Pomelo growers hope big barrier rescue plan will bear fruit Residents say the livelihood of hundreds depends on saving flooded crops

Pomelo grower Polpon Sae-C says his orchard and livelihood depend on the success of a planned big bag barrier to be built surrounding the Koh Song Kanong area in Nakhon Pathom's Sam Phran district.

RUNNING OUT OF TIME: Inundated pomelo trees wither in an orchard in Koh Song Kanong area in Nakhon Pathom’s Sam Phran district.

Even if the plan succeeds, he says he has already lost about one million baht in revenue after crops perished when floodwaters began inundating his orchard and the surrounding Koh Song Kanong area last month.

Now, Mr Polpon hopes that the water is drained out of his orchard quickly so that his 10-year-old pomelo trees can survive.

The 55-year-old grower is among hundreds of families in four tambons of Sam Phran district who make a living from growing and selling fruit, particularly the famous Sam Phran pomelo. The community covers an area of 5,000 rai.

After being inundated for a month, the growers, with the support of academics, state agencies and non-governmental organizations, came up with the idea to build a four-kilometer big bag barrier to block the flow of floodwater from upstream.

Next, about 100 pumps will be installed to drain the floodwater in to the Tha Chin River.

In addition, 14 small canals in the Koh Song Kanong area will be sealed to reduce the amount of water flowing in to the plantation zone.

Mr Polpon said the operation is expected to be completed in 10 days and should be sufficient to save some of his pomelo trees.

"If the plan is successful, I hope that about 30% of my trees can survive _ but if it's not, all of them will die," he said.

"This crisis is beyond our control. We need the government to take care of us and help us to save this area, which is the best pommel-growing region in the country."

Shin Prasertmark, chairman of the Song Kanong Tambon Administration Organization, said a special committee has been set up to decide where to place the 4,000 big bags earmarked for the project and to coordinate with other parties. About 42,000 liters of fuel is expected to be consumed for the pumping operation.

Academics from Kasetsart University have suggested orchard owners pump oxygen into the floodwater and clear leaves and fruits which have fallen into the water.

"By doing this we believe our orchards will have a chance to survive," said Mr Shin.

"This is the first time any of us has faced a crisis like this and it is the first time that we have worked together to protect our culture."

He said the Koh Song Kanong area typically generates over one billion baht per year from pomelo sales, especially to international markets such as China, Hong Kong and Japan.

Meanwhile, Kamol Peamsomboon, chairman of Tha Chin River Basin Council, said the river has a limited capacity for waterfowl of only 50 million cubic meters per day due to its flat geography. But currently, the river has to take in over 80 million cu/m per day of overflow, overwhelming riverside areas.

He suggested a major dredging of the river and the removal of a number of bridge poles blocking the waterflow so that the river can carry at least 70 million cu/m per day.

He also expected the flooding situation along the Tha Chin River would return to normal within 45 days.