Flood prevention: Big money construction projects?

Large expensive construction projects the government focus, rather than using Bangkok's extensive ancient canals that already exist.

Photo above of the Klong Bang Luang community located along one of Bangkok's ancient canals that today's article suggests might be better used in flood prevention projects.

Photo below of workers dredging Bang Khen canal to prevent future floods.

Read a previous Bangkok Post article written during the floods by Sanitsuda Ekachai that suggests (like today's article) that Bangkok's ancient network of canals should be put to better use in flood disaster planning and recovery, see article here.

Click button to listen to Flood Plan Problems to download

DISASTER PLANNING

Analysts savage flood plan

27/04/2012
Nanchanok Wongsamuth

Analysts blasted the government's water management plan, saying it focuses too much on construction and not enough on area management and non-structural flood control schemes.

Thongchai Roachanakanan, an analyst at the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning, said communities, farmers and factories are reluctant to allow their areas to be used as floodways.

Floodways, he said, have been set up since 1992 but have been overlooked. Now hundreds of housing development projects are located on the floodways.

"My main job now is trying to find a secondary floodway that is smaller and shorter but can be used to link existing natural canals. So far we have found three or four secondary floodways," said Dr Thongchai at a seminar held by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) on floodways.

Dr Thongchai said he has found many areas suitable for monkey cheeks - or water retention areas - but they are owned by politicians.

"The country's policy is based primarily on politics and focuses on urgent large-scale projects," he said.

Thanawat Jarupongsakul, a lecturer at the Unit for Disaster and Land Information Studies at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Science, proposed a super-express floodway.

The proposed floodway would have a storage capacity of 2 million cubic metres and drainage capacity of 500 million cu/m per day.

He said 90% of the government's 350-billion-baht loan for water management programmes is dedicated to construction rather than to the management of flood-affected areas.

"The plan by the SCWRM [Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management] unbelievably lacks an understanding of the nature of floods. Dykes surrounding industrial estates, for instance, are like the Great Wall of China. You're stuck in a prison. The plan needs a combination of both structural and non-structural processes," he said.

Seri Suprathit, water analyst and director of the Energy for Environment Centre at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, said the government needs to forecast what will happen if floodways are built and if the water level is the same as last year.

"Don't set your hopes too high as the SCWRM has not yet done cost-benefit analyses for some projects," he said.

"The public needs to keep a close watch on the development of the plan," said Dr Seri.

(Source: Bangkok Post, DISASTER PLANNING, Analysts savage flood plan, 27/04/2012, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, link)

Flood Disaster Recovery Planning Vocabulary

canal - a man-made waterway, channel through which water flows (See Wikipedia)
ancient canals - very old canals
network of canals - many canals connected together  
Bangkok's ancient canals
Bangkok's ancient network of canals

dredge - remove dirt from the bottom of a waterway (or body of water such as a harbour) (See Wikipedia)
dredge a canal

disaster - a very bad event that happens and causes a lot of damage to buildings and kills a lot of people ความหายนะ, วิบัติ พิบัติ, ความฉิบหาย, ความล่มจม (See Wikipedia)

natural disaster - a disaster such as a flood, storm, earthquake, tsunami, that causes a lot of damage and kills many people (See Wikipedia)
flood disaster -  (See Wikipedia)

disaster planning - a government plan for what to do  if a disaster happens (See Wikipedia)
recovery - the process of returning to normal after a disaster that causes a lot of damage
disaster recovery planning - (See Wikipedia)

analyst - someone whose job is to carefully examine a situation, event, etc in detail and provide other people with information about it (See Wikipedia)

blast - criticise, find fault with, accuse of wrongdoing (in very angry manner) โดนว่า
savage - same as "blast"

Analysts savage flood plan

construction - the work of building or making something, especially buildings, bridges, etc. การก่อสร้าง
schemes - systems for achieving some goal
area management and non-structural flood control schemes

Analysts blasted the government's water management plan, saying it focuses too much on construction and not enough on area management and non-structural flood control schemes.

reluctant - not very willing to do something and therefore slow to do it ไม่เต็มใจ  ลังเลใจ
floodway - a special waterway to remove water from a flooded area

Thongchai Roachanakanan, an analyst at the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning, said communities, farmers and factories are reluctant to allow their areas to be used as floodways.

housing estates - an area with a large number of houses built together (usually with a fence around the area and security)
housing development projects - a building or construction project to build a "housing estate"
overlooked - fail to notice something or do something you need to do; ignored

Floodways, he said, have been set up since 1992 but have been overlooked. Now hundreds of housing development projects are located on the floodways.

canal - a man-made waterway, channel through which water flows (See Wikipedia)
link - to connect เชื่อม
natural - found in nature (not made in a factory by humans) ตามธรรมชาติ
natural canals - canals that have existed for a long time (sometimes for hundreds of years and have become part of the natural landscape and environment)
existing natural canals
link with existing natural canals - connections to canals that have existed for a long time

"My main job now is trying to find a secondary floodway that is smaller and shorter but can be used to link existing natural canals. So far we have found three or four secondary floodways," said Dr Thongchai at a seminar held by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) on floodways.

cheeks - the soft parts of your face below your eye and between your mouth and ear แก้ม
monkey cheeks - places for water to accumulate and prevent floods (when there is a risk of flooding)
suitable - right for a situation; - acceptable or right for someone or something เหมาะสม
areas suitable for monkey cheeks
water retention areas

Dr Thongchai said he has found many areas suitable for monkey cheeks - or water retention areas - but they are owned by politicians.

policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย  (See Wikipedia)
urgent - must be done quickly, right now ที่เร่งด่วน
scale - size (relative size)
large-scale - of very large size (compared to other things)
urgent large-scale projects

"The country's policy is based primarily on politics and focuses on urgent large-scale projects," he said.

propose - suggest (but not yet chosen or decided upon)
express - moving very fast
super-express -  moving very very fast
proposed a super-express floodway - a waterway to remove water from flooded areas quickly

Thanawat Jarupongsakul, a lecturer at the Unit for Disaster and Land Information Studies at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Science, proposed a super-express floodway.

storage - the putting and keeping of things in a special place for use in the future การเก็บ
capacity - the ability to do something,the greatest amount that can be done ความสามารถในการทำงาน
storage capacity - the total amount that can be contained and stored in a container ปริมาณสูงสุดที่จะรับได้
drainage - the system of water or waste liquids flowing away from somewhere into the ground or down pipes การระบายน้ำ
drainage capacity - the greatest amount that can be drained from an area during a time period

The proposed floodway would have a storage capacity of 2 million cubic metres and drainage capacity of 500 million cu/m per day.

loan - an amount of money that a person, business, or country borrows, especially from a bank เงินกู้
dedicated - used for only one kind of work or for one purpose
loan dedicated to construction - a loan of money to build buildings or homes

He said 90% of the government's 350-billion-baht loan for water management programmes is dedicated to construction rather than to the management of flood-affected areas.

nature - the basic quality of feature of something ลักษณะที่แท้จริงของสิ่งต่างๆ, ธรรมชาติ
the nature of floods - the basic quality of floods
lacks an understanding of the nature of floods - does not really understand floods (and how they work)
dykes - a wall to keep water out of an area
surrounding - all around a place บริเวณรอบๆ
dykes surrounding housing estates
the Great Wall of China - (See Wikipedia)
prison - a place to keep criminals for long periods of time while they serve the jail sentences for their crime (See Wikipedia)
stuck - cannot leave or get out of the place you are at
stuck in a prison
combination - the mixture you get when two or more things are combined การรวมกัน

"The plan by the SCWRM [Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management] unbelievably lacks an understanding of the nature of floods. Dykes surrounding industrial estates, for instance, are like the Great Wall of China. You're stuck in a prison. The plan needs a combination of both structural and non-structural processes," he said.

forecast - a statement about what will happen in the future based on information available now พยากรณ์
Don't set your hopes too high - probably won't happen, so don't expect it to happen
benefit - to get help or an advantage from something ผลประโยชน์
cost-benefit analysis - a formal comparison of the cost of doing something with the profit or advantages that result from it, in order to see whether it is worth doing (See Wikipedia)

Seri Suprathit, water analyst and director of the Energy for Environment Centre at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, said the government needs to forecast what will happen if floodways are built and if the water level is the same as last year. "Don't set your hopes too high as the SCWRM has not yet done cost-benefit analyses for some projects," he said. "The public needs to keep a close watch on the development of the plan," said Dr Seri.