Late harvest may delay water retention plan

The RID also said over 750,000 rai of paddy fields would not be harvested until the end of next month, so many water-retention basins would not be available until then. Meanwhile, large areas of rice fields have already been submerged and the crop damaged in many Central provinces. 

Darongkorn Somton, Regional Irrigation Office 12 director, said that increasing the outflow of water from the Chao Phraya Dam would not cause large-scale floods as many fear. He said the flooding would only affect areas that are flooded every year. 

“The department has created a plan to prepare for another round of heavy rain next month, so we have to increase the amount of water released from the Chao Phraya Dam to create room for more water to come. However, right now the dam is still discharging around 1,800 cubic metres per second and the amount will not be increased until we get official instructions,” Darongkorn said. 

“I expect that the water released from the Chao Phraya Dam will not exceed 2,200 cubic metres per second, which should not cause large-scale flooding like in the 2011, when the dam discharged up to 3,700 cubic metes per second.” 

He explained that the Chao Phraya riverbank from Chai Nat to Ayutthaya province can deal with a flow of up to 2,000 cubic metres per second, so there has been no big flooding along the main course of the river. However, if more water is released, some areas will be flooded, such as places along the Noi River in Bang Ban, Sena and Phak Hai districts in Ayutthaya province. 

According to the RID, some 15 provinces are flooded and the most affected areas are in the Chao Phraya basin. 

To prepare for more heavy rain expected next month, Darongkorn said the RID had already directed water into tributaries on both sides of the Chao Phraya at 350 cubic metres per second to avoid an overflow in the main course of the river. 

However, the areas on both sides are already full of water from continuous rain, and since 750,00 rai of paddy fields are not harvested yet, not many water-retention areas are available. 

“Due to the drought earlier this year, farmers were not able to plant their crop in time, which is why many fields will not be ready for harvest until the end of October. We understand the hardship of the farmers, so we cannot flood their farms until they have harvested their crop,” he said.

Despite the RID’s official position, more than 10,000 rai of paddy fields in Phitsanulok province are reported to have been flooded. 

Son Doungtoi, a farmer in Bang Rakam district, said his rice field was under a metre of water and he had had to harvest his crop ahead of time to avoid a total loss. “Normally we can harvest before the flood season, but this year we planted rice later than usual due to drought, so many paddy fields are flooded ahead of harvest.” 

Son said rice harvested ahead of time only sells for Bt2,000 a tonne.