ONWR expects Utapao Canal’s water level to drop below banks by Thursday
ONWR expects water levels in Utapao Canal to drop below its banks by Thursday, following peak levels on Wednesday.
The Office of Natural Water Resources (ONWR) expressed confidence that the water level in the main canal running through Songkhla’s Hat Yai district will drop below its banks by Thursday.
ONWR deputy secretary Paitoon Kengkarnchang said that the ONWR has been monitoring the water level in Utapao Canal in collaboration with the Royal Irrigation Department. They found that the water level in the main canal of Songkhla had passed its peak, which occurred on Wednesday.
As of 6 am on Thursday, the water level in Klong Utapao continued to drop, Paitoon said.
The 116-kilometre-long canal is a major waterway in Songkhla, running from Sadao district through Hat Yai to Songkhla Lake. The canal has several tributaries.
Paitoon reported that upstream, at the X.173A station in Ban Muang Kong village in Sadao district, the water level was measured at 16.51 metres, a drop of 1.49 metres from the peak level, but it was still 0.38 metres higher than the banks.
At the X.44 station in Ban Hat Yai, Hat Yai district, the water level was measured at 7.59 metres, a drop of 2.38 metres from the peak, but it was still 0.19 metres higher than the bank level.
In the tributary Klong Wa, in Ban Klong Wa village, Hat Yai, the water level at the X.174 station was 9.15 metres, a fall of 2.67 metres from the peak, but it remained 0.27 metres higher than the bank level.
Paitoon stated that both the ONWR and Royal Irrigation Department expect the water levels at all stations along Klong Utapao to drop below bank levels by Thursday.
