Areas Near Lake Development Now Flooded

Flooding in Russey Keo in 2008 (Photo: Heng Chivoan, The Phnom Penh Post)

By Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
30 October 2009

Sitting on a wooden bed above knee-high water, Bo Socheata gazed at the stagnant floodwater invading her home.

“Since before Pchum Ben, the water has made it difficult for my children to go to school,” said the 30-year-old housewife and mother of three, who lives in the capital’s Tuol Sangke commune, Russey Keo district. “And the smell from the flood is terrible.”

Eight communes in two districts north of Phnom Penh have been inundated with floodwater for the past month, with some residents forced to abandon the ground floors of their homes and schools temporarily closed.

Many resident blame the flooding on a contested development plan that filled nearby Boeung Kak lake, claiming it had acted as drainage for rain water. Authorities said the flooding was the result of heavy rains, not the multi-million dollar project.

The lingering floodwater has damaged roads, floors and entire houses.

Pat Pao, 40, spent a recent day adding small, cement levies to his floors in an effort to prevent his house being flooded. Any tasks he had to do, he moved onto his bed, “and sleep with them,” he said with a sigh.

The flooding has affected 5,000 homes across multiple communes: in Russey Keo’s Tuol Sangke, Russey Keo, Kilometer 6, Chrang Chamres I and II, and Svay Pak; and in Sen Sok district’s Phnom Penh Thmei and Toek Tla.

Residents blamed the filling of Boeung Kak lake, its 133 hectares under a 99-year lease for commercial and residential development by Shukaku, Inc. (At least one report in 2008 warned that filling the lake would lead to flooding.)

However, Lao Meng Khin, president of Shukaku, denied the flooding was caused by the filling.

“You look whether all the streets are flooded,” he said. “Not just Cambodia but any country in the world will flood.”

Municipal officials could not be reached for comment. But Kau Sles, a deputy governor of Russey Keo district, said rains caused the flooding, not the Boeung Kak project.

“The pumping from Boeung Kak I and II is just a small contributor,” he said. “The main reason is the rain flowing from Kampong Speu and Kandal” provinces.

Local authorities have been pumping the floodwater from the area, he said.

However, residents say the pumping only just started, despite the weeks of inundation, and they warn that without proper drainage systems, the problem is not likely to end.

Flooding forces school closures

Children wade throught Russey Keo High School’s flooded campus on Tuesday. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)

Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Written by Khouth Sophakchakrya
The Phnom Penh Post

Missed classes and the risk of disease are the results of nearly two months of deluge that educators in Russey Keo district blame on poorly planned development projects

HEAVY flooding in Russey Keo district that has forced the closure of six schools is the result of poorly planned development that has filled in a nearby drainage lake, education officials say, blaming City Hall for failing to consider the consequences of the projects.

"Development projects that lack appropriate drainage system planning have affected residents in these development zones," Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodia Independent Teachers Association (CITA), told the Post Monday.

"City Hall has to be responsible for this issue," he said, adding that more than 20 schools in Russey Keo district have suffered flooding and the six that were closed have resulted in thousands of students missing classes for more than two months.

Poor planning
"The flooding has affected the quality of education students are receiving because many of them will not be able to complete their studies this year," Rong Chhun said.

Chin Sopholla, a physical sciences teacher at Russey Keo High School, said the flooding began after developers started filling in a lake behind the school to make room for a new dry port, residential housing and an electricity plant.

"The municipality has developed this zone with no regard for the impact their actions would have on drainage systems in the district," he said.
"Our school has never flooded before."

Klaing Hout, the district's governor, said he authorised the opening of an overflow gate at the Russey Keo dam to remove excess water from the area.

"We have tried our best to solve this problem by opening the overflow gate, but the flooding has persisted," he said.

A health risk
Meanwhile, educators say schools hit by the floods, but which have remained open, pose a substantial health risk to students and teachers forced to attend them.

"We know that this will affect the mental and physical health of students because we are all forced to wallow in filthy water that is full of disease in order to teach our students," Se Socheat, a Khmer literature teacher at Russey Keo High School, told the Post.

Hout Samreth, deputy director of the Phnom Penh Department in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, said many schools, including some universities, had been flooded, and that classes for hundreds of students are temporarily suspended until the flood waters recede.
Many high school students have been placed in alternate schools not affected by the floods.

Sen Vuthy, 19, a grade 12 student at Chea Sim Cham Reoun Rath High School, said his old school was still under more than a metre of water.
"I really care about my coming semester exam, but studying has been difficult," he said.

Koy Seda, director of administration at the ministry's Phnom Penh Department, said five schools in the district were closed and 20 others have remained partially flooded but are still open.

"Flooding this year has damaged the city's infrastructure and seriously impacted students, as well as local business owners," he said.