The Deputy Commanding General of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of Royal Thai Taskforce, Colonel Songyos Thongkon, presided over the opening of the Royal dam, which was constructed in honor of the King's 87th Birthday Anniversary celebrations on the 5th December 2014 for the Royal forest restoration project at Bu Saw Village, Mae Fah Luang District, Chiang Rai located at the Thai-Myanmar border area. This Royal dam is used here to block the Creek flow area to reduce the chance of floods, which will prevent future flash floods and create a water source for the community.
Furthermore, a project has started to check the Royal dams, of which the first check was completed on the 25 Nov 2014 and which with a push should be completed by the middle of next year . This project has been driven by the commanding general of the 3rd Royal Thai Cavalry Regiment Taskforce Yongyuth Lhaoketgarn before the 2nd Cavalry Regiment of Royal Thai Taskforce will take this responsibility over.
The Commanding General of the 2nd Royal Thai Cavalry Regiment Taskforce said, the benefits of checking the dams are to reduce leaching and soil erosion, although it first needs to reduce the severity of the creek flows. It then adds moisture and expands to a wider area either side of the creek. As a result sediment retention will make the lower river shallower and slow it down in turn creating more biodiversity. In addition it will become a source of raw materials and public water supply to the wildlife in the area. Another important effect is that it reduces the severity of forest fires in the dry season.
The dam has been constructed with a combination of concrete objects and natural materials such as bamboo, stone,. The area was sanded by the military and agencies in the area have joined the people working in the construction of the dam, as it creates capital. The parties will have enormous benefits, which will be durable and the costs won’t be high.
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By Kittima Chanwattanasil