Thread: BMA dredges weeds out of canals for water management

BANGKOK, 18 March 2016 (NNT) – The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has dispatched more than 500 officials to different areas across the capital city to remove water hyacinths, as part of efforts to mitigate flood and drought.

Bangkok Deputy Governor Amorn Kitchawengkul presided over the opening ceremony at Lat Krabang district. The event was attended by Director of the Department of Drainage and Sewerage Sompong Wiangkaew, relevant division heads, and BMA officials.

Mr. Amorn explained that the canal cleanup was aimed at improving the capital city’s drainage system. The BMA is to complete the task by the end of the month, as instructed by the prime minister.

The BMA has since January dredged 971 canals out of 1,682. More than 400,000 tons of water hyacinths has been removed. The Deputy Governor said the BMA had also launched other measures to seek public participation in the canal cleanup campaign.

http://thainews.prd.go.th/website_en...N5903180010007

Water hyacinth, pretty, O2 and CO2 balancing green water filters, growing at a terrific pace due to abundant nitrates from agricultural runoff.

When it gets too dense, covering much of the water surface, the water becomes starved of oxygen, and bio-diversity int that area is inhibited.

Other aquatic or semi-aquatic riverside growth is also abundant as a result of all the excess nutrients in the water.

At some point a government dept. or the water board will announce data after analysing water samples taken from the khlong proving how clean the cr*p is, and that it'll be OK to drink once its been scrubbed (floculated) at some water treatment station or other.

As usual, details of what makes up the nasty cocktail of chemicals in the water will be fuzzed and mumbled in incoherent forms to further mystify the people as the water's given the all clear.

Clearing the weeds out by hand is at least an improvement on spaying them with paraquat or other pesticides as has been done in the past.

A hundred years ago, when it was first introduced into Thailand, who'd have thought that it would take over at such a speed.