The water Management Guidelines towards Alleviating Damage of Flood in Bangkok Metropolis

Abstract

As Bangkok Metropolis encountered the flood problem repeatedly causing a huge impact to all sectors, the government and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has been trying to solve this problem continually. The objectives of this study were to: 1) study the alleviation of flood damage in Bangkok Metropolis; 2) study the factors of policy, budget, supervision and public participation on the alleviation of flood damage in Bangkok; and 3) create the water management guidelines towards alleviating flood damage in Bangkok Metropolis. This research was a combination of quantitative research and qualitative research. For the quantitative research, the sample group consisted of census residents in 12 districts of Bangkok having the whole area flooded in 2011. The acquisition of the sample group was based on multistage sampling. According to the proportion of people with census in 12 districts of Bangkok, the sample size was 20 times of the observed variables for 360 people. The research tools were questionnaires. The data was analyzed by a structural equation model. For the qualitative research, the data were collected by in-depth interviews with 3 groups of key informants totaling 21 people and the group discussions of 12 community leaders, 3 persons per district, totaling 36 people. The research tools were structural interview forms and the questions used in group discussions. The research findings revealed that: 1) the alleviation of flood damage in Bangkok was most importantly related to quality of life, followed by environment and infrastructure; 2) policy, budget, supervision and public participation had directly influenced on the alleviation of flood damage in Bangkok, with policy as the highest influencing factor, followed by public participation; and 3) water management strategies for alleviating flood damage in Bangkok including (1) drainage enhancement, (2) the co-ordination among Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, public and private sectors, (3) development of the water reservoir and drainage systems, (4) promotion on public engagement, and (5) appropriate legislation and law enforcement. The findings of the research will be beneficial to Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the stakeholders in using the research information for planning and making decision on the water management strategies leading to the effective alleviation of flood damage in the future.