Chinit River
Encyclopedia
Chinit River is a river of Cambodia
. Located in Kampong Thom Province, it is a major tributary of the Tonle Sap Lake
("Great Lake"), which joins the Tonle Sap River
at the downstream end in the larger Mekong
basin. Somewhat unusually the river is looped back into the same river system, which accounts for its length of 264 kilometres, leaving Tonle Sap lake and entering its river again downstream. The prehistoric archaeological site of Samrong Sen
is located on the river bank. Water resource projects, commencing in 1971 and in 2003, have had various measures of success. The river is an important trade route.
The river drains a catchment area of 5649 km² (2,181.1 sq mi) including the catchment of 1145 km² (442.1 sq mi) of its tributary, the Stung Tang Krasaing, up to its outflow into Tonle Sap Lake. The river passes through the Bolaven Plateau of Laos, reaches its highest elevation point, 288 metres (944.9 ft), at Phumi Chrach, and ends at its outflow point on Tonle Sap Lake at an elevation of 5 metres (16.4 ft).There are gentler slopes noted towards the downstream. Its main lake is Bung Real Lake.
The main city along the river is Santuk District Capital
. Samrong Sen, a prehistoric archaeological site of Neolithic
Age is located on its right bank.
of 27.8 °C (82 °F) with a minimum of 26.2 °C (79.2 °F) in December and maximum of 29.8 °C (85.6 °F) in March. The average annual evaporation
rate is 1455 millimetres (57.3 in) with a standard deviation of 133 millimetres (5.2 in) per month. The average annual precipitation
recorded is 1590 millimetres (62.6 in) with heavy rains recorded from April to October. The records of the Agrometerological Group of FAO
of Research and Technology Development Division show the sunshine
hours as 7.3 hours per day and the solar radiation at an annual average of 19.5 MJ/m2 per day.
The project was to cover the districts of Santuk and Baray in the Kampong Thom Province. It was partially implemented between the 1970s and the 1980s, with the main diversion structure and the main canal with head regulators built during the Khmer Rouge regime
using forced labour
. Some of the structures that were built, were subsequently damaged by regime soldiers who were "grenade fishing". The project only partial irrigation as the canal system was built for only a short length of 40 kilometres (24.9 mi). The system was found to be lacking in proper planning and design concepts, and also dubious construction methods were adopted in many respects, which caused frequent flooding and damages to structures and canal systems.
(ADB), Agence Française de Développement and the beneficiaries. The objective was to increase agricultural productivity and to stimulate the rural economy in the province. In the initial phase, an area of 12000 hectares (29,652.6 acre) was proposed to be developed, apart from rehabilitation of about 7000 hectares (17,297.4 acre) that been previously developed. An additional dry season irrigation system in an area of about 2000 hectares (4,942.1 acre) was also planned.
The project, launched in 2003, was implemented over a six year period. It included improvements to the drainage infrastructure, 150 kilometres (93.2 mi) of rural roads, six markets, and extension services. Stakeholder participation occurred through Water User groups. By 2007, three communes and 24 villages in one district had benefited from the public works
project. According to a 2008 ADB report, "The resettlement plan included three phases to cover the irrigation/drainage canal infrastructure, the reservoir area and the Otchork tributary area. All phases have been satisfactorily implemented but some longer-term income restoration activities are still ongoing and require post-project monitoring".
is practiced to a very limited extent due to shallow draft. Fishing and community boats are plied by villagers who reside on the banks of the river, for fishing and to transport goods to the markets.
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. Located in Kampong Thom Province, it is a major tributary of the Tonle Sap Lake
Tonlé Sap
The Tonlé Sap is a combined lake and river system of major importance to Cambodia.The Tonlé Sap is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is an ecological hot spot that was designated as a UNESCO biosphere in 1997....
("Great Lake"), which joins the Tonle Sap River
Tonlé Sap
The Tonlé Sap is a combined lake and river system of major importance to Cambodia.The Tonlé Sap is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is an ecological hot spot that was designated as a UNESCO biosphere in 1997....
at the downstream end in the larger Mekong
Mekong
The Mekong is a river that runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is the world's 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annually....
basin. Somewhat unusually the river is looped back into the same river system, which accounts for its length of 264 kilometres, leaving Tonle Sap lake and entering its river again downstream. The prehistoric archaeological site of Samrong Sen
Samrong Sen
Samrong Sen on the east bank of the Stueng Chinit River is a prehistoric archaeological site in the Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia...
is located on the river bank. Water resource projects, commencing in 1971 and in 2003, have had various measures of success. The river is an important trade route.
Geography
Chinit River, also called Stung Chinit River, is major tributary of the Tonle Sap River, which flows down from the Great Lake of the same name from the northeast direction at 12°31′38"N 104°27′31"E, in central Cambodia. It reenters the Tonle Sap system in the river at 13°32′N 105°47′E. The river's length is approximately 264 kilometres (164 mi) and loops out and into the Tonle Sap rsystem. Its width varies in the range of 60–90 m (196.9–295.3 ) over a total river stretch of 110 kilometres (68.4 mi).The river drains a catchment area of 5649 km² (2,181.1 sq mi) including the catchment of 1145 km² (442.1 sq mi) of its tributary, the Stung Tang Krasaing, up to its outflow into Tonle Sap Lake. The river passes through the Bolaven Plateau of Laos, reaches its highest elevation point, 288 metres (944.9 ft), at Phumi Chrach, and ends at its outflow point on Tonle Sap Lake at an elevation of 5 metres (16.4 ft).There are gentler slopes noted towards the downstream. Its main lake is Bung Real Lake.
The main city along the river is Santuk District Capital
Santuk District
Santuk is a district within Kampong Thom Province, in central Cambodia. According to the 1998 census of Cambodia, it had a population of 58,434.- References :...
. Samrong Sen, a prehistoric archaeological site of Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
Age is located on its right bank.
Climate
According to the data sourced to the Hydrologic Water Year Book of Mekong Committee, the basin's climatic parameters recorded at the Kampong Thmar station, are; an average annual temperatureTemperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
of 27.8 °C (82 °F) with a minimum of 26.2 °C (79.2 °F) in December and maximum of 29.8 °C (85.6 °F) in March. The average annual evaporation
Evaporation
Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs only on the surface of a liquid. The other type of vaporization is boiling, which, instead, occurs on the entire mass of the liquid....
rate is 1455 millimetres (57.3 in) with a standard deviation of 133 millimetres (5.2 in) per month. The average annual precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
recorded is 1590 millimetres (62.6 in) with heavy rains recorded from April to October. The records of the Agrometerological Group of FAO
Fão
Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....
of Research and Technology Development Division show the sunshine
Sunshine
Sunshine is sunlight, the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the Sun, especially in the visible wavelengths.Sunshine may also refer to:-Film and television:*Sunshine , a historical film directed by István Szabó...
hours as 7.3 hours per day and the solar radiation at an annual average of 19.5 MJ/m2 per day.
Water resources
Based on flow measurements carried out at the Chinit River's Kampong Thmar station, where the catchment area measured is 4130 km² (1,594.6 sq mi), the maximum and minimum flows recorded are 329 m³ (11,618.5 cu ft)/s and 3.34 m³ (118 cu ft)/s respectively with an average flow rate of 44.1 m³ (1,557.4 cu ft)/s.1971 public works project
A multipurpose project envisaging benefits of irrigation, flood control, fisheries and hydro power generation was planned in 1971 to cover a command area of 48000 hectares (118,610.5 acre). At Phnom Takho, the river drains a catchment area of 3770 km² (1,455.6 sq mi), utilising storage of 458 million cubic metres (gross capacity 500 million cubic metres and effective capacity of 391 million cubic metres). The dam planned at Phnom Takho was to provide irrigation benefits with canal systems planned on both banks of the river, and also for power generation. A pumping station was also planned at Kampong Thmar to provide irrigation for an area of 7600 hectares (18,780 acre). Power generation envisaged was 4.5 MW using a net head of 16.3 metres (53.5 ft) and effective storage of 391 million cubic metres for the purpose for rural electrification supply and lift irrigation. The project was also anticipated to bring in changes in the fish production both upstream and downstream of the dam location.The project was to cover the districts of Santuk and Baray in the Kampong Thom Province. It was partially implemented between the 1970s and the 1980s, with the main diversion structure and the main canal with head regulators built during the Khmer Rouge regime
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
using forced labour
Unfree labour
Unfree labour includes all forms of slavery as well as all other related institutions .-Payment for unfree labour:If payment occurs, it may be in one or more of the following forms:...
. Some of the structures that were built, were subsequently damaged by regime soldiers who were "grenade fishing". The project only partial irrigation as the canal system was built for only a short length of 40 kilometres (24.9 mi). The system was found to be lacking in proper planning and design concepts, and also dubious construction methods were adopted in many respects, which caused frequent flooding and damages to structures and canal systems.
2003 public works project
Consequent to this, a fresh start was made by launching The Stung Chinit Irrigation and Rural Infrastructure Project (SCIRIP), with technical and financial inputs of US$ 23.8 million equivalent from the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Asian Development BankAsian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
(ADB), Agence Française de Développement and the beneficiaries. The objective was to increase agricultural productivity and to stimulate the rural economy in the province. In the initial phase, an area of 12000 hectares (29,652.6 acre) was proposed to be developed, apart from rehabilitation of about 7000 hectares (17,297.4 acre) that been previously developed. An additional dry season irrigation system in an area of about 2000 hectares (4,942.1 acre) was also planned.
The project, launched in 2003, was implemented over a six year period. It included improvements to the drainage infrastructure, 150 kilometres (93.2 mi) of rural roads, six markets, and extension services. Stakeholder participation occurred through Water User groups. By 2007, three communes and 24 villages in one district had benefited from the public works
Public works
Public works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community...
project. According to a 2008 ADB report, "The resettlement plan included three phases to cover the irrigation/drainage canal infrastructure, the reservoir area and the Otchork tributary area. All phases have been satisfactorily implemented but some longer-term income restoration activities are still ongoing and require post-project monitoring".
Navigation
Inland navigationInland navigation
Inland navigation is transport with ships via inland water between inland ports or quays and wharfs.-See also:* Code Européen des Voies de la Navigation Intérieure -External links:...
is practiced to a very limited extent due to shallow draft. Fishing and community boats are plied by villagers who reside on the banks of the river, for fishing and to transport goods to the markets.