His health may be frail, but his advice on flood management is as strong and sound as ever. And that is what many Thais have found as they are struggling with the country's worst flood crisis in recent memory.

In the past month, one of the highest viewed video clips on Youtube relating to Thailand's massive floods is His Majesty the King's advice to a group of high-ranking officials from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Irrigation Department on floodways to be implemented to mitigate future flooding. And although the meeting took place in 1995, HM the King's advice is still very much relevant 16 years later. One of the clips had 386,121 views and another some 209,169 views.

But the high popularity of these YouTube clips also reflects the public's high level of frustration with the government's flood management measures, of which many go against HM the King's recommendations.

Moreover, His Majesty stressed the importance of preserving the waterways, a network of drainage canals in the eastern part of Bangkok, which have gradually disappeared as a result of unregulated urban growth and industrial expansion.

Indeed, His Majesty the King's recommendation to build a "floodway" has become somewhat of a buzzword in many circles, including politicians, water management experts, and the general public, as the best solution to the flood problem in Bangkok and its vicinity. A number of institutes and agencies have also come up with their own version of a "floodway".

Among them is Prof Thanawat Jarupongsakul, head of Chulalongkorn University's Unit for Disaster and Land Information Studies, who suggested a "super-express floodway", a 200km stretch of canal road running from Chai Nat, in the central plain of Thailand, to Samut Prakan province. Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, a seasoned politician of the Pheu Thai Party, also floated her own floodway plan.

But what exactly is the "floodway" proposed by His Majesty the King?

"Basically, HM the King suggested using the eastern parts of Bangkok as a channel to drain floodwater into the Gulf of Thailand. He simply pointed out that the eastern part of Bangkok provided natural waterways that have existed since ancient times," said Pramote Maiklad, a water management expert and former director-general of the Irrigation Department.

According to Pramote, His Majesty has repeatedly urged concerned officials to preserve the waterways, after severe flooding in 1980 and 1983 in the capital.

During his address, His Majesty also mentioned that King Rama V and King Rama VI had in fact allocated the area, around 50,000 rai (8,000 hectares) of low-lying land in the eastern parts of Bangkok, as floodway zone to drain run-off from the North into the Gulf of Thailand.

King Rama V established the "Krom Khlong", or the Department of Canals, and granted concession to Kud Khlong Lae Koona Siam Co to dig up Khlong Rangsit (or Rangsit Canal) for irrigation water for rice plantation for exportation, which was the first time Siam exported its staple food.

Khlong Rangsit and a network of canals were created to supply water to farmland, as well as to drain run-off out to sea.

King Rama VI continued his father's initiative, and built canals, as well as floodgates in low-lying areas, such as Khlong Bang Hia, which is today known as Khlong Dan Floodgate, in Samut Prakan province. The Khlong Dan Floodgate is also the largest pumping station that drains water into the Gulf of Thailand.

Assoc Prof Srisakara Vallibhodhama, a renowned historian and former lecturer on Thai history at Silpakorn University, said the history of the floodway zone can be traced back to the Ayutthaya period over 400 years ago. Each year, run-off from the North would devour the whole low-lying delta along the Chao Phraya River. However, the floods offered some benefit to Ayutthaya. Apart from making the city a major hub for water transportation, the seasonal flooding enabled Ayutthaya to resist invading Burmese armies, which normally withdrew from the area when the floods came.

Unfortunately, the natural floodway zone has been altered. From rice paddies, the land was turned into an industrial zone about 40 years after then prime minister Field Marshal Sarit Thanarath introduced the first National Economic and Social Development Plan.

Natural flood plains and waterways were dotted with industrial estates. For instance, Thung Phra Uthai Plain _ presumably the birthplace of King Borom Trai Lokanath of Ayutthaya _ was converted into the Rojana Industrial Park, Assoc Prof Srisakara said.

It is unfortunate that most government agencies, except the BMA, failed to carry out clean-up and maintenance work to preserve our natural floodways, as wished by His Majesty the King.

In 1992, the BMA's Town Planning Department issued a code that regulates the natural floodway areas in the eastern parts of Bangkok, including Min Buri, Nong Chok and Lat Krabang districts. The floodway areas were marked with a green-and-white colour code to outline the permitted development limits, such as for housing and landfills. Regrettably, this code was ignored.

Local developers constantly pressured the BMA to change the code to accommodate other development projects. While land owners repeatedly tried to abolish the code through public hearings, although unsuccessfully. However, Min Buri councillor Vicharn Meenchainant, an MP of the Pheu Thai Party, found some success in changing some of the guidelines _ among them was the provision that allows property development along the road. Even though the floodway code has been in effect since 1992, the area has been developed, with new roads and construction projects, which invade the floodway areas.

According to Sutat Weesakul, a lecturer on hydraulic engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), there are now 28,345 houses and one industrial estate (Lat Krabang Industrial Estate) built in the green-and-white colour zone.

"Settlement has greatly compromised the flood drainage capacity of the area," said Sutat.

Another mega construction in a floodway area is Suvarnabhumi Airport, which basically blocks the natural path of all the run-off from Ayutthaya province. In the legal sense, the construction of Suvarnabhumi Airport was "lawful" as Samut Prakan does not have a floodway land-use code, despite the fact that the province is the last area for run-off from the North to pass through and exit into the Gulf of Thailand.

Assoc Prof Ariya Aruninta, a lecturer on landscape at the Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, viewed that the BMA's town planning code is still good in its fundamental concept _ but it's the implementation and enforcement of the code that is the big problem.

Land developers breached the law by requesting permission to build single detached houses case by case and not as a whole project. This resulted in the floodway zone becoming a hot property zone for pricey residential projects. And where there's a boom in property development, you can be sure that there will be more roads constructed, blocking the natural floodways further.

But this problem is not only faced by the BMA, according to Assoc Prof Ariya.

"The BMA still maintains its floodway code. But other provinces with natural floodways do not have this law, so we have witnessed the conversion of natural floodways in Samut Prakan into Suvarnabhumi Airport, for example. The construction of the airport has in turn led to other commercial development and new roads," explained Assoc Prof Ariya, who is also a member of a subcommittee that studies town planning codes and recently appointed by the government.

She also pointed out that the airport obstructs the flow of floodwater. And in order to replace the natural floodway, two major canals about 30m wide were dug out. "What will happen if a massive volume of water is channelled into two small 30m-wide canals? Both canals would not be able to cope."

Despite its location in a low-lying area, the Suvarnabhumi Airport remains dry, as the government has directed run-off elsewhere to save the airport, according to Assoc Prof Ariya. Canals in Samut Prakan province remain dry. Khlong Dan Floodgate, too, remains under use, she added.

Sadly, much of the natural floodway areas His Majesty the King urged officials to protect has been marred by irresponsible development.

"When we want to develop projects or industrial estates, we only look at the economic aspect of it ... as moneymaking. We don't look at other crucial aspects, such as topography of the land and geography. We build factories on mangrove forests and waterways in the name of economic prosperity."

The problem with housing and commercial development in floodway areas is similar to the development and encroachment of resorts in Wang Nam Keow Forest.

"Developers rush in and build all these projects to a point where Mother Nature can no longer protect us from the devastation caused by natural disasters. But as long as there is a chance for prosperity and making money there, more people will continue to ask for the law to be revised," said Assoc Prof Ariya.

It seems the only thing that we can't revise _ and exempt _ is the next cataclysmic flood caused by our own making.