SEPTEMBER 2012 

September is the traditional month of flooding, but the Lopburi River in our area kept quiet. A year later, we still do not know what exactly the causes were for the flooding last year. Blaming the weather conditions would be a bit too easy as we understand today that last year far too much water was kept at the Bhumipol and Sirikit Dams. The release of water from the reservoirs was reduced between March and June last year and there was much less release than the average of previous years. But there is more. Huge islets of silt are visible since many years in the Chao Phraya River. Nothing much has been done to halt the silting process of the crippled river, most probably since the construction of the Chao Phraya Dam at Chai Nat in the fifties. A river unable to run deep must run wide. 

Today there is a bit of an awakening. The dams are correctly managed this year and in many places cranes, bulldozers and trucks work in the Chao Phraya River bed to take the meters deep silt out – of course a work of years. Hopefully the Thai government will not soon forget 2011 as they did with 1995 and continue the flood prevention measures on yearly bases.

As usual, we used the first days of the month to do the shopping and making the packages. 38 packages were readied and distributed on 12 and 13 September.

The balance for this month you find here under.

Supplies bought 

Administrative & logistic costs 

Total for the activities this month: 22,104 Baht