08-07-2006, 12:42 PM
Don’t blame the river
By Kritsada Subpawanthanakun
07 August 2006
Chiang Mai residents are upset about a plan to build a concrete embankment along the Ping River to prevent floods. The conflict represents a clash between old Chiang Mai and new.
![[Image: 549000011716801.JPEG]](http://pics.manager.co.th/Images/549000011716801.JPEG)
In the old days, the water in Chiang Mai’s Ping River was clear. Today it is full of garbage and there are no laws to prevent people from building on the riverside, which exacerbates flooding.
![[Image: 549000011716802.JPEG]](http://pics.manager.co.th/Images/549000011716802.JPEG)
Chiang Mai native Wornwimon Chairat points to an area on a diagram where land encroachment has caused increased flooding.
Floods are nothing new for Chiang Mai residents. They’ve been living with them for centuries. But what has changed is the nature and frequency of the floods as well as the city itself. Thus flooding in Chiang Mai has put renewed focus on how an ancient city that once coexisted with nature has found itself in conflict over the very river it loves.
At the heart of the dispute is a plan put in motion by city officials to build a concrete embankment along the Ping River to prevent future floods. Many residents and scientists, however, think it will just be another misplaced man-made mistake.
While last week’s flood was the second major one in two years in Chiang Mai, locals say the 700-year-old Lanna civilization, due to its location, has regularly been flooded throughout its history. In the past, locals coped with floods by building houses on stilts in the traditional style. They also built many small canals and waterways that were spread throughout the city and helped drain floodwaters back into the Ping River. Moreover, there was a huge swamp in the north and a large basin in the south of the city to hold excess water. As a result, the ancient folks of Lanna didn’t fear floods, they lived with them. In fact, even today, you can find nostalgia for floods.
“You know, floods in the past were so different from the ones these days,” says Wornwimon Chairat, 52, a Chiang Mai native. “Back then, the water was so clear and the flood was more like a fun thing. We were excited to play in the water and travel by boat. But now, the water is very dirty. It is full of garbage and becomes trapped for a long time as roads block it from draining. There is also no warning for floods and the modern houses no longer have high under-space.”
Wornwimon is right. Today, Chiang Mai is full of new construction. Houses no longer have high under-space. The small canals have been filled and replaced with roads and modern developments. The huge swamp and large basin have become crowded communities and agricultural areas. And there is no longer a social mechanism to prevent people from building on the riverside, which exacerbates flooding.
That’s why a recent government proposal to build a two-meter-high concrete embankment wall stretching two kilometers along both sides of the Ping River has sparked such outrage. Many locals insist the concrete embankment won’t solve the flooding problem. They don’t blame the river. They say the worsening floods are a result of the rapid expansion of a city that lacks effective planning and regulations.
Residents also fear the Rose of the North is following in the footsteps of Bangkok, becoming an ugly city, with unsightly development projects, traffic jams, pollution and slums. A hundred years ago, Bangkok itself was said to be “the Venice of East” with clean rivers and canals zig-zagging throughout the city that blended harmoniously with the residences.
And although authorities have suggested a compromise – building an earthen dyke and park along the embankment – locals are sentimental about the Ping River and would prefer not having any construction separating them from the river.
For Douangchan Arpavatcharut Chareanmuang, an urban planning expert at the Social Research Institute of Chiang Mai University, what the embankment looks like is beside the point.
“The point is not whether the embankment will be ugly. But it’s whether the embankment can really solve the flood problem,” she says. “The real problem that immediately needs to be solved is the land encroachment around the Ping River.”
Douangchan says the government does not appreciate the ecology of the river. River banks, she says, always form slopes. “Over time, the 90-degree concrete wall will deteriorate as it becomes covered in mud, leading it to crack.”
In any case, she says, the overflow of water is largely caused by the river’s bottleneck shape, which was caused by the encroachment along the river banks, not natural causes. In addition, floods are the consequence of a dam that disturbs the natural flow of the water.
Douangchan says that floods will still occur even if there is an embankment because even though the water level may still be below the embankment, if it is above ground level, it will leak through drains throughout the city that are connected with the Ping River. Other provinces have experienced this problem already, she says.
Assistant professor Yongyuth Sukvanachaikul, a lecturer at the faculty of engineering in Chiang Mai University, concurs. He says there is no way to eliminate floods completely and each method has its pros and cons. Building a detention pond or monkey cheek (small retention basin) at the water source to temporarily detain the water is the easiest way to reduce the water runoff along the waterways and thus prevent downstream flooding, he says.
In addition, the embankment will just force the flow downstream and may end up as downstream flooding in the nearby provinces. “Have we asked people living downstream [what they think] as an embankment won’t stop the flow? It will keep flowing and might cause flooding in Sarapee district or in Lampoon province. Is it fair to them?”
“The government does not talk about the negative impact of the embankment,” says Douangchan. “They only tell local residents that it will prevent floods. But will it really do so if other problems are not solved? The crisis spot is the bottleneck. Why don’t they get rid of construction that has encroached on the river. If they can do that, then things will improve.”
These criticisms were recently voiced by provincial authorities at a meeting among the government agencies involved and the business operators who have encroached on the Ping River banks.
Besides encroachment, the lack of direction in urban planning that resulted in rapid construction during the past five years has also played an important role in contributing to floods. Some studies have found that construction of many new roads, including the short-cut Mahidol road as well as the local road along the railway connecting Chiang Mai and Lampoon provinces, has prevented water from draining.
In addition, there have been rumors that local politicians will personally benefit from the construction of the embankment.
Meanwhile, many local residents say they feel attached to the Ping River as it is now – and has been since they were young. To them, floods are like a familiar visitor who occasionally comes knocking on their door. “I want to say that I’ve been with the water for a long time. Since 1990, Chiang Mai has been having floods every year. But these days the floods occur more often and we just have to be prepared,” says Malee Torsuwan, 67.
“We oppose the embankment because I think it will take away the natural appeal of the river. Also, I don’t think it will help prevent floods. There is a saying that ‘water is sharp’ so it will always find its way to flow,” she says.
Malee agrees with the academics that the floods have worsened as a result of the rapid and unregulated expansion of Chiang Mai. “Several years ago, there were big floods like the one last year. Nong Hoi subdistrict was flooded for about a month because the superhighway had just been completed. The water was trapped and could not go anywhere. Now it could become even worse as we have outer ring roads which will hamper the water flow. These days, we don’t have any fields to act as monkey cheeks. The city has continued to expand without any studies on the negative impact,” she says.
Wornwimon says she was shocked when she heard about the embankment project. “We wondered what the embankment was for. Floods don’t only come from the Ping River but also from small canals. We feel very unhappy. There should be other solutions to prevent floods. Also, why were there no public hearings? And where will the money come from? It will be our taxes. These are the questions that remain on our minds.”
Both Wornwimon and Malee say they’d rather have floods than an unsightly embankment.
“Local residents who are facing flood problems agree that we’d rather face floods for a few days than be confined in a concrete box for decades,” Wornwimon says.
So is there a compromise, a way to help prevent floods without building the embankment? Associate professor Chuchoke Aryupong, another lecturer in the faculty of engineering at Chiang Mai University, has proposed an alternative solution. His team of researchers and engineers has created a local warning system for flash floods that predicts the water level 12 hours ahead and the length of any potential flood.
“We are cooperating with the Royal Irrigation Department and the Meteorological Department, using automatic gauge devices that would be placed in different places in the city. Once the water reaches a dangerous level, the system would SMS me. And I would analyze the situation. We will not announce a warning if we are not confident the flood will take place. But we will just tell residents to be prepared,” says Chuchoke.
His proposal may be more complicated than just building a concrete embankment, but to outsmart water, ingenuity may be the best course of action.
Thai Day
By Kritsada Subpawanthanakun
07 August 2006
Chiang Mai residents are upset about a plan to build a concrete embankment along the Ping River to prevent floods. The conflict represents a clash between old Chiang Mai and new.
In the old days, the water in Chiang Mai’s Ping River was clear. Today it is full of garbage and there are no laws to prevent people from building on the riverside, which exacerbates flooding.
Chiang Mai native Wornwimon Chairat points to an area on a diagram where land encroachment has caused increased flooding.
Floods are nothing new for Chiang Mai residents. They’ve been living with them for centuries. But what has changed is the nature and frequency of the floods as well as the city itself. Thus flooding in Chiang Mai has put renewed focus on how an ancient city that once coexisted with nature has found itself in conflict over the very river it loves.
At the heart of the dispute is a plan put in motion by city officials to build a concrete embankment along the Ping River to prevent future floods. Many residents and scientists, however, think it will just be another misplaced man-made mistake.
While last week’s flood was the second major one in two years in Chiang Mai, locals say the 700-year-old Lanna civilization, due to its location, has regularly been flooded throughout its history. In the past, locals coped with floods by building houses on stilts in the traditional style. They also built many small canals and waterways that were spread throughout the city and helped drain floodwaters back into the Ping River. Moreover, there was a huge swamp in the north and a large basin in the south of the city to hold excess water. As a result, the ancient folks of Lanna didn’t fear floods, they lived with them. In fact, even today, you can find nostalgia for floods.
“You know, floods in the past were so different from the ones these days,” says Wornwimon Chairat, 52, a Chiang Mai native. “Back then, the water was so clear and the flood was more like a fun thing. We were excited to play in the water and travel by boat. But now, the water is very dirty. It is full of garbage and becomes trapped for a long time as roads block it from draining. There is also no warning for floods and the modern houses no longer have high under-space.”
Wornwimon is right. Today, Chiang Mai is full of new construction. Houses no longer have high under-space. The small canals have been filled and replaced with roads and modern developments. The huge swamp and large basin have become crowded communities and agricultural areas. And there is no longer a social mechanism to prevent people from building on the riverside, which exacerbates flooding.
That’s why a recent government proposal to build a two-meter-high concrete embankment wall stretching two kilometers along both sides of the Ping River has sparked such outrage. Many locals insist the concrete embankment won’t solve the flooding problem. They don’t blame the river. They say the worsening floods are a result of the rapid expansion of a city that lacks effective planning and regulations.
Residents also fear the Rose of the North is following in the footsteps of Bangkok, becoming an ugly city, with unsightly development projects, traffic jams, pollution and slums. A hundred years ago, Bangkok itself was said to be “the Venice of East” with clean rivers and canals zig-zagging throughout the city that blended harmoniously with the residences.
And although authorities have suggested a compromise – building an earthen dyke and park along the embankment – locals are sentimental about the Ping River and would prefer not having any construction separating them from the river.
For Douangchan Arpavatcharut Chareanmuang, an urban planning expert at the Social Research Institute of Chiang Mai University, what the embankment looks like is beside the point.
“The point is not whether the embankment will be ugly. But it’s whether the embankment can really solve the flood problem,” she says. “The real problem that immediately needs to be solved is the land encroachment around the Ping River.”
Douangchan says the government does not appreciate the ecology of the river. River banks, she says, always form slopes. “Over time, the 90-degree concrete wall will deteriorate as it becomes covered in mud, leading it to crack.”
In any case, she says, the overflow of water is largely caused by the river’s bottleneck shape, which was caused by the encroachment along the river banks, not natural causes. In addition, floods are the consequence of a dam that disturbs the natural flow of the water.
Douangchan says that floods will still occur even if there is an embankment because even though the water level may still be below the embankment, if it is above ground level, it will leak through drains throughout the city that are connected with the Ping River. Other provinces have experienced this problem already, she says.
Assistant professor Yongyuth Sukvanachaikul, a lecturer at the faculty of engineering in Chiang Mai University, concurs. He says there is no way to eliminate floods completely and each method has its pros and cons. Building a detention pond or monkey cheek (small retention basin) at the water source to temporarily detain the water is the easiest way to reduce the water runoff along the waterways and thus prevent downstream flooding, he says.
In addition, the embankment will just force the flow downstream and may end up as downstream flooding in the nearby provinces. “Have we asked people living downstream [what they think] as an embankment won’t stop the flow? It will keep flowing and might cause flooding in Sarapee district or in Lampoon province. Is it fair to them?”
“The government does not talk about the negative impact of the embankment,” says Douangchan. “They only tell local residents that it will prevent floods. But will it really do so if other problems are not solved? The crisis spot is the bottleneck. Why don’t they get rid of construction that has encroached on the river. If they can do that, then things will improve.”
These criticisms were recently voiced by provincial authorities at a meeting among the government agencies involved and the business operators who have encroached on the Ping River banks.
Besides encroachment, the lack of direction in urban planning that resulted in rapid construction during the past five years has also played an important role in contributing to floods. Some studies have found that construction of many new roads, including the short-cut Mahidol road as well as the local road along the railway connecting Chiang Mai and Lampoon provinces, has prevented water from draining.
In addition, there have been rumors that local politicians will personally benefit from the construction of the embankment.
Meanwhile, many local residents say they feel attached to the Ping River as it is now – and has been since they were young. To them, floods are like a familiar visitor who occasionally comes knocking on their door. “I want to say that I’ve been with the water for a long time. Since 1990, Chiang Mai has been having floods every year. But these days the floods occur more often and we just have to be prepared,” says Malee Torsuwan, 67.
“We oppose the embankment because I think it will take away the natural appeal of the river. Also, I don’t think it will help prevent floods. There is a saying that ‘water is sharp’ so it will always find its way to flow,” she says.
Malee agrees with the academics that the floods have worsened as a result of the rapid and unregulated expansion of Chiang Mai. “Several years ago, there were big floods like the one last year. Nong Hoi subdistrict was flooded for about a month because the superhighway had just been completed. The water was trapped and could not go anywhere. Now it could become even worse as we have outer ring roads which will hamper the water flow. These days, we don’t have any fields to act as monkey cheeks. The city has continued to expand without any studies on the negative impact,” she says.
Wornwimon says she was shocked when she heard about the embankment project. “We wondered what the embankment was for. Floods don’t only come from the Ping River but also from small canals. We feel very unhappy. There should be other solutions to prevent floods. Also, why were there no public hearings? And where will the money come from? It will be our taxes. These are the questions that remain on our minds.”
Both Wornwimon and Malee say they’d rather have floods than an unsightly embankment.
“Local residents who are facing flood problems agree that we’d rather face floods for a few days than be confined in a concrete box for decades,” Wornwimon says.
So is there a compromise, a way to help prevent floods without building the embankment? Associate professor Chuchoke Aryupong, another lecturer in the faculty of engineering at Chiang Mai University, has proposed an alternative solution. His team of researchers and engineers has created a local warning system for flash floods that predicts the water level 12 hours ahead and the length of any potential flood.
“We are cooperating with the Royal Irrigation Department and the Meteorological Department, using automatic gauge devices that would be placed in different places in the city. Once the water reaches a dangerous level, the system would SMS me. And I would analyze the situation. We will not announce a warning if we are not confident the flood will take place. But we will just tell residents to be prepared,” says Chuchoke.
His proposal may be more complicated than just building a concrete embankment, but to outsmart water, ingenuity may be the best course of action.
Thai Day