More than 220 large pumps installed to drain floodwater from Bangkok, neighbouring provinces

Chalermchai said the pumps were installed at pumping station and water gates to drain floodwater into the Chao Phraya River on the western side of Bangkok, to the Nakhon Nayok and Bang Pakong rivers on the eastern side and into the Gulf of Thailand on the south.

The minister said the pumps were draining water at 45 million cubic metres per day, or about 525 cubic metres per second.

Chalermchai added that the department has been ordered to install more large water pumps to try to minimise impact from flooding in Bangkok and suburban areas.

Counting from July 11 this year, the Royal Irrigation Department has drained about 2 billion cubic metres of water, or about two and a half times the capacity of the Pasak Dam, into the sea with the installed pumps ahead of the rainy season, Chalermchai said. The operation to speed up water flows into the sea would continue with no time frame, he added.

The Royal Irrigation Department and the Agriculture Ministry have been trying to manage water flow above and below the Chao Phraya Dam with all channels and in all directions, using both canals and water retention areas to minimise flooding, Chalermchai said. The department has also removed weeds from all waterways to speed up the water flow, the minister added.