Going with the flow

IF THE populations of Bangkok and other major Thai cities no longer suffer from flooding every rainy season, their thanks must go to the Father of the Nation. 
His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej was widely known for his interest in irrigation works. Photographs over the decades have often shown him working hard in the fields to develop sustainable irrigation systems for rural folk, but he also cared for the people in the cities, who often found themselves affected by seasonal flooding.
Almost all major Thai cities, Bangkok included, sit on low-lying plains near rivers and are prone to floods. Bangkok alone has seen nine major floods within the last four decades, notably in 1980, 1983, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2006 and 2011, and they have all caused damage to people’s homes, businesses and lives while also impacting the nation’s economy. 
However, the threat from these annual floods was significantly lowered by His Majesty’s projects, as Chalit Damrongsak, former Royal Irrigation Department (RID) director-general, explains. 
“The Royal initiative projects provided a solid base for flood prevention in the city and have significantly decreased the flood problem over the years,” he says.
“HM the King started to focus on the flood problem in Bangkok after witnessing the major flooding in 1980. He stressed that a solution had to be found and introduced the first Royal projects on flood prevention not long after.” 
But no sooner had the first project components been put into action than the capital was hit by major flooding again, this time in 1983. 
“During the 1983 flood, the King summoned every relevant agency to meet with him and draw up a flood prevention plan. He closely monitored the water level every day. This was before digitisation and all the information was reported via radio,” Chalit recalls. 
“The first line of Bangkok’s flood defence were the dikes around Bangkok to keep the floodwater out of the urban area. However, this method caused conflicts between the people living on different sides of the dike, so he ordered multiple dikes to be built to balance floodwater levels and tried to divert the water away from the city as fast as possible,” he explains.
Those dikes now serve as the city’s ring roads such as Rom Klao and Kanchanapisek.
The King also ordered that land not being used in the suburbs be declared a “green belt”, thus forming a flood way to let the water eventually drain to the sea. He also initiated “monkey cheek” water detention basin projects in and around Bangkok to store the floodwater before draining.
“His Majesty looked at ways in which the water could be drained more quickly and came up with the Khlong Lat Pho Floodgate Project, which can shorten the water drainage in Chao Phraya River from five hours to only 10 minutes, and thus significantly relieve flood problems,” Chalit explains. 
The Khlong Lat Pho Floodgate Project was in effect a canal reconstruction project. It shortened the river bend at Bang Krachao from 18 kilometres to only 600 metres, thus lowering the water level as much as six centimetres and shortening the duration of high-water levels by two days.
Sucharit Koontanakulvong of Chulalongkorn University’s Department of Water Resource Engineering is full of praise for the royal flood prevention projects. He points to their efficiency in draining the water even during the major flood of 2011, which was considerably more severe than the inundations of 1983 or 1995.
“The King’s projects used a combination of flood prevention methods and applied the strength of each to maximise the overall efficiency of the projects. This is because he had an excellent knowledge of irrigation work, kept himself updated on the current situation and understood both the area and the environment well,” Sucharit says.
Chalit also praises HM the King’s work on flood prevention, pointing that that the Monarch did not only address the problem locally but looked at the whole picture and tackled the problem at its roots.
“Bangkok was flooded because the water flowing down from the North was exacerbated by rain. He first built the Pasak Jolasid Dam in Lop Buri to control the water flow of the Pasak River, which is main tributary of Chao Phraya River and feeds very large amounts of water into Chao Phraya River Basin,” he explains.
“In 2011, we had several water management tools provided by our beloved King from headwater to delta and even though the flooding was severe, the damaging impacts on our country and economy were successfully avoided, as we were able to protect the economic heart of Bangkok’s city centre.”
The Monarch’s concerns for his people spread much beyond the capital and the former RID director-general clearly remembers how the King solved the flood problem in Songkhla’s Hat Yai District.
“Hat Yai was flooded every rainy season. The city is criss-crossed by canals and the rapid and largely unplanned urban development had obstructed the water flow. The King set up a Royal project to dig new bypass canals to carry the water directly to the sea, so the problem was greatly reduced and the city of Hat Yai has never experienced a major flood since. 
“No one in Thailand has worked on the irrigation longer and harder than the King. We are very lucky to have lived during his reign.”
Sucharit agrees, saying “The King was very concerned about the hardships faced by his people and always worked hard to solve their problems, of which flooding was just one. 
“I am glad that we had such a dedicated King. It is our mission to continue the good work that the King begun,” he says firmly.