Phanuwat Pinthong, head of
the Center for Water Engineering and Infrastructure Research at King
Mongkut’s University of Technology in Bangkok, has been hired to study
the cause and possible solutions to Pattaya’s chronic flooding.
Phasakorn Channgam
Deluged by chronic flooding and the public complaints that stem from it,
Pattaya officials have begun drafting a master plan to deal with
water-drainage and flood-prevention issues.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome presided over the first of several planned
public hearings into the plan Sept. 12 with Phanuwat Pinthong, head of
the Center for Water Engineering and Infrastructure Research at King
Mongkut’s University of Technology in Bangkok, which has been hired to
study the cause and possible solutions.
“With the difficulties faced by citizens in Pattaya, city hall is not
sitting idle,” Itthiphol assured representatives from the city’s 41
neighborhoods who attended the city hall hearing. “We are working hard
to solve the issues in various areas so these chronic issues do not
recur.”
Phanuwat said three main factors contribute to
Pattaya’s chronic flooding: an inadequate drainage system, geography and
climate change.
Firstly, he said, many areas of the city are plagued by drainage pipes
that are too small while other areas have no drainage systems at all. In
other areas, natural canals designed to capture storm runoff have been
polluted or blocked by private-property owners.
While area politicians can follow through on clearing blocked canals and
laying wider pipelines, there’s not much that can be done about
geography, Phanuwat said. Pattaya sits at a lower elevation than
Nongprue, Huay Yai and Nong Plalai. Water naturally drains downhill and
Pattaya is always going to be a flood plain for those communities.
Then there is the issue of climate change, which had led to higher tides
in Pattaya Bay. This has most affected Naklua’s Yao Bridge, a natural
conduit to the sea that once captured and removed storm runoff. But
higher water levels have made the bridge area much less efficient,
Phanuwat said.
Over coming months, Phanuwat’s group will be tasked with inspecting,
designing, evaluating and planning a water-drainage system to prevent
and solve flooding. The center will study appropriate measures to solve
the issue, keeping in mind budgetary, environmental and public
constraints, Itthiphol said.