Page 44 - Thai Heritage from Space_ebook

The Royal Project :

Irrigation at Thor Thong Daeng Canal

The Royal Project in 1978: Irrigation at Thor Thong Daeng Canal from the Ping River at Muang Kamphaeng Phet
to Muang Bang Phan

On January 29, 1978, His Majesty conferred a flag upon the civil scouts in Kamphaeng Phet. The villagers presented a petition about the
problem of water shortage for farming due to the shallowness of the ancient canal from the Ping River in Kamphaeng Phet to Muang Bang Phan.
On the following day (January 30, 1978), His Majesty granted the ancient canal map to the Department of Irrigation to complete the dredging
requested by the villagers’ petition. The Water irrigation at Thor Thong Daeng Canal Royal Project could solve the water shortage in hundreds
of thousands of rais (Thai measurement of land) of farmland in Kamphaeng Phet. Likewise, this irrigation expanded the irrigation area from the
fan-shaped sediment in Kamphaeng Phet to Nakhon Sawan. According to satellite image data, this ancient irrigation canal actually follows the same
path as “Thor Poo Phraya Ruang” mentioned in inscriptions 500 years ago (in 1510). Subsequently, on December 12, 1992, His Majesty ordered
the third army area commander and Sukhothai Governor to study the feasibility of extending the ancient canal at Bang Phan to solve water shortage
problem in Sukhothai Province. However, the primary engineering study indicated that it was not possible to implement the royal project.

Agricultural farming areas obtaining water from the Royal Irrigation Project
To restore the ancient canal, the Department of Irrigation constructed a concrete building with a blocking door to receive water from the Ping
River and dredged the ancient canal (Thor Poo Phraya Ruang) from the building to Muang Bang Phan Canal junctions. On account of this happening,
sub-canals were also dug in order to transfer water to the paddy fields in the project areas. The water flowed naturally along the slope of the terrain
mirroring the clever implementation of folk knowledge in Muang Na Fai. The only difference was that modern technology and construction materials
were used in place of traditional ones. This could solve the water shortage in the east of the Ping River including 380,000 rais of Muang, Phran
Kratai, and Lan Krabue districts in Kamphaeng Phet, Khiri Mat and Kong Krailat districts in Sukhothai Province. Subsequently, a dyke was built
to block the Ping River to force water through many canals in that area to feed millions of rice paddies nearby. The water irrigation at Thor Thong
Daeng Canal Royal Project is a model for heritage conservation of cultural knowledge on irrigation in the past and the beginning of development
of integrated water resource management with great co-operation among people in Kamphaeng Phet, Sukhothai and the surrounding areas.

Thor Poo Phraya Ruang: The Ancient Irrigation Canal in the Kamphaeng Phet Inscription in 1510 CE.
The ancient canals shown in His Majesty’s map were later successfully dredged by the Department of Irrigation, which served the aims of the
Thor Thong Daeng Canal Royal Project. The study using aerial photographs and satellite images with a topographic map scale of 1:50,000 followed
by area monitoring indicated that the ancient canal was actually the same path as the Thor Poo Phraya Ruang irrigation mentioned in the inscription
500 years ago (1510 CE.). It was part of the ancient irrigation connecting the Ping River in Kamphaeng Phet to Muang Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai.
Along the canal pathway was a flat area with disconnected dykes built as water barriers either on one side or on both sides of the canal, which was
divided into two parts based on its flow. These two parts converged at Baray Phraphai Luang. One, on the south side, flowed from the Ping River
in Kamphaeng Phet to Baray Phraphai Luang in Sukhothai. The other, on the northern side, carried water from the west of Muang Si Satchanalai to
the southern canal at Baray Phraphai Luang, where the excessive water was diverted to the lake through the Mae Ramphan Canal, Yang Canal,
and the Yom River. According to the scientific calculation with C-12, 13 tracing back to 812 + 60 years (812 + 68 yr BP), it was discovered that
the ancient irrigation canal was at that time, named “Phor Khun Srinao Namthum” and “Sukhothai”. The inscriptions at Wat Srichum show that the
ancient irrigation canal “Thor Poo Phraya Ruang” was built at the same time as Baray Phraphai Luang and the Mae Ramphan Canal. The city walls
and moats of Sukhothai were subsequently strengthened by using the ancient irrigation canal “Thor Poo Phraya Ruang” as an eastern moat.

Thor Poo Phraya Ruang in the Future
Evidence from satellites imaging is crucial for the conservation planning of Thor Poo Phraya Ruang. Based on this local wisdom, it is necessary
to review whether the dyke was built as an irrigation called “Thor Poo Phraya Ruang” or it was determined to make it a road called Phra Ruang
Road. The right decision will lead to the right conservation and promotion of the “World Heritage Cities”, which include “Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai,
and Kamphaeng Phet”.

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