According to His Majesty, there are plenty of natural waterways and low-lying areas in Bangkok for storing and releasing floodwater, but the number has been much reduced because of relentless construction of new buildings, which block the flow of rainwater. Therefore, there is an urgent need to build “kaem ling” in order to store floodwater and ease the flooding of residential and commercial areas. Once the floods recede, the water stored would be released. In some cases, the storage areas could also be used for waste water treatment and the treated water would then be generated for public use.
There are three sizes of reservoirs in the Kaem Ling Project – large, medium, and small — with a capacity of 10,000 up to 6,000,000 cubic meters. Across Bangkok, at present, there are 21 flood storage swamps working as monkey cheek pouches, some under the supervision of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the others under other government units or private organizations. In the provinces, there are also flood storage projects operated in accordance with His Majesty’s idea, such as those in Chumpon and Songkhla provinces.