Villagers battle irrigation officials

Angry villagers in Wat Sing, Chai Nat destroy sandbag barriers flooding a nearby primary school and homes.

Photo above shows an earlier flooding conflict at Lat Chado sluice gate in Ayutthaya's Pak Hai district, flood-affected villagers living in the area demanded all of the three sluice gates in the area be opened while the farmers wanted to keep them closed for ten more days so they would have time to harvest rice in their fields (Photo date: 02-09-11).

Click button to listen to Villagers Storm Sluice Gates to download

Tempers flare over the release of water from sluice gates by Apinya Wipatayotin

SPECIAL REPORT: In Chai Nat officials say they fear eroding river bank, flooding rice fields.

A row over drainage and flooding problems in the Wat Sing district of this central province has raised questions about the effectiveness of the Royal Irrigation Department's water management plan and system.

The row between about 300 Wat Sing villagers and RID officials came to light early this week after the villagers took to the streets last Saturday to demand that officials open more sluice gates in the district to release floodwater from their communities into the nearby Suphan Buri River.

But the authorities initially refused to follow their demand, prompting an angry reaction from the locals, who destroyed sandbag barriers, flooding a nearby primary school and homes.

"We would not have done it if the officers had agreed to open more sluice gates," said a man who called himself Pairoj, and who had been among the protesters. "We lost our patience."

Wat Sing downtown is home to about 1,500 households. It has been inundated for more than two weeks. Most areas are under 2 metres of water.

Residents said it was the worst flooding they had seen or could have expected.

Wat Sing district is located close to the Pollathep Water Sluice Gate Project, run by the RID. It is the first sluice gate in the central province built to accommodate water run-off from the North. The sluice gate also helps control water levels in the nearby Suphan Buri River.

A protest leader who asked not to be named said he was disappointed with the RID's decision not to let floodwater into the river.

He said the department's action made it evident it first and foremost wanted to prevent southern Suphan Buri province from flooding.

"During the dry season, the department released water to serve farmers [in Suphan Buri]," he said. "And in the rainy season, they kept water to prevent it from flooding Suphan Buri. So how is this fair to those of us who live upstream."

The Saturday protest ended after the department officials agreed to open more sluice gates. But the protesters were still not satisfied, after noticing that just a small amount of water was released through the sluice gates.

An engineer on the project who asked not to be named said the sluice gates were capable of releasing 300 cubic metres of water per second, an amount that would not have much of impact on Suphan Buri province, he said. But currently only about 220 cubic metres per second is being discharged.

The acting director of the project, who also asked not to be named, said the irrigation office had no right to open the sluice gates, saying the decision rested with the department.

"The key to opening the sluice gate is in my hands," he said. "We have full authority to open it if we receive orders from the department."

He said the department was unable to discharge more as it would destroy the river's banks and flood rice fields.

"If we lose all of them, we will not have any rice to eat," he said.

He said the department used to discharge 280 cubic metres a second to Suphan Buri River, which destroyed at least three water discharge units in Sing Buri and Ayutthaya provinces.

After that, he said the department reduced the flow to 225 cubic metres per second during this year's heavy rains.

Not far from flooded Wat Sing district in Chai Nat, there were still most dry paddy fields in Hao Kao village of Suphan Buri's Doembang Nangbuat district.

Samnieng Thongkham, a 56-year-old farmer, said officials had asked farmers in Suphan Buri to harvest their rice quickly as more run off from the Pollathep Water Sluice Gate Project was expected to reach the province in the next few days.

(Source: Bangkok Post, Tempers flare over the release of water from sluice gates, SPECIAL REPORT: Officials say they fear eroding river bank, flooding rice fields, 29/09/2011, Apinya Wipatayotin, link) 

Irrigation and Flooding Vocabulary 

flare - when flames jump up and a fire gets bigger ความโกรธที่เพิ่มขึ้น
tempers flare - when people become angry suddenly 

release - 1. to allow a substance to flow out from somewhere ปล่อย ; 2. make available to the public
release of water - let water flow out from a place
release floodwater from their communities - let water flow out of the place where they live

a sluice - a passage that carries a current of water
a current of water - water moving in a certain direction
sluice gate - the barrier or door at the end of a sluice, opened and closed to control the flow of water

bank - a raised area of land along the side of a river ริมฝั่งแม่น้ำ
river bank -  the raised side of the river

erode - when the dirt (earth, land) washes off the side of a hill, mountain or other raised area
eroding river bank - when dirt washes off the side of the river (so that it falls into the river and the side of the river is destroyed)

drainage - the system of water or waste liquids flowing away from somewhere into the ground or down pipes การระบายน้ำ

row - a fight
row over X - a fight about problem X
row over drainage and flooding problems

row between X and Y - a fight between persons or groups X and Y
row between about 300 Wat Sing villagers and RID officials

came to light early this week

effectiveness - working well and producing the results intended
villagers took to the streets to demand that officials open more sluice gates

authorities - government officials; the police or people in official organisations who have the legal power to make people obey laws or rules เจ้าหน้าที่ (ตำรวจ หรือผู้มีอำนาจ)

initially - at first; in the beginning or start ในเบื้องต้น
initially refused to follow their demand - in the beginning, they did not do what they were asked to do

prompting - causing
reaction - the way you behave or respond as a result of something that happens ปฏิกิริยาตอบโต้
locals - people who live in a nearby area ชาวบ้าน
prompting an angry reaction from the locals - causing an angry reaction from the local people

barrier - object that prevents something passing from one place to another; prevents passing through a place; obstacle อุปสรรค
sandbag barriers - using bags filled with sand as a "barrier"

primary - first; most important
primary school - the first level of school that children enter (when they begin school)

officers - high ranking managers in an organisation
patience - the ability to wait for a long time without becoming angry or upset ความอดทน
lost our patience - became angry (not able to stay calm waiting for changes or work that you want)

households - families or groups of people living together (economics treats this as a unit that makes decisions)
inundated - flooded ถูกน้ำท่วม, จมลงใต้น้ำ
residents - the people who live in a place

worst - most + bad
worst flooding they had seen - during their whole life, they have never seen flooding this bad  

expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
accommodate - 1. to provide a place for someone ro something ให้ที่พักพิง; 2. do things to meet or satisfy the needs of another to prepare what is needed for something  
water run-off - water not staying in a place, but leaving that place (example: the water run-off from the mountains flooded the village in the valley) 
accommodate water run-off - provide a place for water to go
sluice gate built to accommodate water run-off from the North

protest - a strong complaint or disagreement ประท้วง
protest leader

disappointed - unhappy because someone or something was not as good as you hoped or expected, or because something did not happen ผิดหวัง

evident - easy to see and notice, clear เห็นไ้ด้ชัด

first and foremost - first and most important ที่สำคัญที่สุด

upstream - at an early stage in the process of producing a product for sale (early in the supply chain)

capable - able to do something; very good at a job มีความสามารถ
sluice gates were capable of releasing 300 cubic metres of water per second

impact - an effect or influence ผลกระทบ
would not have much of impact on Suphan Buri

irrigation - the process of supplying water to an area of land through pipes or channels so that crops will grow การชลประทาน ระบบชลประทาน (See Wikipedia)

the decision rested with the department - the department was making the decision

authority - the power to make decisions or tell people what to do อำนาจ, อำนาจในการสั่งการ
we have full authority to open it if we receive orders

discharge - to send out a substance, especially liquid or gas ปล่อยออก, ขับออก

paddy - rice after it has been harvested from the field ข้าวเปลือก
paddy fields - rice fields

harvest - gathering fully grown crops from the field เก็บเกี่ยว การเก็บเกี่ยวผลผลิต