FDMT Steering Committee Meeting
By Wasukree Sae-tia | HAII, Thailand
As a part of the 2nd FDMT Project Steering Committee Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute (HAII) organized a Technical tour on 30th March 2016 for representatives from the Volta Basin, Lake Victoria Basin, Nile Basin, UNEP, IWA and DHI to visit the Chao Phraya Barrage and the Regional Irrigation Office 12, Chainat Province.
Figure 1. Water level station mounted on the bridge at Maharach watergate
Figure 2 The meeting at RID regional office 12
At the Chao Phraya Barrage the group learned how the water is managed for the lower Chao Phraya River Basin. The Barrage is an important operational structure to regulate the discharge for the lower part of Chao Phraya River. It is used to distribute water to an area of 9,148 square kilometres (3,532 sq mi) in seventeen provinces as part of the Greater Chao Phraya Irrigation Project. It is also used for flood control in order to prevent the inundation of the low land, maintain the level for navigation and also for salinity control. This part of the visit was followed by a visit to HAII's water monitoring system. The systemconsists of telemetering stations, CCTV and an auto-gate control system at Maharach Watergate.
Figure 3. Explaining how the telemetering system works
The group then visited Samlae Pumping Station, Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA), Amphoe Muang, Pathum Thani Province. Samlae pumping station is an important intake plant for the production of potable water. The group attended a lecture on water treatment and transmission systems, and water safety planning by MWA experts.
This field trip was part of the FDMT Project Steering Committee Meeting, which took place from 31st March – 1st April 2016 at the Sukosol Hotel in Bangkok to report on the project’s progress, review, and plan for future direction. From HAII, Dr. Sutat Weesakul, as a Chao Phraya River Basin representative, Mr. Watin Thanathanporn and Dr. Piyamarn Sisomphon joined the meeting.