1. A request to tenants: The information in this chapter is usually not relevant to most tenants, except
● the tenants of Tai Saeng Chan Pavilion (Moonlight Pavilion), and
● tenants or other people when using the private driveway of Baan Sammi by car or bike.
Tenants of the Tai Saeng Chan Pavilion are requested to monitor the water level of the large pond and, if the distance between the water surface and the deck reaches fewer than 40 cm, to inform the gardener and Khun Sam.
Tenants, especially those of Dillenia Home or Lychee Lodge, are requested not to drive their vehicles on the lower sections of the driveway during heavy and prolonged rainfall during the rainy season. The surface of low-lying sections of the private driveway is temporarily softened by rain so that vehicle tires would leave dented marks when driven on. In order to avoid this, we ask, if at all possible, to leave the vehicles in the higher area of the driveways or to park them there. These are the sections of the driveways immediately adjacent to the two gates (Gate 1 and Gate 2), both sections within the property.2. The past: Flooding did not pose a major problem for the Baan Sammi property. In the 20 years from 2003 to 2024, small sections of the property experienced flooding four times, only one of which was severe but none caused significant damage. However, these floods prompted the implementation of flood protection measures in some areas of the property. All floods and the improvements made are documented in the Google album Floods 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2024. Each photo is accompanied by a brief description.
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| Only one flood in 2020, the heaviest within 20 years, caused the private driveway to be somewhat flooded in a short section for several days. Since additional structural measures to prevent flooding were implemented in 2021, similar flooding of the driveway is unlikely in the future. |
3. Rainy season: In northern Thailand, the rainy season begins in April/May and ends in November. During this period, rainfall is high, with peaks in August/September (Weather & Climate). A few weeks after the start of the rainy season, it will be necessary to regularly monitor the water levels of the ponds in Baan Sammi. From the middle of the rainy season, i.e., from around July or August, it will be necessary to ensure that the increased water levels caused by rain do not rise significantly above the desired optimal water level. During the peak and late rainy seasons (August/September to October/November), precautions must be taken (temporary installation of a mobile submersible pump at the culvert near Pump Hut 2). Countermeasures to reduce excessively high water levels by pumping can then be carried out immediately if necessary.
4. Ponds and ditches within the Baan Sammi property and the public canal outside the property:
There are four ponds on the Baan Sammi property, as well as several ditches connecting the ponds:
● The large pond, Dragon's Paddling Pool, 90 m long, to 20 m wide, and 7 m deep;
● Pond East, much longer than wide, about 1–1.5 m deep;
● Pond North, consisting of two round ponds connected at the gazebo, about 1–2.5 m deep;
● Pond South in the southeastern section of the property, 1–1.5 m deep.
4.1 The large pond, Pond East, and Pond North are interconnected and unregulated by ditches. The pathway culvert near Lychee Lodge acts as a watershed between the large pond and the other two ponds: if too much water collects in the large pond, it flows through the culvert into the other ponds; if too much water collects in the other ponds, it flows in the opposite direction into the large pond. All these ponds contain only groundwater and rainwater, as well as water fed in from the deep well (over 100 m deep). There is no intention to connect to the polluted public canal.
4.2 Pond South is separated from Pond East by a concrete wall. Pond South is connected to the public canal outside the property via a short ditch and pathway culvert. The water in the public canal is rich in nutrients, which is why it is fed exclusively from Pond South into the water supply system for plant irrigation via the two pumps P1 and P2.
4.3 The concrete wall between Pond East and Pond South is narrow and low and includes a shaft, which has three connecting PVC pipes at different heights, each with a tap on the side of Pond East. These taps remain permanently closed to avoid an unwanted polluted water flow from Pond South and the public canal into Pond East, thus into all the other ponds of the property.
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| There are 3 suitable checkpoints for monitoring the water level in the ponds: the orange mark on the staircase dock, the lower edge of the culvert near Lychee Lodge, and the distance from the upper edge of the culvert near Pump Hut 2. |
5. Change in water level of ponds over the course of the year:
5.1 Cool season and hot season:
During the cool season and subsequent hot season, when there is little or no rain, the water levels in the small ponds and the large pond will continuously decrease. During this period, it is important to prevent the small ponds and ditches from drying out. This can be achieved by pumping groundwater with the submersible pump of the deep well into Pond East. It is also important to prevent the water level in the large pond from falling too much, i.e., by more than half a meter. For this purpose, groundwater is also pumped into Pond East using the same submersible pump, so that the water can flow through the pathway culvert (near Lychee Lodge) into the large pond, where it raises the water level to the desired minimum.
5.2 Minimum water levels beyond the rainy season:
● Minimum water level in Pond East: approx. 15–25 cm below the inner upper edge of the driveway culvert (near Pump Hut 2) of Pond East. In addition, the water level for the water inlet pipe for Pump 2 located in Pond East should always be higher than the inlet pipe.
● Minimum water level in the large pond: approx. 50 cm below the orange mark for the optimum water level (on the second-to-last step of the staircase-dock near the pump hut of the Moonlight Pavilion), or approx. 20 cm below the surface of the concrete foundation of the same staircase-dock.
5.3 Rainy season:
During the rainy season, the water level in all ponds gradually rises. In Pond East and Pond North, the water level will initially reach a higher level than in the large pond, causing water to overflow into the large pond through the pathway culvert (near Lychee Lodge). If it rains for a long period during the rainy season, the water level will continue to rise and equalize until the water levels of all these ponds (large pond, Pond East, and Pond North) and the connecting ditches are the same. This will result in the desired maximum water level of the ponds being reached, usually in the middle of the rainy season. However, further rain will cause this water level to be exceeded. To prevent this, the water from Pond East should be pumped into the receiving Pond South by a height of approximately 5–10 cm beforehand. It is important to note that exceeding the maximum permissible water level may cause the plants growing on the banks of all ponds to be flooded and suffer, and that the leaves of the water lilies in the large pond will be submerged and die.
5.4 Water levels during the rainy season:
● Desired optimal water level in the large pond: 0 cm in the pathway culvert (near Lychee Lodge) between the large pond and Pond East; or at the level of the orange mark on the second-to-last step of the staircase-dock near the pump hut of the Moonlight Pavilion.
● Maximum tolerable water level in the large pond: +5 cm above the orange mark on the second-to-last step of the staircase-dock near the pump hut of the Moonlight Pavilion.
● Maximum tolerable water level in Pond East: no higher than +5 cm in the pathway culvert (near Lychee Lodge); or up to approx. 5 cm below the inner upper edge of the driveway culvert of Pond East (near Pump Hut 2).
● Desired minimum water level in Pond East: -5 cm or up to -10 cm at the inner lower edge of the pathway culvert (near Lychee Lodge), or approx. 10 cm to 15 cm below the inner upper edge of the driveway culvert of Pond East (near Pump Hut 2). In addition, the water level for the water inlet pipe for Pump 2, located in Pond East, should always be higher than the water inlet pipe.
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Excess water levels in the ponds CANNOT be regulated by opening/closing the taps at the concrete shaft (which forms part of the concrete barrier wall between Pond East and Pond South). Instead, the mobile submersible water pump must be deployed at the bottom of Pond East, just in front of the culvert/bridge. This will enable pumping water from Pond East into Pond South, where it will drain into the public canal. |
6. Countermeasures in the event of an impending high water level:
6.1 The mobile submersible water pump must be deployed. The pump will be placed into a large terracotta pot on the bottom of Pond East, just in front of the culvert/bridge. This will enable pumping water from Pond East into Pond South, where it will drain into the public canal.
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| A section of 2" PVC drain pipe is permanently installed under the pathway and connects Pond East with Pond South. |
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| Once the ceramic pot has been placed in front of the driveway culvert/bridge onto the bottom of the pond, the mobile submersible pump has to be placed in the ceramic pot. Then, the two sections of the PVC pipe need to be connected between the pump pipe and the permanently installed PVC drain pipe. This connection is made by simply plugging the pipes together. |
6.2 The following parts are required for this:
● The mobile submersible water pump, stored in the pump hut behind Plumeria Bungalow.
● A short piece of PVC drain pipe that is already firmly screwed to the pump.
● A rope tied to the pump's hand grip so that the pump can be lowered into the pond by hand and later lifted out again for cleaning or storage.
● A large terracotta pot, which is placed on the bottom of the pond and holds the pump.
● Two PVC drain pipes, stored in the pump hut behind Plumeria Bungalow. The two pipes already have the correct lengths and must be joined together, with one end connected to the PVC pipe of the pump and the other end connected to the PVC pipe that is permanently fixed a few centimeters below the pathway. The cap on the latter pipe must be removed, so water can drain into Pond South.
● It may be necessary to stabilize the position of the pump during operation by securing it with bamboo stems.
● The pump plug can be inserted into the socket inside Pump Hut 2. The socket is connected to a switch that can be used to turn the pump on and off.
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| To install the submersible pump correctly, you will need a large ceramic pot, a rope to allow the pump to dive under water and be set into the pot, and two sections of PVC pipe to connect to the pump. |
6.3 As an indicator of the absolute height of the water level in the ponds, the distance of the water level to the upper inner edge of the driveway culvert/bridge is best suited to determine whether water or how much water should be pumped out.
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| The driveway culvert/bridge: mobile submersible pump and the blue PVC drain pipe were implemented |
● Upper left photo: The distance between the water level and the upper inner edge of the culvert is 0 cm. This value, or a higher water level (negative value, e.g., –5 cm) indicates that the water level in the large pond is excessively high and water must be pumped out as a precaution, especially in anticipation of further rainfall.
● Upper central photo: The distance between the water level and the upper inner edge of the culvert is approx. +5 cm. This indicates that during the rainy season, the water level in the large pond is approx. 3 cm above the lower inner edge of the culvert located on the bank of the large pond (next to Lychee Lodge). This is considered to be the optimal water level. Water should only be pumped out as a precaution if heavy rainfall is expected.
● Upper right photo: The distance between the water level and the upper inner edge of the culvert is approx. +15 cm. This indicates that during the rainy season, the water level in the large pond will be equivalent to the lower inner edge of the culvert situated on the bank of the large pond (next to Lychee Lodge). Consequently, no water will flow from the large pond towards the ditches, Pond North and Pond East. As a result, the water level in the ditches, Pond North and Pond East, will be lower.
