BMA told to remove sandbags

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Published: 9 Oct 2012 at 11.56
Online news: Politics

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is being told to remove all the sandbags stuffed in the city's drains, or the Water and Flood Management Commission will send its own work crews to do it, Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi said on Tuesday.

Mr Plodprasop said he had ordered the secretary of the WFMC to send an official letter to the BMA asking where else it had blocked drains with sandbags other than along Srinakarin Road and instructing city officials to remove them all within 15 days.

If the BMA failed to comply, the WFMC would send its own men to remove them, he said.

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bula
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Discussion 23 : 10 Oct 2012 at 14.0823
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The issue here is not whether the use of sandbags under the circumstance is a right method or not. Explanations were after BKK was flooded conspicuously about two weeks ago, and sandbags were found in the drainage system. The issue is BMA disobeyed the order of a national agency - WFMC, and the used of threat involving court action. The BMA has been behaving like a separate country with its own rules and laws.
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bangmodken
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Discussion 22 : 10 Oct 2012 at 13.4422
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D7 : I agree that BMA should have to answer if indeed they are sabotaging the drain system for political gain. But so should the WFMC.
Thumbs up if you accountability. Thumbs down if you want a whitewash of WFMC.
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banmebkk
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Discussion 21 : 10 Oct 2012 at 11.1921
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A lot of red cheerleaders here must not be here during the flood where even the PTP government used sand bags to block drainage pipes in their own government house. Practice what you preach mr. plodprasop minister.

The question is whether BMA put the bags there too early and hinder the movement of water following out of the city during heavy rain. If not what they are doing is a valid solution. Yes we all know how bad the city planning is and that flood gates should have been built, etc.
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schuimpje
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Discussion 20 : 10 Oct 2012 at 07.4220
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D19, the problems I have with your reasoning.
While overall you are correct, you forget the fact that:
A: bad planning? Maybe not. It might have been a case of changing situation from the point of installing those drains. Maybe other canals from the past got filled in and this canal receiving that extra water without much modification.
B: as a result of A, indeed a check valve or watergate should be installed, but you forget that this system in all of Bangkok is hopelessly under capacity. Same goes for money available. Prioritizing leads to stopgap measures in some areas until it can be permanently fixed.

As a temporary fix, which this clearly is until a permanent solution can be installed, this is an acceptable solution, even if it takes years to come to fix it.
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ricefield
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Discussion 19 : 10 Oct 2012 at 05.4519
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Disc 14 - Sorry, but I don't agree with you. Sandbags are never used in a drainage system as a technique for anything but emergency use. BTW you would have to sandbag the Canal side not the road side for it to be effective. Otherwise you will not allow drainage out of the road areas in this case.

If you put sandbags into a drainage pipe that pipe, in effect, becomes useless as a transfer medium to fluids in any direction. The only acceptable way to stop the water flow from a higher pressure to a lower pressure area is to install a check valve or similar device. The drainage design should have accounted for this and had appropriate valving installed when the system was built. This will allow the stoppage of water from the canal (high pressure area) to Srinakarin Rd (Low pressure area) but would also automatically allow the free flow of water from the roadway once the level in the canal lowered, and that's coming to you from someone with a Masters in Hydraulic Engineering.
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MikeOboe57
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Discussion 18 : 09 Oct 2012 at 22.5718
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Don't follow orders from a man who believes in "water-pushing machines". It is a recipe for disaster.
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bern1005
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Discussion 17 : 09 Oct 2012 at 18.4917
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The idea of drains that "need to be blocked" by sandbags sounds like very very bad planning. Perhaps they should have floodgates (like many canals have) or they should not exist at all?
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attapon
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Discussion 16 : 09 Oct 2012 at 18.4216
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Khun abbub, disc. 12,
It looks like you have been traumatized by the last coup!
As if you had been arbitrary arrested by the military, put in jail, and tortured?
But for many other people, the coup was only a tool to remove a civil dictator who siphoned off huge state assets.
But today we understand that the coup has been too soft eliminating the menace!
With his looting, this delinquent is able to continue controlling this government by “Skipe”!
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naibandan

Discussion 15 : 09 Oct 2012 at 18.2815
Last year my village did exactly the same. We put sandbag inside the drainage pipe to block the water flow from outside. And use the water pump instead.
What we have to do is to prove if the drainage was lower than the cannel.
However, i think the Minister has more job to do. To prevent flooding shall not for north and central area only. Please take care the rest.
from iPhone application.
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khunpaul
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Discussion 14 : 09 Oct 2012 at 17.2614
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The sandbags were employed as a technique to prevent water from Hua Mark canal from flowing into the sewers, which could flood Srinakarin Road. The sandbags stuffed in the drains on Srinakarin Road did not affect the drainage capacity in that area. Maybe Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi should stick to his expertise fisheries management which he has a master's degree in. And leave water management to those with a Hydrology Degree.
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BMA told to remove sandbags | Bangkok Post: news