Water bill

Government agencies will ask the PM this weekend for a huge amount of money to fight flooding.

Thewaprasat temple in Phichit’s Taphan Hin district is surrounded by floodwater yesterday. THITI WANNAMONTH

Click button to listen to Flood prevention and rightclick to download

Govt presented with hefty bill for tackling flood threat

POST REPORTERS

The government faces a hefty price tag as it grapples with ways to solve the nation's flooding.

As it gears up for a meeting this weekend with state agencies to tackle the problem, the Water Resources Department has presented it with a 1 trillion baht strategic plan to solve flooding and drought problems in 25 river basins.

The meeting on Saturday, to review water management plans and come up with new ones, will be chaired by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Niwatchai Khampee, deputy director-general of the Water Resources Department, who will attend the meeting, said he would ask the government to approve the strategic plan.

The plan proposes the state build eight dams including the controversial Kaeng Sua Ten in Phrae province, to tackle flooding in the North.

He said the plan was not only designed to help solve drought and flood problems over the long run but also to help improve the livelihoods of the people living in the 25 river basins.

The plan will cover 60 million rai of agricultural zones to reserve 86 billion cubic metres of water, up from 40 billion cubic metres now.

Royol Chitradon, director of the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute, said the country must decide how to manage water during the flood season.

''Water needs a space to stay. If we don't provide it with a way to flow, it will cause flooding. We need to find a place to keep water for a while,'' said Mr Royol.

The Water Resources Department and Royal Irrigation Department yesterday met governors and officials of eight northern provinces to discuss ways to solve repeated floods in the Yom and Nan River basins.

Among the measures proposed is a 2.1 billion baht flood prevention plan for the river basins, with a focus on restoring watershed areas, said Royal Irrigation Department chief Chalit Damrongsak.

hefty – large; expensive หนัก,ใหญ่, แพง
tackle – to make an organised and determine attempt to deal with a problem จัดการ
threat – a danger อันตราย
price tag – price; cost (usually indicated by the small piece of paper attached to a product)  ราคา, ค่าใช้จ่าย, จำนวนเงินที่ต้องใช้
grapple – to try hard to find a solution to a problem ต่อสู้ดิ้นรนกับ
gear up – to prepare yourself, or to prepare something for an activity or event  เตรียมให้พร้อมสำหรับ
state – government รัฐบาล
trillion – the number 1,000,000,000,000 แสนล้าน
strategic – carefully planned in order to achieve a particular goal, especially in war, business, or politics ทางยุทธศาสตร์
drought – a long period of time when there is little or no water or rain ความแห้งแล้ง
basin – a large area of land whose surface water all flows into a particular river or lake ลุ่มน้ำ
chair – to be the person in charge of a meeting, committee, or company ดำรงตำแหน่งประธาน, ทำหน้าที่ในฐานะประธาน
deputy – a person whose rank is immediately below that of the leader of an organisation รอง
approve – to give official permission อนุมัต
propose – to suggest an idea for a group to consider เสนอ
controversial – causing disagreement ซึ่งก่อให้เกิดการโต้แย้ง
long run – over a long period or time, rather than a short period
improve – to make better  ทำให้ดีขึ้น
livelihood – (the way someone earns) the money people need to pay for food, a place to live, clothing, etc การดำรงชีวิต, การครองชีพ
zone – an area that has an important or typical feature; an area where a particular activity is allowed or not allowed พื้นที่, บริเวณ, เขต
reserve – to keep for future use ที่จัดสรรไว้ สำรอง
hydro –a prefix referring to water (or other fluids), e.g., hydropower น้ำ
agro  a prefix referring to agriculture เกี่ยกวับเกษตรกรรม
informatics – information science สนเทศศาสตร์
provide – to give someone something that they want or need จัดหาให้,  จัดเตรียมไว้ให้
flow – (of a liquid) to move continuously in one direction ไหล
irrigation – the process of bringing water to land through a system of pipes, ditches, etc. in order to make crops grow ระบบชลประทาน
measure – an action taken to solve a problem or stop an a dangerous unpleasant situation มาตราการ
prevention – preventing something bad from happening การป้องกันภ้ย
focus – the thing or person that people are most interested in  จุดสนใจ, จุดสำคัญ, จุดหลัก
restore – to cause a particular situation to exist again, especially a good one ฟื้นฟูสภาพ
watershed – a line of high land where streams on one side flow into one river, and streams on the other side flow into a different river บริเวณลุ่มน้ำ