is less than what the Royal Irrigation Department expected. 

Suthiroj Kongkaew, Lamtakong Irrigation and Maintenance Project director, revealed that Lamtakong Dam had 109.5 million cubic metres of available water – just under 36 per cent of overall capacity. 

Water users in Lamtakong Basin agreed at a meeting not to use water to irrigate fields this dry season.

“The water discharge will reduce to 4 cubic metres per minute or overall 12 million cubic metres per month for domestic consumption and to sustain the ecological system only, from November 2015 to January 2016,” Suthiroj said.

Lamtakong Basin is the latest region that has implemented a water saving policy that restricts water use in farming. 

The Chao Phraya River Basin has implemented this policy since last month.