CHONBURI: The director of Khlong Luang Ratchalothorn Reservoir has said the dam is not releasing water that caused flooding in Phanat Nikhom and nearby districts, insisting the reservoir still has spare capacity even as days of monsoon rain have inundated large parts of Chonburi, Banglamung, and eastern Thailand.
Mr. Montri Simongkhonsakul, director of the Khlong Luang Ratchalothorn Water Delivery and Maintenance Project under the Royal Irrigation Department, spoke to The Pattaya News reporters with Mr. Somayot Phanas-anusorn, mayor of the Tha Boon Mee Subdistrict Administrative Organization; Ms. Janjira Thongthanom, kamnan of Tha Boon Mee; and village heads.
The briefing followed public alarm after several days of heavy rain flooded Phanat Nikhom town. The district sits downstream of Ko Chan, where the royal-initiated reservoir is located in Tha Boon Mee. Residents feared that water from the dam was being discharged toward them.
Mr. Montri said those fears were unfounded. He said there would be no release of water from the dam onto communities. The reservoir can store up to 125 million cubic meters and currently holds about 114 million cubic meters, he said. Officials added that it can still take in no less than 110 million cubic meters more. Even if inflows reach the brim, he said, water would only pass over the spillway in the normal way.
The reassurance comes amid one of the heaviest late-September rain spells in years. A strong low-pressure system over the South China Sea and a southwest monsoon have brought persistent downpours across Bangkok, the central plains and the east since about September 22–24th. National disaster officials have reported flooding in more than 20 provinces, hundreds of thousands of households affected nationwide, and at least eight flood-related deaths.
In Phanat Nikhom, water rose quickly on September 26–27. In the municipal area, depths of 30–60 centimeters were common, with some spots above one meter and a strong current. Homes, government offices and the district’s well-known wicker-market area were inundated, and residents said the surge came too fast to move belongings. Roads in and around industrial zones in Phanat Nikhom and Phan Thong saw 50–80 centimeters of water, stalling small cars and damaging motorcycles.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation listed eight flooded districts in Chon Buri, Mueang, Phanat Nikhom, Si Racha, Banglamung, Sattahip, Ban Bueng, Nong Yai and Ko Chan, covering 26 sub-districts and 79 villages. By September 27th it reported water levels in the province beginning to fall, with 97 households recorded as affected in official tallies that typically undercount shallow or brief inundation.
Chonburi Governor Naris Niramaiwong visited Phanat Nikhom on September 27th to hand out emergency kits, cooked rice and drinking water and to order pumps and canal-clearing work.
The same rain band hit the Pattaya–Banglamung corridor. We reported that Banglamung Canal overflowed after midnight on September 25–26th, sending water into more than 250 homes in Tha Kradan, Nong Sadao and Ban Thung Krad–Nong Manao. Residents called it the worst flooding in 30 years, with depths of about a meter on roads and up to 1.5 meters in some houses. Rescue boats from the Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Foundation evacuated elderly residents and patients.
District Chief Anusak Phiriyamorn earlier inspected flash-flood points in Khao Mai Kaew, where canals on the Chon Buri–Rayong border collected runoff, and warned that more rain was forecast through the weekend.
Banglamung municipal teams later delivered food and water to high-risk villages near Wat Tha Kradan.
Overnight storms on September 23–24 also flooded Pattaya Soi 2 and 3, Soi Buakhao, stretches of Sukhumvit Road and railway-side streets. A South Korean man who fell into Khlong Ta Yai while wading near East Pattaya was later found dead in a canal in Nong Prue.
Phanat Nikhom has flooded in previous monsoons when runoff from Ko Chan, Ban Bueng and surrounding high ground overwhelms low-lying town and market streets. Officials say this week’s inundation was driven by intense local rainfall and drainage limits, not a controlled release from Khlong Luang Ratchalothorn.
Irrigation staff said they would keep monitoring reservoir levels and rainfall and update the public. Residents in low-lying parts of Phanat Nikhom, Ko Chan and Banglamung were still being advised to watch forecasts and keep valuables off the floor until waters recede.