IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE

Irrig. and Drain. 60: 526–543 (2011)

Published online 22 November 2010 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/ird.596

COMPARISON OF FLOOD MANAGEMENT OPTIONS FOR THE

YANG RIVER BASIN, THAILANDy

KITTIWET KUNTIYAWICHAI1*, BART SCHULTZ1,2, STEFAN UHLENBROOK1,3,

F. X. SURYADI1 AND A. VAN GRIENSVEN1
1
UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands
2
Centre for Public Works, Rijkswaterstaat, Utrecht, the Netherlands
3
Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands

ABSTRACT
The Yang River Basin, Thailand, has always been subjected to flooding, but due to recent developments in land use there is an
increase in the vulnerability in several parts of the river basin. To mitigate impacts of flooding, both structural and non-structural
measures can be taken. This paper discusses three scenario simulations focusing on flood retardation, retention, and damage
mitigation measures. A main tributary was simulated by a process-based hydrological model (SWAT) and coupled to the 1D/2D
SOBEK river routing model. The first scenario focused on retarding basins, the so-called natural flood storage, to reduce
downstream flood flows by storing excess floodwater in low-lying areas and releasing it after the peak has passed. The second
scenario concerned a green river (bypass channel) to provide storage and drainage through a large, shallow retardation basin,
and an outlet for water discharge from upstream. The third scenario concerned the effect of dikes to protect areas from
inundation. The results show that the green river is the most appropriate solution since it can potentially reduce a 1% to a 10%
per year flood event, with a reduction of peak discharges of 14% in comparison to 9.2% reduced by natural flood storage.
Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
key words: flood management; structural measures; natural flood storage; green river; SWAT; 1D/2D SOBEK

Received 13 January 2009; Revised 22 February 2010; Accepted 13 June 2010

RÉSUMÉ
Le bassin du fleuve Yang, la Thaı̈lande, a toujours été soumis aux inondations, mais en raison de l’évolution récente de l’utilisation
des terres il ya une augmentation de la vulnérabilité dans plusieurs parties du bassin de la rivière. Pour atténuer les impacts des
inondations, à la fois structurelles et des mesures non structurelles peuvent être prises. Ce document traite de trois simulations de
scénarios mettant l’accent sur le retard des inondations, la conservation, et des mesures d’atténuation des dommages. Un affluent
principal a été simulée par un modèle basé sur les processus hydrologiques (SWAT) et couplé à la rivière SOBEK 1D/2D routage
modèle. Le scénario s’est d’abord concentré sur les bassins de retardement, ce qu’on appelle le stockage de ces eaux naturelles, pour
réduire les flux d’inondation en aval en stockant les eaux de crue excès dans les zones basses et de la libérer après le pic est passé. Le
deuxième scénario concerne une rivière verte (canal de dérivation) d’assurer le stockage et le drainage au moyen d’un grand bassin
peu profond retard, et une sortie de rejet d’eaux d’amont. Le troisième scénario concerne l’effet des digues pour protéger les zones
de l’inondation. Les résultats montrent que la rivière verte est la solution la plus appropriée, car elle peut potentiellement réduire de
1% à 10% par année de l’événement inondation, avec une réduction des débits de pointe de 14% en comparaison à 9,2% réduit par
un stockage d’inondation naturelles. Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
mots clés: gestion des inondations; des mesures structurelles; stockage de ces eaux naturelles; Green River; SWAT; 1D/2D SOBEK

INTRODUCTION

* Correspondence to: Kittiwet Kuntiyawichai, UNESCO-IHE Institute for
Water Education, P.O. Box 3015, 2601 DA Delft, the Netherlands.
E-mail: k.kuntiyawichai@unesco-ihe.org
y
Comparaison des options de gestion des inondations du bassin Yang,
Thailand.
Floods have caused more damage than any other destructive
natural event in terms of loss of human life, damage to
property and infrastructure, and influence on social and
economic development (Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre

Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

 COMPARAISON DES OPTIONS DE GESTION DES INONDATIONS DU BASSIN YANG, THAILAND.
(ADPC, 2005); Jonkman, 2005). Amounts of losses have
risen all over the world, with enormous increases in
economic losses even in the least developed countries (e.g.
Loster, 1999). The human and economic impacts of
hydrological disasters (essentially floods) from 1988 up to
2007 show that they are highly influenced by the occurrence
of ‘‘mega-disasters’’ affecting tens of millions of people
and/or causing billions of dollars of economic damage
(Scheuren et al., 2008). The frequency and intensity of
floods are rising as a result of reducing flood storage,
increasing storm water runoff, and obstructing the move-
ment of floodwater. Furthermore, infrastructure that is not
properly built in flood-prone areas may be subjected to flood
damage and threaten the health, safety and welfare of those
who use it. Additionally, rapid population growth and rapid
urbanization have caused a large increase of people living in
floodplains which influences the use and extent of natural
floodplains. Obviously, human-induced changes in land use
are one of the significant reasons that exacerbate flood
occurrence and its severity in various river basins (Myers,
1997; Schultz, 2001, 2006).
It is important to distinguish between floods and flooding.
These terms are often used inconsistently, thus in this paper
the terms are defined as follows:

a flood is a temporary condition of surface water (e.g.
river, lake, or sea), in which the water level and/or
discharge exceed a certain value, thereby escaping from
their normal confines. However, this does not necessarily
result in flooding (Munich-Re, 1997);

flooding is defined as the overflowing or failing of the
normal confines of a river, stream, lake, canal, sea. Also,
accumulation of water as a result of heavy rainfall or other
events such as dam breaks, by a lack or an exceeding of the
discharge capacity of drains in the affected areas which are
normally not submerged (Douben and Ratnayake, 2006).
The study area, the Yang River Basin, one of the major
sub-basins of the Chi River Basin in the north-east of
Thailand, has always been subject to flooding, and it recently
became increasingly severe in the following years: 1978,
1980, 1995, 2000, and 2001 (Royal Irrigation Department
(RID, 2005)). With the river basin almost fully utilized at
present, with population and industrial growth and agricul-
tural demand, it is impossible to avoid using and developing
flood-prone areas, which causes severe conflicts between
mankind and floods. The challenge in the Yang River Basin
is to assess the magnitudes and scales of the positive and
negative effects of flooding, and flood characteristics along
the Yang River with its main tributaries, in order to provide
an opportunity to minimize loss of life and damage, while
maintaining environmental benefits. Therefore, substantial
investment in the flood management system and a new flood
management philosophy is vitally important to public safety,
Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
527
economic well-being and environmental conditions. Under
the funding constraints, the implementation of a good flood
management plan in the Yang River Basin is likely to face
many challenges in the foreseeable future, as an effective
flood management plan would have to rely on qualified
information about potential flood risks. As many regions
lack hydrologic observations and models to estimate flood
risks, the government may need to consider investments in
data collection and analysis to address data gaps and
improve understanding of potential flood risks.
Flood management has become increasingly complex in
view of possible changes in land use and climate. Therefore,
detailed insights into future needs are essential to achieve
efficient and successful flood management measures. Several
studies have stressed the need for both structural and non-
structural measures (e.g. Schultz, 2001; Mohapatra and Singh,
2003). Osti et al. (2008) stated that structural measures that are
environmentally friendly, socially acceptable and cost-
effective as well as non-structural measures need to be
promoted as part of community-based planning and imple-
mentation in accord with real needs and affordability. In
another study, Hsieh et al. (2006) assessed three structural
flood mitigation measures, including dikes, a diversion
channel, and a detention reservoir, for flood-prone lowlands
with high population density along the Keelung River in
Taiwan. The results showed that a diversion channel is
superior to the other two measures for flood mitigation in the
study area. As mentioned above, flood management issues are
becoming more complex and difficult to undertake due to
changes in land use. The study of Ott and Uhlenbrook (2004)
appears to be one that has attempted to quantify the impact of
land use change on hydrological regimes.
This study aims to predict flood behaviour within a river
basin for various probabilities of flood occurrence, and to
identify the best flood management measures to accomplish a
reduction in flood damage. Therefore, three scenarios, i.e.
natural flood storage, green river, and dike construction, have
been formulated and investigated for the Yang River Basin.
Prior to conducting hydraulic performance evaluations, a
widely used process-based hydrological model called the
‘‘Soil and Water Assessment Tool’’ (SWAT) (Di Luzio et al.,
2005; Neitsch et al., 2005a, b) that simulates the relevant
hydrological processes in a river basin, was applied. In
association with a combination of 1D modelling of rivers/
channels and 2D overland flow modelling, using the integrated
hydraulic model 1D/2D SOBEK (WLjDelft Hydraulics,
2004), it was possible to do a generalized analysis of
inundation processes in the floodplains. From model
simulations of rainfall events of different probabilities of
occurrence, the flood characteristics of flood discharge, flood
depth, and inundation extent were obtained and adopted as
criteria for evaluating the reliability and effectiveness of the
proposed flood management measures.
Irrig. and Drain. 60: 526–543 (2011)
528 K. KUNTIYAWICHAI ET AL.
PROBLEM STATEMENT AND
METHODOLOGY
The selection of the Yang River Basin as a study area for the
application of the SWAT and 1D/2D SOBEK models was
based on the experience of both flood-affected residents of the
Yang River Basin and residents living within the floodplain of
the Yang River. Moreover, the availability of input data, which
have been used to calibrate the models, was also taken into
consideration as a criterion for selecting the study area.
Floods in the Yang River Basin are normally caused by
tropical storms and depressions, rarely by typhoons. They
cause heavy rain in their passage over land. The low-lying
areas of the flat alluvial floodplain usually experience
flooding during the storm season.
In 1980, severe flooding was experienced over vast areas
of the Yang River Basin, and was regarded as one of the most
disastrous natural events ever recorded. It was apparently
caused by excessive rainfall brought by two depressions
which occurred in September 1980. The maximum 24-hour
rainfall was 147 mm in the province of Kalasin. Thousands
of urban residents were inundated. The Yang River Basin
experienced very severe floods again in 1995 caused by the
combination of a tropical storm, the south-west monsoon
and low-pressure systems. They caused major floods in 19
provinces in the north-east of Thailand.
Figure 1. The Yang River Basin, as part of the Chi River Basin, Thailand, including instrumentation network. This figure is available in colour online at
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ird
Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Besides the major cause of floods described above, the
other causes that aggravate flooding problems in the
floodplain areas include insufficient storage and discharge
capacity of rivers, poor drainage and sewerage systems in
populated areas, destruction of forest, poor management of
land, and the inadequacy of reservoirs.
Regarding the inadequacy or absence of reservoirs, it was
well recognized that a long-term solution of flood problems
can be to create appropriate flood storage in reservoirs.
However, in the Yang River Basin the provision of existing
flood storage capacity is limited as it has only a few small
reservoirs. Hence, the existing flood storage capacity
corresponding to large floods is negligible. Therefore,
construction of a large flood storage reservoir needs to be
studied in more detail before setting up a successful flood
management strategy in the Yang River Basin.
In other words, solutions to alleviate flood problems need
to be considered in a broad flood management context and
would have to be designed, where practical and feasible, to
produce effective flood mitigation measures.
Study Area
The Yang River Basin is located in the north-east of
Thailand. It encompasses an area of approximately
4145 km2 (Figure 1) and has a population of about 545
Irrig. and Drain. 60: 526–543 (2011)
 COMPARAISON DES OPTIONS DE GESTION DES INONDATIONS DU BASSIN YANG, THAILAND.
000 inhabitants. Only 4% of the area is urbanized. The
dominant land use is agriculture (mainly paddy fields) which
covers about 60% of the area. Forest covers about 33% and
water bodies about 3%. The main valley of the Yang River
Basin is a flat alluvial floodplain, which is one of the main
agricultural production areas of the Chi River Basin.
Historically this area suffers from frequent and extensive
flooding. Major flood events occurred in 1978, 1980, 1995,
2000, and 2001 which affected several parts of the Chi River
Basin (Royal Irrigation Department (RID, 2005)).
The climate is primarily influenced by the south-west
monsoon and is characterized by a rainy season from May to
October and a dry season from November to April. Average
annual rainfall is 1390 mm. The average monthly relative
humidity is 71%. After abstraction of available water for
total water requirements and allowing for evaporation from
storage and conveyance along rivers, approximately
1200  106 m3 of the natural river flow (mean annual
runoff) still remains in the river system (from 1320  106 m3
or 12% of the mean annual runoff of the Chi River Basin).
Typically, the temporal flow distribution of this remaining
water has been significantly altered as a result of upstream
regulation and use, and it no longer reflects the character-
istics of the natural streamflow. Consequently, the upstream
regulation may alter the hydraulic gradient and results in the
release of water from upstream.
The topography of the Yang River Basin is characterized by
a high plateau with an average elevation of approximately 600
m þ MSL (mean sea level). It is situated in the Khorat plateau.
A large part of this plateau is blanketed by consolidated
sediments which consist of sandstone, shale, siltstone, and
conglomerate. The slope of the river basin is steep in the
upstream mountain area and flat in the lower part. Dominant
soil textures range from coarse-loamy to fine-loamy which are
often poorly drained. The dominant soil covers approximately
65% of the Yang River Basin, which makes most of it suitable
for rice and field crop cultivation.
SWAT Model Description
SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) is a spatially
semi-distributed, widely used process-based hydrological
model (Arnold et al., 1998). The hydrological processes in
SWAT are based on the water balance equation:
X
t
 database of SWAT. Eventually, a total of 13 different land
SWt ¼ SW0 þ Pi Qsurf Ea wseep Qgw (1)
i¼1
where SWt [mm day1] is the final soil water content, SW0
[mm day1] is the initial soil water content on day i, t [d] is
the time, Pi [mm day1] is the amount of rainfall on day i,
Qsurf [mm day1] is the amount of surface runoff on day i, Ea
[mm day1] is the amount of actual evapotranspiration on
Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
529
day i, wseep [mm day1] is the amount of water entering the
vadose zone from the soil profile on day i, and Qgw [mm
day1] is the amount of groundwater flow on day i.
In principle, SWAT uses Hydrological Response Units
(HRUs) as the basis for its modelling to describe spatial
heterogeneity in land cover and soil types within a sub-basin.
The HRUs are defined as lumped land areas within the sub-
basin. The model estimates relevant hydrologic components
such as evapotranspiration, surface runoff, soil moisture, and
groundwater recharge at each of the HRUs (Kangsheng,
2005). Since the model maintains a continuous water balance,
a distributed Soil Conservation Services (SCS) curve number
is used for the computation of overland flow runoff. As a
result, excess surface runoff not lost to other functions makes
its way to the channels where it is routed downstream. The
amount of input required for SWAT simulations depends on
the purpose of the simulations. However, for basic watershed
hydrological modelling concentrating on flood prediction,
the minimal input requirements are topography, land use,
soils, and hydrometeorological data.
Digital Elevation Model
Spatial information for the model was provided by a
300  300 m2 Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The DEM was
used in determining a grid’s flow direction and makes flow
directions for grids closely follow the flow pattern suggested
by the DEM. In addition, DEM was also used to derive the
drainage networks and eventually delineates the sub-basins in
order to provide an adequate representation of the landscape
topography. Initially, the DEM was derived based on the
product of the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM;
90  90 m2) and further topographical data available from the
Royal Thai Survey Department (scale 1: 50 000).
Land Use Data
The land use patterns were derived from the Thailand
Land Development Department data sets (2001). These data
sets were received in the form of a digital map (scale 1: 50
000), with polygons representing different land use types.
Processing of the data was done by using ArcView GIS, and
categorizing known land uses into larger groups, which were
matched to the appropriate land uses included in the
uses were chosen for this study.
Soil Data
The soil data were also gathered from the Thailand Land
Development Department (2001) at the 1: 50 000 scale and
clipped to fit the domain of the Yang River Basin. The upper
Irrig. and Drain. 60: 526–543 (2011)
530 K. KUNTIYAWICHAI ET AL.
soil layer is used in SWAT for calculating infiltration,
ponding and runoff generation. The 20 different types of soil
and rock that exist in the river basin were introduced into
SWAT in the form of a digital map. A series of attributes was
assigned to each type of soil, e.g. depth, saturated hydraulic
conductivity and soil texture. The soil pattern in the river
basin is one of the vital input data sets to the model; it is
combined with the land use data to determine areas with
similar hydrological response (HRU), without reference to
its actual spatial position within each sub-basin (semi-
distributed set-up).
Hydrometeorological DATA
The meteorological data were derived from eight
meteorological stations and four additional rainfall stations
in and around the Yang River Basin (Figure 1). Daily rainfall
records were converted to obtain areal coverage by using the
Thiessen polygon method.
Three time series of streamflow data were derived from
hydrological stations. The daily streamflow data at the Ban
Kut Kwang station (E70) for the period 1 June–31 October
2001 were used for the calibration of the model. The
meteorological data used were daily temperature, average
mean monthly values of wind speed, solar radiation and
relative humidity, corresponding to the period 1980–2005.
SWAT Model Application
The SWAT model was tested for identifying and
quantifying a provision for channel routing of runoff from
tributary sub-basins. The daily SWAT simulation covered
the period 1 January 2000–31 December 2001. This period
was chosen because the availability of input data. Moreover,
the chosen simulation period was also based on the historical
data, as the floods of 2000 and 2001 are one of the most
devastating floods in the history of the Chi River Basin.
Table I. Ranking of the nine most sensitive parameters and their variation range for autocalibration (in alphabetical order)
Parameter Description
ALPHA_BF Baseflow alpha factor
CH_N Manning coefficient for channel
CN2a SCS runoff curve number for moisture condition II
ESCO Soil evaporation compensation factor
GW_DELAY Groundwater delay
GWQMN Threshold water depth in the shallow aquifer required for return flow to occur
RCHRG_DP Groundwater recharge to deep aquifer
SOL_AWCa Available water capacity of the soil layer
SURLAG Surface runoff lag coefficient
a
These distributed parameters are changed by a certain percentage, i.e. relative change ( 10% and 25%), whereby the HRUs initially having the highest
(lowest) parameter values will remain having the highest (lowest) values, in order to maintains their spatial relationship.
Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Regarding the frequency analysis of maximum discharges at
the Mahachanachai station (E20A) (the downstream part of
the Chi River Basin), the 2001 flood corresponded with a
probability of occurrence of 4% per year (Pawattana et al.,
2007), which was one of the most devastating recent flood
occurrences. Therefore, hydrological data in 2001 were used
for model calibration. Moreover, since no continuous
discharge measurements were available no formal validation
of the model could be done.
The start date for all model simulations was 1 January
2000. Model outputs were only displayed for the calibration
period 1 June–31 October 2001. A one and a half year
initialization or start-up period was used, so the impacts of
uncertain initial conditions in the model were minimized.
As no daily time series data were available at the outlet of
the Yang River Basin being modelled, calibration was
undertaken at the Ban Kut Kwang gauged site (E70) within
the river basin. Before calibration, a sensitivity analysis was
performed in order to determine the nine parameters to
which the model results are most sensitive. Consequently,
these nine parameters were then used in the calibration
process in order to obtain good discharge simulations at
station E70. Thereafter, the calibrated model parameters
were used to simulate streamflow using different rainfall
scenarios for the predictions of the tributary inflows with a
specified probability of occurrence at all the selected points
on the Yang River. A ranking of the most sensitive
parameters is given in Table I.
The SWAT model generally has a large number of
parameters to capture the various physical characteristics of
a hydrologic system. Manual calibration of such models is a
very tedious and daunting task, and its success depends on
subjective assessment with knowledge of the basic
approaches and interactions in the model. In order to
alleviate these shortcomings, an automatic calibration
procedure called PARASOL (Parameter Solutions Method)
(Van Griensven and Meixner, 2007) was applied to each
sub-basin separately. The PARASOL method operates by a
Unit Range Process
day 0–1 Groundwater
– 0.01–0.50 Channel
– 25% to 25% Runoff
– 0–1 Evaporation
day 0–50 Groundwater
mm 0–5000 Soil
– 0–1 Groundwater
mm H2O/mm soil 10% to 10% Soil
– 0–10 Runoff
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 COMPARAISON DES OPTIONS DE GESTION DES INONDATIONS DU BASSIN YANG, THAILAND.
parameter search method for model parameter optimization,
the so-called Shuffle Complex Evolution algorithm (Duan
et al., 1992). Subsequently, a statistical method was then
performed during the optimization to provide parameter
uncertainty bounds and the corresponding uncertainty
bounds on the model outputs (Van Griensven et al., 2006).
1D/2D SOBEK Model Description
Water movement in the stream channel in 1D/2D SOBEK
is described by a finite difference approximation, based upon
a staggered grid approach as shown in Figure 2(a). In the 1D/
2D SOBEK model, the interactions between the 1D and the
2D schematizations are combined in a shared continuity
equation at the grid points where water levels are defined as
illustrated in Figure 2(b) (Frank et al., 2001).
dVi;j ðzÞ h i
þ Dy ðuhÞi;j ðuhÞi1;j
dt
h i LX
ði;jÞ
þ Dx ðvhÞi;j ðvhÞi;j1 þ Qkl ¼ 0
i¼1
where V [m3] is the combined 1D2D volume, t [s] is time, u
[m s1] is the 2D layer velocity in the x direction, v [m s1] is
the 2D layer velocity in the y direction, h [m] is the total
water height above the 2D bottom, z [m] is the water level
above the plane of reference (the same for 1D and 2D), Dx
[m] is the 2D grid size in the x (or i) direction, Dy [m] is the
2D grid size in the y (or j) direction, Qkl [m3 s1] is the 1D
discharge flowing out of control volume through link kl,
L(i,j) is the number of 1D branches connected to 2D nodal
point (i, j) and i, j, k, l is the integer numbers for 2D nodal
point and 1D channel numbering.
The momentum equation is applied at grid points where
discharges (1D) or velocities (2D) have been defined. The
velocities are eliminated by substitution of the momentum
equation into the continuity equation. This results in a
Figure 2. Schematization of the hydraulic model: (a) combined 1D/2D staggered grid; (b) combined continuity equation for 1D2D computations (adapted from
Frank et al., 2001)
Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
531
system of equations at water level points, with all water
levels in each element.
1D/2D SOBEK Model Application
For the application of the 1D/2D SOBEK, the model
needs to be set up in order to identify the propagation of
floods through floodplain areas with a time step of 10 min
(rather than daily) to deal with flood simulations. The
hydraulic system of the Yang River was schematized using
the following input:
1 1DFLOW module, GIS layers were imported representing
the stream network and lateral inflow points. These layers
were derived from 1: 50 000 digitized survey maps.
2 The overland flow (2D):

the topography was defined using a 300  300 m2
Digital Elevation Model (DEM), based on detailed
topographic maps, 30  30 m2 DEM and SRTM data.
(2) It should be noted that the effects of the grid resolution
and vertical precision for the success of hydrologic and
hydraulic modelling have not been evaluated as it is not
the main purpose of this study. It seems that these are
not the real factors controlling the quality of terrain
parameters but need to be inferred from the scale of
research and quality of the given topographic data. The
DEM covered approximately 4145 km2 and served as
input to the flood simulations. The DEM used in the
hydraulic model is shown in Figure 3;

boundary conditions in the form of discharge at the
upstream and water levels on the downstream side;

tributary inflows at all the selected points on the Yang
River as a result of SWAT simulations and used as the
input (coupled) with the 1D/2D SOBEK model for flow
routing;

cross sections from the streamflow station Ban Kut
Chim Khum Mai (E57) to the confluence of the Chi
River (Figure 3);
Irrig. and Drain. 60: 526–543 (2011)
532
Figure 3. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the Yang River and its floodplain as applied in the 1D/2D SOBEK routing model. This figure is available in colour
online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ird

time series of 1980–2005 of water levels and dis-
charges at various streamflow stations;

estimation of the roughness coefficients for the main
channel was obtained by calibrating the roughness in
the river channel using 1D modelling of rivers/channels
(1D SOBEK). The characteristics of the floodplain
were derived from the available literature. Hence,
Manning’s roughness n for the entire river channel
and the floodplain was used as 0.055 s m1/3 and
0.100 s m1/3, respectively. Meanwhile, they were
assumed constant throughout the network, as detailed
spatial roughness information was not available. Of
course, these parameters influence the hydrograph
timing and peak, and are subject to calibration. In
future, more detailed spatially distributed Manning’s
roughness coefficients in the river channel and flood-
plain need to be investigated.
SWAT and 1D/2D SOBEK Coupled Simulations
The SWAT rainfall–runoff model was applied to the major
tributaries of the Yang River on a daily basis. However, due
to the weakness of the SWAT model in routing dynamic
flows through the complicated Yang River Basin system, this
may cause numerical problems and it could greatly reduce
the usefulness of the results, because it did not provide the
Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
K. KUNTIYAWICHAI ET AL.
capability to capture the flood generation processes.
Therefore, the flood propagation was computed by coupling
the SWAT model to the 1D/2D SOBEK model, thereby
tackling the numerical problems (Figure 4). The output from
the SWAT model, i.e. discharges at the outlet points, was
used in the 1D/2D SOBEK model as discharge boundary
conditions (lateral inflows) at the main river (Yang River).
By using the 1D/2D SOBEK model, the flood propagation in
the main river was simulated. The estimation of flood
propagation, on the one hand, and inundation extent, on the
other, from the 1D/2D SOBEK model based on robust
implicit numerical techniques, an improved prediction of
flood wave propagation was expected. Thereafter, the
impact of floods could be investigated with better insight
into the magnitude, shape and duration of the expected flood,
because meteorological conditions and river basin and river
processes were explicitly taken into account.
Investigated Flood Management Scenarios
Three structural measures were determined and assessed
as part of a comprehensive flood management strategy. In
Thailand, structural measures are designed to withstand the
effects of floodwaters, which are caused by an event with a
given probability of exceedance. The exceedance frequency
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 COMPARAISON DES OPTIONS DE GESTION DES INONDATIONS DU BASSIN YANG, THAILAND.
Figure 4. Relationship between hydrological and hydraulic models and physical aspects in the Yang River Basin
(safety standard) has been fixed at 1% per year incident
event (cf. 100-yr flood) at a given location where many
people might be potentially affected. However, in this study
a 10% per year target peak flow (cf. 10-yr flood) was chosen
arbitrarily due to the fact that no flood mitigation measures
can guarantee absolute safety. (Note: it should be recognized
that the severity of flood damage increases with increased
return periods, i.e. a 100-yr flood is larger than a 10-yr
flood).
Natural Flood Storage
For the Yang River, reliance on protective dikes and on
existing reservoirs can only attain a limited level of flood
control. One effective way to protect against floods is natural
flood storage. The measure allows floods greater than a
specified magnitude to spread over low-lying areas situated
behind dikes in association with the operation of gated
structures or spillway sections, then release it slowly back
into the river after the peak has passed.
The study involved a search of the upstream floodplain to
find areas that might be suitable for impounding water. As a
result, a retarding basin was supposed to be constructed to
Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
533
store floodwater from the Yang River (Figure 3). By doing
so, floodwater damage in the river basin can be eliminated or
at least substantially reduced, and a better and safer living
environment will be created.
A green River Measure
In the Yang River Basin, the floodplain is always flooded
by floods travelling down from streamflow station Ban Kut
Kwang (E70) through the confluence of the Chi River
(Figure 1). Flooding mainly takes place through overtopping
of low-lying points on the river banks of the Yang River.
To mitigate flooding problems, one of the proposed
solutions is a green river option on the left bank through the
floodplain. This green river would have to be made to
increase the discharge capacity during floods. In this way
floodwater will be diverted from the station E70 through the
green river to a point 18 km away from the confluence of the
Chi River, where it would re-enter the Yang River (Figure 5).
For this purpose a channel bed would have to be made of
about 50 m width over a distance of about 50 km. The
average depth of the channel would be about 3 m. The
enlarged channel would allow flood flows to start bypassing
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534 K. KUNTIYAWICHAI ET AL.
Figure 5. Location of a green river increasing the overall discharge capacity of the Yang River during floods. This figure is available in colour online at
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ird
at an earlier stage than currently, with increasing flows taken
by the green river as the river rises. Control is in the form of
spillways or gates at the entrance to a green river which are
designed to control the floodwater and divert it into the green
river from the river.
Dike Along the Yang River
Many communities in the Yang River Basin are subject to
flood hazards. Therefore, they need well-designed and
reliable flood protection works for both safety and sustained
economic development. In this study, the effect of a dike has
been analysed to examine the flood protection function
along the Yang River. A 106 km long dike along the both
sides of the Yang River is proposed at a distance of 0.5 km
from the bank. This dike would have to be constructed from
the streamflow station E70 through to the confluence of the
Chi River (Figure 1).
In this study, the design flood was taken as the flood with a
probability of occurrence of 1% per year, on the local reach
of the river or the stream where the flood protection works
would have to be built. The crest elevation of the river dike
was determined based on the design flood levels and 1 m
freeboard. Moreover, dikes are designed with a side slope of
3H to 1V.
Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Water Balance Simulation at River Basin Scale:
SWAT Results
River basin systems seek to maintain a balance between
rainfall, infiltration, evaporation, transpiration and runoff.
Understanding the water balance in relation to river basin
characteristics provides the basic information on the
quantity of water as well as the composition of the flow
at any particular location and time in the river basin. Water
balance analysis requires the use of continuous simulation
models that are capable of accounting for detailed water
budget variations over time periods of several years.
Therefore, the widely used SWAT model was adopted for
the purpose of generating the flow series for the Yang River
Basin.
The SWAT model contains many parameters which
cannot usually be measured. To utilize the SWAT model to
simulate the rainfall–runoff relationship, the model must
first be calibrated to measured data in order to determine the
best or at least a reasonable parameter set.
With respect to the calibration results at the streamflow
station E70 as shown in Figure 6, the model performance
proved to be satisfactory. Several statistical measures were
used to evaluate the calibration accuracy, such as the Nash–
Suttcliffe coefficient (ENS ¼ 0.9) (Nash and Suttcliffe,
Irrig. and Drain. 60: 526–543 (2011)
 COMPARAISON DES OPTIONS DE GESTION DES INONDATIONS DU BASSIN YANG, THAILAND.
Figure 6. Comparison between observed and simulated daily discharges at the streamflow station Ban Kut Kwang (E70) for the period 1 June–31 October 2001
1970), root mean square error (RMSE ¼ 51.4 m3 s1),
goodness of fit (r2 ¼ 0.90), and the mean absolute error
(MAE ¼ 37.1 m3 s1). In this study, ENS and r2 values are
high (> 0.85), which indicates that the SWAT is able to
produce consistent results in estimating streamflow for the
Yang River Basin, under given climatic conditions. There-
fore, it was concluded that SWAT may be suitable for
providing daily estimates of flow with a specified probability
of occurrence (10% per year and 1% per year) for 34 sub-
basins covering the Yang River Basin.
It is a fact that the calibration period is too short due to
data limitations. However, the chosen calibration period
does contain at least one extreme event towards the end of
the 2001 flood, and reveals promising results. Regarding the
start-up period of the model, it is rather long in comparison
to the calibration period, as it must be long enough to
initialize a stationary condition. Following this start-up
period, a prolonged calibration period for a few more months
by deducting from the start-up period is omitted, as it would
not have changed the parameterization of the SWAT model.
Simulation of Different flood Management
Scenarios
In this study, it was thought that the target of reducing the
1% per year incident event to a 10% per year target peak flow
would limit the flood extent without extending far into built-
up areas. Therefore, it was necessary to determine the
difference between the 10% and 1% per year incident events.
First, the estimation of peak flow magnitudes for floods at
the downstream risk location was calculated by setting up
the 1D modelling of rivers/channels in 1D/2D SOBEK
Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
535
(Figure 7). As a result, the downstream hydrograph for the
1% per year incident event was then compared with the peak
flow for the target event, and the volume that would have to
be stored was approximately 120  106 m3.
Then, the 1D/2D SOBEK model was simulated to create
flooding extents for the specified probability of occurrence
of 10% and 1% per year (Figure 8) and it resulted in a
maximum water depth in the Yang River Basin up to more
than 2.3 m.
The analysis of the results included an assessment of the
flood simulations of the different flood scenarios, as well as a
preliminary investigation of the proposed flood management
schemes.
Option 1: Natural Flood Storage
With respect to the 1% per year incident event, the peak
discharge was 830 m3 s 1 (Figure 9), which was larger than
the conveyance capacity of the lower river channel. For the
safety of extensive areas along both sides of the river, flood
diversions including potential natural flood storage
(Figure 3) are proposed, functioning as a flood retention
area. The possible natural flood storage was identified by
considering the simulated 1% per year flood level in relation
to the topographic conditions at the locations where the
floodwater needed to be released to reduce flood risk
downstream. In this study, six locations were selected
upstream of the risk location with the total area of
approximately 18 700 ha (4.5% of the Yang River Basin).
In order to convey the floodwater to the natural flood storage,
the floodwater was diverted into a trapezoidal-shaped flood
diversion channel, which was designed by following the
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536 K. KUNTIYAWICHAI ET AL.

Figure 7. Discharge hydrograph volume analysis

design criteria of the Royal Irrigation Department of
Thailand.
The process of flood diversion including potential natural
flood storage was then simulated with the 1D/2D SOBEK
model. The comparison between the simulated 1% per year
discharge with and without flood retention for the same
section of the downstream river channel is shown in
Figure 9. This comparison gives an illustration of the
influence exerted by flood retention on the magnitude of the
flood peak. The peak discharge was reduced by about 9.2%,
close to the 10% per year target peak flow, which effectively
mitigated the flood risk in the downstream part of the Yang
River Basin from a 1% per year incident event to a 10% per
year target peak flow.
Based on the discharge hydrograph volume analysis and
possible natural flood storage, a simple assumption was

Figure 8. The modelled flooding extents for a flood with a probability of occurrence of 10% and 1% per year. This figure is available in colour online at
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ird

Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. 60: 526–543 (2011)
 COMPARAISON DES OPTIONS DE GESTION DES INONDATIONS DU BASSIN YANG, THAILAND. 537

Figure 9. Discharge in the Yang River with and without flood diversion and natural flood storage. This figure is available in colour online at wileyonlineli-
brary.com/journal/ird

made that the storage volume required to reduce the flood
risk from a 1% per year incident event to a 10% per year
target peak flow can be divided by the potential natural flood
storage to give a notional average storage depth. The value
of 0.6 m was defined as a required average storage depth of
water that would be needed on the floodplain to achieve the
required volume of storage.
was found that the green river would have had a significant
impact on the 2001 flood. Obviously, the hydraulic model
demonstrates that there is a potential for a decrease in
discharge of approximately 14%. The results are supported by
the fact that the discharge of the far more disruptive 1% per
year incident event would have been reduced to about the 10%
per year target peak flow (Figure 10).

Option 2: A green River Measure Option 3: Dike Construction

A floodway or green river measure could also be
recommended in order to provide an additional outlet for
water from upstream and create large, shallow flood detention
and retardation basins to store a significant portion of the
floodwater. Based on the results of the hydraulic simulations, it
The downstream part of the Yang River Basin had also
suffered from regular inundation due to overtopping of the
riverbanks almost every rainy season. Therefore, dike
construction was considered in this study to confine the
water to a channel which will protect the areas immediately

Figure 10. Discharge in the Yang River with and without green river for different dimensions. This figure is available in colour online at wileyonlineli-
brary.com/journal/ird

Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. 60: 526–543 (2011)
538 K. KUNTIYAWICHAI ET AL.

Figure 11. Longitudinal profile of maximum 1% per year flood levels and estimated dike elevation along the Yang river bank. This figure is available in colour
online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ird

behind it. The dikes will increase the flood level in the
confined area up to their height and so increase the flood
discharge capacity. After simulation of the dike scenario, the
height would have to be increased to approximately 1 m
above high water level while the dike top itself varied
between 3 and 11 m above the natural ground surface.
Figure 11 shows a longitudinal section of the proposed
dikes and the level required (including 1 m freeboard) to
protect the downstream risk location against a 1% per year
flood event. The results show that the simulated 1% per
year flood levels are lower than the design dike crest
elevation during peak discharges. It refers to a circum-
stance where simulated flood levels occur at an elevation
that is within the 1 m freeboard. In addition, in total 22
700 ha of targeted flood-prone areas in the downstream part
of this river basin would benefit from dike construction
(5.5% of the Yang River Basin). As a result, there are
strong indications that flooding would be reduced and non-
existent in the study area, with these flood control works
protecting the entire area from flooding. However, the
proposed dikes which stand up to 11 m above ground level
may create a false sense of security in those inhabiting the
floodplain. If either the dike is damaged or destroyed, the
losses can be very high; they would be even higher if the
dike had not been constructed.
Comparison of Flood Control Works
Theoretically, it is possible to reduce potential damage
through the selection and implementation of various
mitigation techniques and measures. Therefore, this study
is designed to analyse flood control works for reducing the
adverse social, health, and economic effects of flooding in
flood-prone areas in the Yang River Basin. The possible
flood mitigation options can be divided into the following
three categories, i.e. natural flood storage, creation of a green
river and dike construction, as highlighted in Table II.
In the previous sections the various possible structural
measures used for flood management and protection were
discussed. It is obviously desirable to compare these
schemes based on hydrological and hydraulic consider-
ations, rather than on other factors, such as cost-effective
analysis, environmental impact assessment, and socio-
economic impact assessment, which are beyond the scope

Table II. Breakdown of category of flood management works

Flood control works Types of work (106 m3) Land requirement Qpeak reduction Qpeak delay
(ha) (%) (hours)
Embankment Dredging

1. Floodplain storage þ excavation of – 9.2 18 700 9.2 2.33

flood control channels
2. Green river (bypass) – 8.2 295 14.0 5.83
3. Dike construction 37.2 – 976 n.a. n.a.

n.a. ¼ not applicable.

Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. 60: 526–543 (2011)
 COMPARAISON DES OPTIONS DE GESTION DES INONDATIONS DU BASSIN YANG, THAILAND. 539

Figure 12. The simulated flood peak level profiles for proposed structural measures. This figure is available in colour online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/
ird

of this study. The evaluated results for all measures can be
summarized as shown in the following.
Flood Levels
Of special interest in Figure 12 is the flood level profile for
all structural measures under 1% per year rainfall. The figure
reveals that the 1% per year flood levels without any structural
measures are higher than the river bank elevations; therefore,
overbank flooding will occur. With respect to both natural
flood storage and green river measures, the computed flood
levels are lower than the river bank elevation (except the
downstream part of the Yang River Basin). Regarding dike
construction, the flood levels are almost the same as the 1% per
year flood levels without any structural measures because the
flood was confined inside the main channel. In Table III, it can
be seen that the flood level exceeds the river bank elevations at
some streamflow stations and results in flooding. The flood
level reductions were defined as the differences of the average
flood level with and without structural measures. It is obvious
that the natural flood storage, green river, and dike
construction can contribute to a reduction of flood levels in
an amount of 2.1, 1.6 and 0.2 m, respectively. Therefore, it can
be concluded that the effects on the flood level reduction of
natural flood storage and the green river have a similar
performance, and better than the dike construction due to
which the river flood levels may increase and enhance the risk
of an overbank flooding disaster.
Flood Peak Discharge
The relationship between simulated flood peak discharge
and river basin area along the Yang River for each flood
mitigation option is shown in Figure 13. The slopes of the

Table III. Flood level comparisons of various structural measures for 1% per year flood event

Streamflow station Distance Bank elevation Water level of various structural measures (m þ MSL)
(km) (m þ MSL)
No measure1 Flood storage2 Green river3 Dike construction4

E57 196 178 174 174 174 174

E46 165 161 161 161 161 161
E54 134 150 150 149 150 150
E33A 115 143 147 146 146 147
E70 107 144 146 144 144 146
E19 42 133 138 133 133 138
Downstream 0 125 135 131 132 135
Average water level reduction (5) 2.1a 1.6b 0.2c

(5)a ¼ Average(S(Column No measure1 – Column Flood storage2)).

(5)b ¼ Average(S(Column No measure1 – Column Green river3)).
(5)c ¼ Average(S(Column No measure1 – Column Dike construction4)).

Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Irrig. and Drain. 60: 526–543 (2011)
540 K. KUNTIYAWICHAI ET AL.

Figure 13. Flood peak discharges of various flood management measures at streamflow stations along the Yang River. This figure is available in colour online at
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ird

plotted curves in the portions between the river basin area of any measures. Significant reductions for areas with an
3170 km2 (E70) and 3950 km2 (E19) indicate that the inundation depth over 1 m were observed for all three
reduction of flood peaks by the proposed flood mitigation proposed measures. Of course, the dike construction
options are effective only for natural flood storage and the measure leads to no inundation areas, because the flood is
green river. It is obvious that the decrement of flood peak confined in low-lying regions along riversides which will be
discharge of the green river is larger than the natural flood included in the main channel.
storage option. As mentioned above, socio-economic aspects have not
Regarding the jump of the green line in Figure 13, the really been taken into account in this study, as the concern
natural flood storage retains the excess floodwater in here is basically a hydraulic analysis of possible separate
designated areas before releasing it downstream at a alternative measures. However, it is realized that socio-
controlled rate (the last storage area is designated in the economic aspects are one of the key issues in flood
floodplain areas beside station E70 which corresponds to the management. Therefore, socio-economic aspects as well as
jump at station E70). Therefore, the downstream flood peak possible combinations of individual measures need to be
discharge is reduced as it passes through the storage area. taken into account in the preparation of decisions with
With respect to the jump of the brown line, under flood respect to the finally preferred flood mitigation measures in
conditions, excess floodwater is diverted via the green river such a way that the preferred option is economically
(starting from station E70 to a point 18 km away from the feasible, socially acceptable and environmentally sound.
confluence of the Chi River, where it will re-enter the Yang Regarding hydrological and hydraulic considerations, it
River), thus resulting in a reduction in downstream flood should be mentioned that even though the green river
peak discharges (from station E70 as far as E19). However, measure has a limited mitigation effect more than natural
after station E19, the brown line rises again due to the flood storage in view of average water level reduction and
floodwater from the green river that is released back into the
Yang River in combination with the floodwater flowing
along the Yang River from the upstream part. As a result, the Table IV. Comparisons of inundation depths/areas for proposed
structural measures
increasing discharge at the downstream section has occurred
which can be presented as the rising limb of the brown line Inundation Inundation area (ha)
(after station E19). depth (m)
No Flood Green Dike
measure storage river construction
Inundation Depth/extent
0.01–1.00 7 890 9 800 7 330 –
In Table IV the inventories of the inundation depth/extent 1.00–2.00 9 200 5 230 9 080 –
for each measure are indicated. It should be noted that the > 2.00 7 170 1 210 6 030 –
inundated areas with a depth under 1 m have no significant Total 24 300 16 200 22 400 –
difference between all three measures and the case without

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 COMPARAISON DES OPTIONS DE GESTION DES INONDATIONS DU BASSIN YANG, THAILAND.
inundation areas however, the green river scheme is still the
preferred option. Because obviously the natural flood
storage measure requires many low-lying regions solely
for the storage of floodwater and, in many cases, occupying
fertile lands with floodwater is not always looked upon
favourably. Apparently, it will only transfer flood damage
from one location to another and not solve the problem
entirely.
Before a choice can be made of the appropriate structural
flood mitigation measure, the priority ranking system should
be assigned to those mitigation measures that meet the
criteria. Table V shows the priority ranking of the three
analysed measures based on the above discussions. By
considering this evaluation table, it can be summarized that
the green river measure can be considered as a first priority
compared to the other two measures. This option is the most
appropriate approach because changes to the main river
channel are unacceptable on environmental, amenity and
recreational grounds. This option requires the removal of
8.2  106 m3 of soil. In addition, this option can show its
effectiveness in protecting against floods by attenuating the
hydrograph and delaying the time to peak of approximately
6 h (Table II). Moreover, a regular maintenance programme
that provides for routine inspection, maintenance and repair
of the green river and removal of debris, unwanted
vegetation and accumulated sediment will have a large
impact on the effectiveness of the green river. Therefore, a
monitoring schedule should be undertaken to assess the
performance of the green river in terms of its impact on
water quantity and quality, and its adequacy in mitigating
inundation and waterlogging. However, no flood mitigation
measure guarantees complete safety and sufficient flood
mitigation safety can only be attained in many vulnerable
areas with the help of structural measures. Further flood risk
reduction via non-structural measures is usually indispen-
sable, as it can be matched to the concept of sustainable
development (Kundzewicz, 2002). Moreover, one should
bear in mind that floods can never be fully controlled.
Therefore the inhabitants of a certain flood-prone area have
to learn ‘‘to live with the floods’’. To ensure higher safety
from floods, it is safer to ‘‘give room to water’’ by restricting
Table V. Identification of priority rank evaluated for proposed
structural measures
Structural Evaluation criteria
measures
Flood stage Peak Inundation
reduction depth/range
Flood storage 1st 2nd 1st
Green river 1st 1st 1st
Dike structure 2nd 3rd 2nd
Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
541
human activities within the river basin, rather than relying on
flood control infrastructure under all circumstances.
CONCLUSIONS
The main purpose of the study was to identify suitable
structural measures to reduce flood impacts in the Yang
River Basin. To fulfil the objective, the SWAT and 1D/2D
SOBEK models were applied in this study. The SWAT and
1D/2D SOBEK models are used widely for hydrological and
hydraulic modelling, respectively. The SWAT model is
capable of simulating river basin runoff processes. However,
its application has been hindered because there are some
limitations in routing dynamic flows through the compli-
cated Yang River system that do not provide the capability to
capture flood generation processes as they require a better
understanding of the river basin system. However, the
propagation of floods that the SWAT model is not able to
reproduce can be compensated through the use of the 1D/2D
SOBEK model. Therefore, the SWAT and 1D/2D SOBEK
models were coupled externally in this study in order to
create various new possibilities to enable a better modelling
of actual physical behaviour and processes.
Following the model simulations, a detailed assessment
was undertaken to identify appropriate flood mitigation
options, which will reduce the social and economic impacts
from a 1% per year flood event within the Yang River Basin.
As a result, three proposed structural measures, i.e. natural
flood storage, creation of a green river and dike construction,
were selected and these schemes were compared based on
hydrological and hydraulic considerations. It was found that
the green river option is superior to the other two measures
for solving regional flood/flooding problems. But the
structural mitigation approach can only provide a limited
degree of protection. In reality flood disasters cannot be
avoided completely; there are no universally applicable
solutions, while property damage and human loss should be
reduced as much as possible. Apparently the strategy
adopted will generally involve a combination of options
rather than reliance on one particular one. Therefore, special
attention needs to be paid to elements of non-structural flood
management which may supplement the shortcomings of
structural measures and reduce the impact from many
different types of floods.
In conclusion, the results of this study are significant as
they provide the basic modelling concept as an assessment
tool to predict flood behaviour within a river system for
various probabilities of flood occurrence, and identify the
flood management measures to achieve reduction in flood
risk. Due to the fact that flood management is becoming an
important component of flood risk management, as a result
there is a move toward integrated flood management. To
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542 K. KUNTIYAWICHAI ET AL.
entirely integrate this, it is essential to establish an integrated
modelling framework together with the land use interaction
in the Chi River Basin, to coordinate flood management
planning on an ongoing basis, not only during and following
floods. Finally, a sustainable method of flood risk manage-
ment can be established, which could be a useful component
in conventional flood defences in the Chi River Basin. The
method of flood risk management in the Chi River Basin is
based on the fact that flood risks will be reduced in a
sustainable manner by damage limitation rather than by
further flood control measures. By doing so, the spatial
planning and land use adaptations within or near the areas at
risk of flooding need to be executed in order to reduce the
potential damage (vulnerability) in flood-prone areas. In
addition, the targets and measures in flood risk management
should be diversified and regionalized as the reduction of
damage depends on the different types of floods and areas.
However, many issues still remain to be addressed during the
next steps in the area of flood risk reduction and alleviation.
For instance, the need to continue to investigate the impact
of land use change on floods in order to achieve optimal
protection and integrated water resources development and
management.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support
provided by the Royal Thai Government. The following
institutes are also thanked for their cooperation in providing
data for this research: Royal Irrigation Department (Thai-
land), Thai Meteorological Department, Department of
Water Resources (Thailand), Land Development Depart-
ment (Thailand) and Electricity Generating Authority of
Thailand.
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