Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt visited three water pumping stations on Thursday to oversee preparations for possible floods in the upcoming rainy season.

The governor started his tour at Khlong Toei station, which receives floodwater from Sukhumvit areas and channels it to the Chao Phraya River.

The station has recently undergone an overhaul to replace outdated machines and equipment and to increase its drainage efficiency to 36 cubic metres per second.

Chadchart told city officials to ensure that the Phra Khanong stations receive the same upgrade as their Khlong Toei counterpart. The two Phra Khanong pumping stations receive water from several sources, including the Prawet, Saen Saeb and Lat Phrao canals.

Chadchart then travelled to the Bang Or and Sukhumvit 66/1 stations in Phra Khanong district to ensure that both are fully functional and capable of draining excess water from Nong Bon reservoir in the east of the city during the rainy season.

The governor also visited a community in Soi Sukhumvit 101/1 to apologise to residents who suffered major flooding last year after the tunnel carrying water from Nong Bon reservoir in Prawet district collapsed. He promised there would be no repeat of the incident this year.

“One of the key aspects of tackling flood problems is to control waste and prevent it from blocking public waterways. Upgrading these draining stations will not do any good if the connecting sewers, canals and tunnels are still blocked by garbage,” said the governor.