People living in four provinces along the Chao Phraya and Pasak rivers have been advised to prepare for overflows due to rising water levels, following an increase in the rate of water being discharged through the Pasak Dam until Monday, according to the National Water Command Centre.

Only some districts of the four central provinces will be affected by the increased discharge. They are Muang, Tha Rua and Bang Sai districts in Ayutthaya, Muang and Manorom districts in Chai Nat, Muang district in Uthai Thani and Phatthana Nikhom district in Lop Buri province.

The National Water Command Centre explained that the increased discharge of water from Pasak Jolasid reservoir, by the Royal Irrigation Department, is necessary to ensure the stability of the dam, after both the Meteorological Department and the Institute of Water Resources Information Institute predicted that there will be about 400m3/sec s of water runoffs flowing into the reservoir over the next 5-6 days.

The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) will drain water from the reservoir at the rate of 800m3/sec, up from 600m3/sec, and this will raise the water level in the Pasak River, from Phatthana Nikhom district to the Rama VI Dam in Tha Rua district of Ayutthaya, by between 0.4-1 metres, with the level downstream of the Rama VI Dam expected to increase by 0.40-0.60 metres and to 0.50 metres at the confluence of the Pasak and Chao Phra rivers in Muang district of Ayutthaya province.

The flow of water through Bang Sai district, at a rate of 3,300-3,500m3/sec, will raise the level of Noi River, said the National Water Command Centre.

To ease flooding in low-lying areas below the Chao Phraya Dam, the RID must maintain the flow through the dam at between 2,700-2,800m3/sec, according to the National Water Command Centre, but this will increase water levels in Muang and Manorom districts of Chai Nat and Muang district of Uthai Thani province.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service