Bangkok receives water from three primary sources: rain, north water, and backwater
from the south due to the sea level. These sources contribute to the flooding problem in the city
every year. After a couple hours of heavy rain, several roads look pretty much like canals packed
with paralyzed cars. In many houses, beside cars, small boats are prepared in their garages as
optional vehicles even though these houses are located far away from the water. Land
subsidence has exacerbated the problem, rendering portions of the city lower than the river itself.
At present, the city is partially protected by embankments raised by the Bangkok Metropolitan
Administration (BMA) on riverside streets. Water which overflows these barriers is removed by
large mechanical pumps and returned to the main river. Recent proposals have ranged from
construction of gigantic polders akin to those in Netherlands, to a system of dikes and pumps, to
large suburban reservoirs to store flood water for use during the dry season. Many streets were
to be raised to keep water out of one side, which would fire up a dispute between people who live
within and who live outside the flood protection area because the difference between being
flooded and no flooded is just a distance across a street. Each scheme requires a substantial investment and the creation of a comprehensive water management master plan.2