Coordination for Telemetry Observation Site Selection – 11 July 2016

The telemetry system for Bago River Basin was planned to have 5 weather stations and 3 water level gauging stations. The first weather station was already installed in Zaung Tu Weir. Four weather stations are pre-selected to be on Zaung Tu Dam, Salu Dam, Shwe Laung Dam, and Tawa. Three-water level gauging stations are pre-selected locations on Zaung Tu Dam (downstream), Tawa, and Kalawe Bridge. 

The coordination was attended by Daw Ei Ei Su Mon (Staff Officer, DMH), U Min Oo (Deputy Director, DHPI), U Myo Tint Htun (Assistan Director, DHPI), U Oo Kyaw Aye (Staff Officer, DHPI), Dr. Aung Than Oo (Assistant Director, Irrigation & Water Utilization Management Department – formerly Irrigation Department), U Aung Kyaw Hmuu (Director, DWIR), U Kyaw Naing Oo (Assitant Director, DWIR), and U Htay Aung (Deputy Director, Bridge Department – Ministry of Construction). The aim of the meeting was to finalize the location of the observation sites, potential date of succeeding installation, design of stilling basins for the floating-type water level gauges.

The group was able to agree to the selected sites for the observation systems. The locations of the weather observations were easily finalized. Major discussion points were the location of the water-level gauging stations due to the construction and design of the stilling basins necessary for the floating type gauging stations. The Zaung Tu dam water-level gauge to be under DHPI was identified to be situated just downstream of the confluence of the dam outflow and small tributaries of Bago River. The Tawa water-level gauge to be under Irrigation Department was previously identified in a site visit to the area and was confirmed in this meeting. The Kalawe Bridge installation to be under DWIR was also confirmed in conjunction with the proper request for permission from the Bridge Department under Ministry of Construction. U Htay Aung served as the representative from the Bridge Department and confirmed an initial understanding with the group in requesting proper permission from the Ministry of Construction for the installation of observation system on the bridge.

Coordination Meeting at YTU with ID, DWIR, DHPI, DMH, and Bridge Department - MoC

The group discussed the potential succeeding installations and limitations of the departments in supporting the installations. The main problem for the succeeding installations was access to the sites as the sites are mostly accessible by boat only during the rainy season. Other concerns include budget request limitations of the agencies. Due to the constraints, the group agreed to potentially proceed with the succeeding installations by the succeeding dry season around January. The time is also needed to prepare proper request permissions, some budget requests of departments, and design of some related structures primarily for the floating-type water level gauges.

Regarding the design of the stilling basins, a lot of concerns from the group were primarily focused on the sedimentation problem if the structure will be built near the riverbank. In addition, foundation design of the structure is also a big concern with regards to the softness of the material on the riverbank and the height of the structure due to the large water level variation in the site location. Dr. Aung Than Oo of ID shared his experiences with the group on the design of the stilling basins. The group concluded on a specific understanding regarding the design and the need for flexibility of the design based on the potential problems we might in encounter on site after installation. The group concluded to enhance further collaboration in designing the stilling well to ensure the long-term effectiveness of the observation system to be installed.