Where to put floodwater? Undergound.

Since ancient times Thailand has dreamed up new ways to manage water for farming, storing water underground is one way to get rid of too much water.

Photo above of an aquifer where flood waters can be stored using a new technology called Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) (Source: Wikipedia)

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Putting water to work

Scientists looking at 'climate-smart' agriculture for cost-effective flood prevention
7/05/2012
Piyaporn Wongruang

Following the massive flooding last year, leading scientists are taking a more serious look at how to put excessive flood water into the soil as one of the solutions to help solve future flooding in Thailand and some other Southeast Asian countries.

Pumping water back into the soil is possible and could be an alternative to large dam constructions and water retention development, according to Matthew McCartney of the Vientiane-based International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 

Scientists at the institute are now working with the Groundwater Research Center of Khon Kaen University to explore the possibility of doing field research in Thailand. They are looking at the upper reaches of the Chao Phraya River about 100 kilometres away from Bangkok for possible sites, Mr McCartney said.

"In the future, there will be more impacts from climate change, and there will be more excessive rainfall and therefore flooding, so water management will be significantly important," he said on the sidelines of Climate Smart Agriculture in Asia, a conference held recently in Bangkok.

We should also be looking at storing water in the landscape, not just in large dams but also underground.

According to Mr McCartney, dams do have a role to play in water management but they come with large negative impacts on ecosystems and communities. If people can do some other things as part of a package of solutions to flooding, those impacts can be mitigated, he said.

Water retention in farms, meanwhile, has often proved to also be controversial as it needs vast tracts of land to store excess water, and without proper compensation and therefore consent by farmers, the idea is often opposed.

Without a thorough water management strategy and related systems in place, the water stored in farms would become useless.

This is far different from the idea of putting excess water back into the soil, as scientists are proposing.

Under the concept, known as Managed Aquifer Recharge or MAR, excess water is simply diverted in a "recharge basin" and allowed to percolate into the aquifer, according to Mr McCartney.

However, other technical options are also available, noted the IWMI. For instance, water is allowed to go deep through "flooding pits" or shafts, deep boreholes, or even tube wells.

However, in order to make the most effective use of these approaches, institutional support such as compensation schemes or electricity subsidies for pumping water out needs to be in place, Mr McCartney said.

Combined with a good management programme, MAR not only offers a solution to flooding, but also to drought as farmers can pump excess water out to irrigate water-short farms, he said.

The idea of groundwater recharging is widely popular in India although it is for irrigation purposes.

Mr McCartney said the scientists believe the approach could be used in Thailand to help mitigate flooding considering the country's geography and topography. They are also looking at Laos as a possible location to explore the idea.

But before they come to a conclusion, further studies are needed, he said.

"Many things done in the past don't necessarily work for present situations. We are now thinking of a range of options and combinations for the best result," said Mr McCartney.

Jerry Lengoasa, deputy secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organisation, hailed the groundwater discharge idea as one of the tools necessary for adaptation at a time when climate change is accelerating.

As the region, like the others, is facing a changing climate and weather variability, "climate-smart"agriculture is part of the solutions.

He said water storage is in fact ancient wisdom and if people look back in civilisation, they will find water harvesting was part of daily lives. This can be seen from the Mayan civilisation to Indian civilisations.

Unfortunately, a lot of this ancient wisdom and knowledge was lost.

Mr Lengoasa said that while ground water discharge is necessary, people should not forget that it is just one of a number of tools that are needed to help people cope with water problems.

The bigger challenge, he said, is how to get people to work together when it comes to water issues, across borders when necessary, and to share information when needed.

(Source: Bangkok Post, Putting water to work, Scientists looking at 'climate-smart' agriculture for cost-effective flood prevention, 7/05/2012, Piyaporn Wongruang, link) 

Water Management Vocabulary

water management - conserving and distributing water to competing uses during times when there is little water and when there is too much water preventing  disasters like floods (See Wikipedia)
strategy - a plan to achieve a goal over a longer period of time (longer than a "tactic")
water management strategy

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) - a technology that allows "adding a water source such as recycled water to underground aquifers under controlled conditions" to store for future use (See webpage)

diverted - caused something to change direction เบนเส้นทางเดินน้ำ
basin - a large area of land that water flows through into a river or lake
recharge basin
excess water diverted in a recharge basin

percolate - when water or a liquid slowly passes through some material or substance 
aquifer - a layer or earth or rock that contains water or that water can pass through (See Wikipedia)
water percolates into the aquifer
excess water is simply diverted in a recharge basin and allowed to percolate into the aquifer

putting X to work - using X to do something 
putting water to work

prevention - stopping some bad event from happening (examples: disease prevention, flood prevention, crime prevention, etc)
flood prevention

effective - producing the result that was intended; works well, gets the job done ได้ผลดี
cost-effective - does not use too much money
cost-effective flood prevention

Scientists looking at 'climate-smart' agriculture for cost-effective flood prevention

massive - very large in size, amount or numberใหญ่โต มหาศาล
massive flooding

leading - the most important
leading scientists

take a more serious look at - carefully look at and think about something (before acting or making a decision)

excessive - too much; much greater than is usual; too much of something มากเกินปริมาณที่พอดี
excessive flood water - too much flood water

soil - dirt, earth (crops are grown in soil)

Following the massive flooding last year, leading scientists are taking a more serious look at how to put excessive flood water into the soil as one of the solutions to help solve future flooding in Thailand and some other Southeast Asian countries.

dam - a wall across a river to stop water making a lake (reservoir) (See Wikipedia)
dam constructions
alternative - another choice ตัวเลือก / ทางเลือก
alternative to large dam constructions

retention - keeping something like water in one place (not letting it flow away to another place)
water retention - keeping water in one place (example: water behind a dam)
development - the building of something (either at one place or over a period of time)
water retention development

field research - research that takes place where the thing researched happens or lives (example: field research of an animal in the jungle)

Pumping water back into the soil is possible and could be an alternative to large dam constructions and water retention development, according to Matthew McCartney of the Vientiane-based International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Scientists at the institute are now working with the Groundwater Research Center of Khon Kaen University to explore the possibility of doing field research in Thailand. They are looking at the upper reaches of the Chao Phraya River about 100 kilometres away from Bangkok for possible sites, Mr McCartney said.

climate change - changes in weather patterns (climate) over a long period of time causing things like global warming, flooding and droughts (See Wikipedia)
climate - the general weather conditions usually found in a particular place สภาพอากาศ

impacts - effects on different people and things
impacts from climate change

on the sidelines of - people meeting and talking at a large event (their meeting is informal and not an official part of the event)

significantly - in an important way อย่างสำคัญ
significantly important - very important

"In the future, there will be more impacts from climate change, and there will be more excessive rainfall and therefore flooding, so water management will be significantly important," he said on the sidelines of Climate Smart Agriculture in Asia, a conference held recently in Bangkok.

landscape - the land and the way it is formed with hills, valleys, rivers, lakes, etc
storing water in the landscape
underground - below the earth

We should also be looking at storing water in the landscape, not just in large dams but also underground.

role - function or position in a situation, organisation, society or relationship บทบาท
have a role to play

negative - bad ที่เป็นด้านลบ
negative impacts

ecosystem - all the plants and animals in an area (considered as a system, all of which depends on each other) 

package - a group or collection of things that go together
package of solutions - a group of solutions that go together

mitigate - reduce the bad or negative aspects or effects of something
mitigate impacts - reduce the negative effect of an event

According to Mr McCartney, dams do have a role to play in water management but they come with large negative impacts on ecosystems and communities. If people can do some other things as part of a package of solutions to flooding, those impacts can be mitigated, he said.

controversial - causing disagreement or disapproval;  a topic that people disagree about, fight, argue, or debate about ความขัดแย้ง ความไม่ลงรอยกัน  ซึ่งก่อให้เกิดการโต้แย้ง  ที่เป็นที่ขัดแย้ง
vast - extremely large in area, size, amount, etc. กว้างใหญ่, มหาศาล มหึมา
vast tracts of land

excess - greater than is usual; too much of something มากเกินปริมาณที่พอดี
excess water - more water than you need
store excess water

proper - the right amount
compensation - money paid to a person for damage they suffered เงินชดเชย  การจ่า่ยเงินชดเชย
proper compensation - the right amount to give to a person who has been hurt or damaged by an action

consent - agreement
consent by farmers - agreement by farmers
oppose - do not agree with something

Water retention in farms, meanwhile, has often proved to also be controversial as it needs vast tracts of land to store excess water, and without proper compensation and therefore consent by farmers, the idea is often opposed.  Without a thorough water management strategy and related systems in place, the water stored in farms would become useless. This is far different from the idea of putting excess water back into the soil, as scientists are proposing.

concept - a principle or idea ความคิด

Under the concept, known as Managed Aquifer Recharge or MAR, excess water is simply diverted in a "recharge basin" and allowed to percolate into the aquifer, according to Mr McCartney.

technical - involving materials, processes, and machines to do specialised work เฉพาะทาง  (example: computers, electronics, manufacturing)
options - choices ทางเลือก  the different things that someone can choose to do ทางเลือก
technical options
pit -  a deep hole in the ground
flooding pits
shaft - a long narrow passageway into the ground
bored - to drill into something with a drill
boreholes
well - a large hole in the ground used to get water out of the ground
tube - a long hollow cylinder made from plastic, metal, rubber or glass ท่อ, หลอด
tube wells

However, other technical options are also available, noted the IWMI. For instance, water is allowed to go deep through "flooding pits" or shafts, deep boreholes, or even tube wells.

effective - something that works and gets the job done
an effective use of - something (a tool) that when used, gets the job done
the most effective use of

approach - a particular way of dealing with something or thinking about something วิธีการทำให้ถึงจุดหมาย การจัดการกับปัญหา
make the most effective use of these approaches

support - help, by giving money, for example สนับสนุน

institution - a large organisation
institutional support - help from the government or some other large organisation

schemes - systems for achieving some goal
compensation schemes - a system for giving money who were damaged by an action your organization is taking

subsidies - when the government pays part of the cost of some activity to encourage it เงินช่วยเหลือจากรัฐ เงินสนับสนุน
electricity subsidies - when the government helps people by paying part of their electrcity bill

pumping water out - using a machine (a pump) to remove water from something or some place
in place - to be created already, to exist already

drought - a period of time when there is very little rain and water available ความแห้งแล้ง (See Wikipedia)
irrigation - the process of bringing water to land through a system of pipes, ditches, etc. in order to make crops grow ระบบชลประทาน (See Wikipedia)

mitigate - to make something less harmful or serious บรรเทา
topography - the shape of the land (hills, mountains, valleys), the ups and downs of the land (as shown on maps)

However, in order to make the most effective use of these approaches, institutional support such as compensation schemes or electricity subsidies for pumping water out needs to be in place, Mr McCartney said. Combined with a good management programme, MAR not only offers a solution to flooding, but also to drought as farmers can pump excess water out to irrigate water-short farms, he said. The idea of groundwater recharging is widely popular in India although it is for irrigation purposes. Mr McCartney said the scientists believe the approach could be used in Thailand to help mitigate flooding considering the country's geography and topography. They are also looking at Laos as a possible location to explore the idea.

conclusion - a final decision การสรุป การตกลงขั้นสุดท้าย บทสรุป something that you decide is true after consider all the evidence and thinking about it carefully   การสิ้นสุดลง การสรุป การตกลงขั้นสุดท้าย
come to  conclusion

range - a number of different things that are of the same general type ขอบข่าย, ประเภท
range of options

hailed - said publicly how good something is; praised โห่ร้องสนับสนุน ยกย่อง
hailed X as Y - say how something (X) is the same as something good (Y) 
hailed the groundwater discharge idea as one of the tools necessary for adaptation

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

adaptation - change needed for a changing situation

accelerating - happening at a faster rate เร่งให้เร็วขึ้น
accelerating climate change

But before they come to a conclusion, further studies are needed, he said. "Many things done in the past don't necessarily work for present situations. We are now thinking of a range of options and combinations for the best result," said Mr McCartney. Jerry Lengoasa, deputy secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organisation, hailed the groundwater discharge idea as one of the tools necessary for adaptation at a time when climate change is accelerating.

variability - how much something changes over time (little variability or great variability)
weather variability

storage - the putting and keeping of things in a special place for use in the future การเก็บ
water storage

ancient - very old ที่เก่าแก่ ที่โบราณ
wisdom - knowledge gained over a long period of time from experience
ancient wisdom - knowledge from the past

civilisation - a society that has developed its own culture and institutions (See Wikipedia)
Mayan civilisation - an ancient group of people lived in what is now the Yucatan area of Mexico (See Wikipedia)

harvesting - collecting a crop from the fields การเก็บเกี่ยว
water harvesting - collecting water together into one place

cope with - to deal with a problem, continue to operate and function despite problems (See glossary) รับมือกับ
help people cope with water problems

challenge - a difficult thing to do, needs a lot of skill, energy and determination to deal with or achieve สิ่งท้าทาย

issues - an important subect that people are discussing and debating about; subjects that need to be considered ประเด็น
water issues

share - to have or use something at the same time as someone else ใช้ร่วมกัน
share information when needed.

As the region, like the others, is facing a changing climate and weather variability, "climate-smart"agriculture is part of the solutions. He said water storage is in fact ancient wisdom and if people look back in civilisation, they will find water harvesting was part of daily lives. This can be seen from the Mayan civilisation to Indian civilisations. Unfortunately, a lot of this ancient wisdom and knowledge was lost.Mr Lengoasa said that while ground water discharge is necessary, people should not forget that it is just one of a number of tools that are needed to help people cope with water problems. The bigger challenge, he said, is how to get people to work together when it comes to water issues, across borders when necessary, and to share information when needed.