The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) has deployed a full capacity of 40 water pushers at the Phraya Si Sunthon Wohan Bridge in Ban Pho district to speed up the discharge of the Bang Pakong River into the Gulf of Thailand.
Such move came after flood conditions in Chachoengsao province remain critical, with drainage operations expected to take longer than initially anticipated.
Heavy machinery teams using 30-tonne and 16-tonne cranes, alongside 8-tonne trucks, installed 12 additional water-pushing units to supplement the 28 already operating at the bridge site.
Once fully active, the system will increase surface water flow by 3 million to 4 million cubic metres daily, relieving inundation in upper-basin areas including Prachin Buri, Nakhon Nayok, and Khlong Tha Lat.
Traffic over the Phraya Si Sunthon Wohan Bridge was temporarily suspended until 8pm to facilitate the installation, with commuters advised to use Highway 365 or the Chachoengsao bypass road as an alternative route.
Meanwhile, runoff from Bang Khla district streaming into Khlong Bang Phai has inundated Khlong Chuk Krachoe in Mueang Chachoengsao district, impacting eight villages and over 1,000 households.
The floodwaters have submerged homes, farmland, and commercial aquaculture ponds.
Local shrimp farmers have suffered severe financial losses after floodwaters swept through commercial ponds.
One farmer lost an entire stock of 70-day-old shrimp across a two-rai pond just before harvest, noting that total losses far exceed expected government relief compensation.
To drain inundated communities, authorities are utilising irrigation supply canals to channel water from natural waterways into the Bang Pakong River, supported by 30 mobile pumps along the canal network.
Mueang Chachoengsao district officials expect visible drops in water levels within three days as river levels trend downward, allowing local administrations to build temporary soil dykes and pump out remaining pocketed areas.
