Flood drainage to complete in December

The Royal Irrigation Department on Wednesday projected a timetable for drainage taking 30 to 45 days to solve the flood in Bangkok and the Central Region.

"The water situation will return to normalcy by mid December," RID spokesman Boonsanong Suchartpong said on Wednesday.

The projection was based on the drainage capacity via eastern Bangkok, western Bangkok and the Chao Phraya River.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has the capacity to pump 26.18 million cubic meters of floodwater per day to drain into the sea via western Bangkok. The capacity is at 37.78 million cubic meters per day via eastern Bangkok.

The Chao Phraya River emties about 300 million cubic meters per day by pumps and natural water flow.

The combined capacity for drainage stands at 400 to 420 million cubic meters per day, outpacing incoming water flow.

Given no additional storms and no more tun-off from the North, the inundation in the Central Region would take up to 45 days to solve.