| The Asian Network of Major Cities 21 (ANMC21) provides a variety of training programs that focus on specialized fields for administrative staff members and specialists from its member cities. The following is the report on the Training of Sewerage Maintenance and Management Engineers, which was held from July 25 to July 29, 2011. |
Sewerage technology exchange connecting Bangkok and Tokyo:
Training of Sewerage Maintenance and Management Engineers was held
Having started in 2002, this training program has aimed to provide sewerage engineers from the ANMC21 member cities with maintenance and management technology used in sewerage facilities in Tokyo and also with some of the advanced approaches taken for improving the metropolitan sewerage system. Six engineers from the City of Bangkok joined the training this time.
The training was realized owing to a personal network between engineers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) Bureau of Sewerage, who had previously been sent to Bangkok through JICA(Japan International Cooperation Agency) to give technical assistance to local engineers, and staff members of Department of Drainage and Sewerage of Bangkok. Based on the knowledge and experience of the TMG engineers who had directly observed ongoing issues of the Bangkok's sewerage system, the training program was especially designed to include lectures and observation tours that cover the most-needed topics for Bangkok.
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The six trainees from Bangkok were civil engineers and machinery engineers who are in charge of the maintenance and management of the sewerage facilities. The training placed special focus on the maintenance technology of sewerage pipes, in response to a strong request from the trainees. The training began with a presentation by the trainees about a current situation of the sewerage system in the City of Bangkok to clearly identify the issues that the city is facing. Next, a lecture was given about the sewerage system in Tokyo, including its development, major ongoing projects, and technology used to maintain the pipes. The trainees then took observation tours to a construction site of sewerage pipe repair work, sewerage facilities. One of the main topics covered in the lecture was the TMG's Sewerage Mapping and Information System (SEMIS). SEMIS is a system that allows engineers to select specific sewerage pipes or manholes from the housing map and check their status (e.g. location, depth, size of the pipe), which makes it possible to effectively maintain and manage the pipes and to provide accurate sewerage information to the citizens of Tokyo. As case studies of flood control measures, the trainees then visited facilities that temporarily reserve rainwater during a storm, including the Wada-Yayoi Trunk Sewer and the Higashi-Ikebukuro Stormwater Regulating Reservoir,. The group also observed a pipe line inspection for monitoring the soundness of sewerage pipes with a mirrored TV camera. They also visited a construction site of sewerage pipe repair work, which was being conducted without digging through a street. |
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At each site that they visited, the trainees had opportunities to ask many technical and practical questions, such as what types of materials are used for the equipment, how the machineries are adjusted, and so on.
In November 2011, a large area of Thailand including central Bangkok was hit by heavy floods. Recovery work from the disaster still continues today, three months after the disaster. It must have been a rough period for the six trainees from Bangkok as well. We hope to continue providing successful trainings to contribute not only to sewerage technology exchanges between the member cities but also to an improvement of problems that each city is facing. |
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