And so it goes on.
Kandal province, Cambodia News: On February 11, 2019, at 9 am, a large chunk of the river bank collapsed into the water close to Roussey Chroy village, Kandal. Fortunately, nobody was injured. The area that collapsed was 30 meters long and 20 meters wide.

so, you experts think building along sandy river banks is forever?
putting in roads over rice fields and letting heavy trucks use them constantly will not produce pot holes?
i suppose you have never heard of river bottom land?
i suppose you think rivers keep the same path forever?
dredging certainly could contribute...to erosion..
but, without dredging the river commerce would cease and the barges would constantly run aground.
the tonle sap has a further complication in that it changes course each year...
farmers know that bottom land is fertile...but, sometimes they flood..
rivers change...climate changes..
man contributes very little over time...

May 10, 2019
Government to study Mekong and Bassac river sand dredging

The Council of Ministers has instructed the Water Resources Ministry to proceed with a request made by Try Pheap Engineering & Construction to conduct a study on the viability of a sand dredging operation along the banks of the Mekong and Bassac rivers.

In a directive dated Tuesday and obtained yesterday, Chrea Sokchenda, secretary of state of the Council of Ministers, said the company offered to restore and build an embankment in exchange for a sand dredging operation.

It is not clear which parts of the rivers will be affected, but the directive noted that the company aims to conduct operations beginning in Kandal province’s Ka’am Samnor checkpoint, near the Vietnamese border, until the provinces of Kampong Cham and Kratie.

“The government has decided that His Excellency Lim Kean Hor, Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology, discuss with related institutions and give feedback,” Mr Sokchenda said in the directive.

Try Pheap Engineering & Construction earlier made a request to Prime Minister HE to sanction the study. The study was approved by Mr HE on May 1, despite opposition by NGOs.

San Chey, executive director of the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability, yesterday said sand dredging is an issue that affects villagers and the environment.

“Sand dredging will have environmental impacts and affect villagers when banks collapse,” Mr Chey said. “In my opinion, it is not necessary to do it now and the government should find other means.”

He noted that the Mines and Energy Ministry always downplays the impacts of sand dredging, and operators tend to neglect technical aspects and only focus on benefits.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50602642/g ... -dredging/

j57 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 19, 2019 4:07 am so, you experts think building along sandy river banks is forever?
putting in roads over rice fields and letting heavy trucks use them constantly will not produce pot holes?
i suppose you have never heard of river bottom land?
i suppose you think rivers keep the same path forever?
but, without dredging the river commerce would cease and the barges would constantly run aground.dredging certainly could contribute...to erosion..
the tonle sap has a further complication in that it changes course each year...
farmers know that bottom land is fertile...but, sometimes they flood..
rivers change...climate changes..
man contributes very little over time...

Hey j57, some of what you say about the impermanence of a rivers is quite correct.
A couple of glaring errors tho'

""...without dredging the river commerce would cease and the barges would constantly run aground.""
There is virtually no medium sized or large shipping on the Mekong, and no dredging is necessary for the trade that does exist.

""...dredging certainly could contribute...to erosion""
Yes definitely - and building dams.
With the dams going onto the Mekong all sediment and nutrient flow will now cease. This is going to have a range of quite devastating impacts to the environmental, agriculture, fisheries, riverside communities, etc.

""man contributes very little over time...""
Wrong - see paragraph above.

Riverbank collapses in Kampong Cham
BREAKING NEWS, 8 July 2019
Kampong Cham’s governor on Friday asked the NCDM to help stop any further collapses of a riverbank in Stung Trang district.

In his letter to the NCDM, Governor Un Chanda said that the riverbank in the district had become unstable due to floods last year and that about 300 meters had collapsed along Street 223 in Peam Kaoh Sna commune last week, forcing authorities to relocate 112 families.

He noted that the street links the province to Kratie province’s Preak Prasab district and any further collapse could affect travel.

Mr Chanda said the provincial administration does not have enough technical expertise or funds to prevent the riverbank from further collapse when floods hit this year.

“Residents living along the Mekong river face river bank collapses every year and the provincial administration suggests that the NCDM intervenes by sending experts to shore up the bank along the district to prevent it from giving way again,” he said.

Mr Chanda said that if nothing was done, the bank could collapse further and force many residents to flee their homes.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50621571/r ... pong-cham/

Kampong Cham Locals Move Houses From Collapsing Riverbank

Cambodia Breaking News (Kampong Cham): On August 1, 2019, 58 people included Kampong Siem inspectors, the royal gendarmerie, Kor Sey money chief, Krouch Serch monk chief, local youth, commune authorities and teachers, all joined together in dismantling and moving two houses away from the riverbank that is expected to collapse any time soon.

If you go to the island in Kampong Cham, and go to the south end, which you can only get to on dirt tracks, they are moving a temple, which will otherwise go in the river. They are actually building a new temple, and salvaging some materials from the old one.

Kratie Riverfront Collapses

Cambodia Breaking News, Kratie: In the morning of October 11, 2019, the river bank collapsed in Kratie town along the main riverfront road and walking area, just opposite a primary school. The wall and the pavement have completely subsided.

Fortunately, nobody was walking there when the bank collapsed. Kratie residents are warned to take care and to stay away from the area.

This may be a childish question, for a serious problem, but as a child when I went to the beach, I used to dig a hole in the sand, and the more I dug out, the more the sides collapsed in. Is this surely not the same process with dredging, but on a much bigger scale, with the addition of a powerful river eroding the sand away?