- Published: 08/09/2012 at 12:00 AM
- Writer: Post Reporters
Royol Chitradon, chairman of the subcommittee that monitors and analyses water management for the Water and Flood Management Commission (WFMC), said his committee, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation had jointly decided to cancel the drill.
Some low-lying areas of Bangkok and neighbouring provinces, such as Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani, had been hit by flash floods caused by the heavy rains, Mr Royol said.
Although the government had called off the drill, water-pushing machines were still in place to help speed up water drainage in canals.
The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) monitored the water flow for data that would help develop future flood prevention plans, he said. According to the RID, the water flowed at a speed of 17.136 cubic metres per second in Khlong Lat Phrao yesterday.
Mr Royol said water-pushing machines could speed up water drainage in the canal, where 29 machines have been installed.
"There was no flooding in Khlong Lat Phrao despite the high amount of rainfall on Thursday night. This shows that our machines were working well," he said.
The highest volume of rainfall in Bangkok on Thursday night was 145 millimetres per hour in Sapan Sung district. In Khlong Song, where the flood drill was called off yesterday, rainfall was measured at around 90 millimetres per hour, a figure higher than the WFMC had anticipated.
Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the test was cancelled due to high water levels in various canals.
MR Sukhumbhand thanked the WFMC for cancelling the test.
He said although there was heavy rain throughout the night, City Hall's drainage system was coping with the situation. The tests on water pushing operations in Khlong Lat Phrao were carried out yesterday despite the closure of the canal's sluice gate, he added.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the cancellation would ease concerns over possible flooding.
Regarding Wednesday's test on the western canals of Bangkok, Ms Yingluck said the outcome was not perfect but showed some improvement.
Torrential rain in the North triggered flooding in many provinces yesterday.
As much as 800 million cubic metres of floodwater inundated vast areas of Sukhothai, Lampang and Phrae.
Run-off from the Yom River flooded more than 2,000 rai of farmland in Phitsanulok's Phrom Phiram district.
Somkuan Rungrueng, head of Moo 10 village of Phrom Phiram's tambon Tha Chang, said the floodwater is about 50cm deep. In Phitsanulok's Muang district, a downpour flooded a 300-metre stretch of road at tambon Hua Ror's centre. The water was about 20cm deep.
Mae Sot district chief Preecha Jaipetch instructed kamnans of tambon Dan Mae La Mao and Pa Wo to help residents evacuate their belongings and animals to higher ground in response to flash flood warnings.
Floods were also reported in Tak's Umphang municipality.
Share your thoughts
- Discussion 1 : 11/09/2012 at 09:48 AM
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englishbob, it's not just PTP that's clueless about these useless 'water pushers'. The Dems, the BMA, PTP, and the Thai Navy are all working on it together. Like the EM ball scam of last year (which even most farang fell for).
- Discussion 2 : 09/09/2012 at 01:57 AM
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Khun BJ #27, a boat's propeller is designed to create thrust to propel the boat forward, however, a water pump is designed to create suction, in order to move water from one place to another, via pressure differential between its two openings. They are 2 completely different applications of hydrodynamic principle. A simple illustration is to cut a straw in half, lengthwise, then try to use it to suck up water through your mouth. You can try to suck that half-cut straw as hard as you can, but all the suction is lost through the "half-pipe," and all you get is air, not water. Hope you'll see the picture!
- Discussion 3 : 08/09/2012 at 10:42 PM
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It looks like a huge Aerator... a device for mixing air into a stable body of water. It might work, but My father would have installed high capacity pumps and pipeline to get that water out of the area.
- Discussion 4 : 08/09/2012 at 09:03 PM
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is this a joke!
if they want solve the flood problem
they have to dig 2 channels around bangkok with 2 dams to open and close
very simple every dutch kid solve this problem in 1 minute
- Discussion 5 : 08/09/2012 at 07:19 PM
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Try Googling 'Water Pushing Machines'...
They don't come up on searches - except those linked to Peua Thai's idiotic notion that a propeller in the middle of an almost stationary body of water can speed up flow.
These are as big a scam as the divining-rod bomb detectors. Someone is laughing all the way to the bank with this one. I'd be very interested to see which company supplies them and whether there are 'connections' to Peua Thai MPs. A good case for Khun Dussadee to investigate... if he hadn't been(ahem) promoted away from investigating.
- Discussion 6 : 08/09/2012 at 06:54 PM
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banphai Discussion 24: Brilliant, funniest thing I have read in ages haha.
Have you ever thought of becoming the Minister for rash statements?....Oh wait we already have lots of them running the PTP.
- Discussion 7 : 08/09/2012 at 06:13 PM
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The really scary thing about this is that some "engineer" sat down, conceived and designed these devices. A registered engineer (presumably). Scary stuff indeed.
- Discussion 8 : 08/09/2012 at 03:55 PM
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If you fix a boat with a motor driven propellor so it cannot move, induce power through the propellor then the propellor will transfer energy to the water, this is due to Newtons 3rd law which says : When two bodies interact by exerting force on each other, these forces (termed the action and the reaction) are equal in magnitude, but opposite in direction.
And since the boat with the propellor cannot move then it will help push water, so it works....however the efficiency will be less than a turbine which is around 60% and since the obstruction the boats make for the water flow is quite large then the propellors will not have any big impact at the water flow if any at all.
However RID should now be able to release data upstream and downstream of the said pump arrangements so that it once and for all can be seen whether it works or not....so BP get the data for us, thanks.
- Discussion 9 : 08/09/2012 at 03:52 PM
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Basically this "fiasco" is the result of copying others and cheating on exams when young, lack of original ideas and rote learning tops it of. Receiving diploma's fraudulently is showing up through total and embarrassing incompetence at a later age. Cheating appears genetically locked in so the future looks bleak indeed. We are ruled by Baboons at best. I can't wait for 2015, this change will hit home in a devastating way.
- Discussion 10 : 08/09/2012 at 03:36 PM
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Time to move all your stuff upstairs.
- Discussion 11 : 08/09/2012 at 02:53 PM
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Disc 21#. The hair-dryer scheme certainly has merit, but I am still awaiting a response to the proposal I made last year which involved the use of recycled car-jacks to tilt the canals and rivers more steeply towards the sea.
- Discussion 12 : 08/09/2012 at 02:19 PM
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The photo shows just how bad things have got.
I assumed the 'water pushing machine' would at least go from bank to bank. But no. With the sides open like this, no forward motion is possible.
Another fail from Peua Thai (please, Red Fanboys, tell me something fun like, 'At least they're trying.' I love seeing how desperate you have become.)
- Discussion 13 : 08/09/2012 at 02:08 PM
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A water pushing machine,A pump, works in an enclosed space,A pipe, not in an open canal. Fortunately for the Thai experts, Government, there audience,voting public,are very uneducated and so will get away with the sham. You can fool some of the people all the time but not all people.Poetic licence I know it is not absolutely correct but it fits better to this stupidity.
- Discussion 14 : 08/09/2012 at 02:07 PM
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As any layman knows a propeller is designed to propel a vessel forwards or backwards and the resultant wash from the propeller blades form a vortex which moves in a circular motion and actually slows the water flow rather than accelerate it. Also the design of the ‘pushing machines’ shows that the hull is also restricting water flow.
A few hundred girls with hair blower/driers would be a much more cost effective measure.
- Discussion 15 : 08/09/2012 at 02:01 PM
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Don't buy these Navy guys any submarine, or it is just a national tragedy waiting to happen! If they can't figure out that their supposedly "water flow-accelerating device" is a complete waste of time (and money), having them operating a submarine is lost cause!
- Discussion 16 : 08/09/2012 at 02:01 PM
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If this is the best they can come up with better start moving our furniture to the second floor next month.
- Discussion 17 : 08/09/2012 at 01:49 PM
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Khun Dao #15, that won't work neither. What we need is big pump, which is a big spinning propeller in an enclosed housing, not a bunch of boats' propellers splashing water all over the place!
- Discussion 18 : 08/09/2012 at 01:26 PM
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That "water flow accelerating devices" look really fishy to me. Stirring water in a fish farm is one thing, but to do it as a mean of increasing the flow of water is a complete insult to intelligence!
- Discussion 19 : 08/09/2012 at 12:48 PM
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If the gov't were serious about saving money and energy, they could power their water pushing machines with one of my perpetual motion machines. I also have a cold fusion version.
- Discussion 20 : 08/09/2012 at 12:19 PM
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Those water pushing machines would only work if they were installed every 50 meters .
- Discussion 21 : 08/09/2012 at 12:14 PM
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What does a "Water pushing machine" cost.
Which Companies produce "Water pushing machines"
How were they purchased.
Stinky stuff indeed.
- Discussion 22 : 08/09/2012 at 12:10 PM
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@morgo D12: " it is either incompetence or corruption."
It's both. The two go very well together.
- Discussion 23 : 08/09/2012 at 11:42 AM
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Has anyone measured the water flow upstream and downstream of these 'water pushing machines'
Water flow can be easily measured with modern and inexpensive ultrasonic flow meters. I guess this hasn't been done, as it would show up the mental inadequacies of those who approved this great waste of public money. If ever there is case of appointing an ombudsman this is one, it it either incompetence or corruption.
- Discussion 24 : 08/09/2012 at 11:32 AM
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Mr Royol: "There was no flooding in Khlong Lat Phrao despite the high amount of rainfall on Thursday night. This shows that our machines were working well."
Yes Sir the machines may have been working well...but the Klong was draining normally and not overloaded with water in the first place.
What a joke these 'water pushing' machines are. What a waste of time and money.
Even a 5 year old knows this is a useless exercise.
Tell the people a few white lies and they will believe anything!
- Discussion 25 : 08/09/2012 at 11:32 AM
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Waterpushing machines...Lord help us. We are governed by baboons...
- Discussion 26 : 08/09/2012 at 11:03 AM
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Wasn't it just the other day they declared their flood prevention a success during the trial run?
- Discussion 27 : 08/09/2012 at 10:49 AM
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There are many free formulas available to calculate water velocity and quantity in an open channel.
Open Channel Flow in a channel is dependant on its shape, width, depth, surface roughness and its gradient. No water pushing machinery was involved 100 years ago and not today.
Some freshman student in Civil Engineering can crank through the numbers in less than one minute and provide a good answer.
Some Higher Up needs to sit down with some college freshmen and be ready for a lecture.
Pushing water does not work.
- Discussion 28 : 08/09/2012 at 09:25 AM
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they were floating casinos before chalerm order them to be converted to help to save bangkok from being flooded again
- Discussion 29 : 08/09/2012 at 09:00 AM
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Water pushing machine? Professor Corruption is quite pleased.
- Discussion 30 : 08/09/2012 at 08:59 AM
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It’s time a qualified engineer explains whether there is any benefit in the “water pushing machines”. The concept is somewhat analogous to using ones hand to push bathwater towards the drain outlet which creates a wave but surely the outflow is restricted by the size of the drain and the head of water above it. The water pushers just seem to waste fuel and create more unnecessary pollution. Downstream conditions dictate how fast the water will flow.
- Discussion 31 : 08/09/2012 at 08:21 AM
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If those "water pushing machines" were for real the Dutch would have invented them a hundred years ago.
- Discussion 32 : 08/09/2012 at 07:03 AM
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Professor Calculus would be proud of the water-pushing machine.
- Discussion 33 : 08/09/2012 at 06:24 AM
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Who sold the government these "water pushers"? And was it the same chap who sold them the bomb detectors?
- Discussion 34 : 08/09/2012 at 06:08 AM
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Flood test cancelled on account of flooding.
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