Chinit River is a river of Cambodia. Located in Kampong Thom Province, it is a major tributary of the Tonlé Sap Lake, which joins the Tonlé 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, leaving Tonlé 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.
Geography
Chinit River, also called Stung Chinit River, is major tributary of the Tonlé Sap River, which flows down from the great lake of the same name from the northeast direction at, in central Cambodia. It reenters the Tonlé Sap system in the river at. The river's length is approximately and loops out and into the Tonlé Sap rsystem. Its width varies in the range of over a total river stretch of. The river drains a catchment area of including the catchment of of its tributary, the Stung Tang Krasaing, up to its outflow into Tonlé Sap Lake. The river passes through the Bolaven Plateau of Laos, reaches its highest elevation point,, at Phumi Chrach, and ends at its outflow point on Tonlé Sap Lake at an elevation of.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.
Climate
According to the data sourced to the HydrologicWater Year Book of Mekong Committee, the basin's climatic parameters recorded at the Kampong Thmar station, are; an average annual temperature of with a minimum of in December and maximum of in March. The average annual evaporation rate is with a standard deviation of per month. The average annual precipitation recorded is 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.
Water resources
Based on flow measurements carried out at the Chinit River's Kampong Thmar station, where the catchment area measured is, the maximum and minimum flows recorded are and respectively with an average flow rate of.
A multipurpose project envisaging benefits of irrigation, flood control, fisheries and hydro power generation was planned in 1971 to cover a command area of. At Phnom Takho, the river drains a catchment area of, using storage of . 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. Power generation envisaged was 4.5 MW using a net head of 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 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. 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.
Consequent to this, a fresh start was made by launching The Stung Chinit Irrigation and Rural Infrastructure Project, with technical and financial inputs of US$ 23.8 million equivalent from the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Asian Development Bank, 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 was proposed to be developed, apart from rehabilitation of about that been previously developed. An additional dry seasonirrigation system in an area of about was also planned. The project, launched in 2003, was implemented over a six-year period. It included improvements to the drainage infrastructure, 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".
Navigation
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.
Land use
The Chinit River basin land use distribution is 75.5% under forest cover, 14.8% under paddy cultivation and the balance area is under other agricultural uses. Agricultural farming, mostly during the wet season of rice cultivation is the major economic activity of the people living in the valley. Rice is also grown during the non-rainy season, but its acreage is limited to 10% of the cultivated area. White corn, green beans and tobacco are also grown in the higher elevations of the valley.
Aquafauna
The Chinit River has been a subject of studies on fish migration. Movement of fish has been studied on Chinit and also on other rivers in the Mekong through sampling techniques carried out in stretches upstream of the flooded areas, to identify larval and fry fish in five tributaries. Seventy-one species belonging to 17 families have been recorded in the Chinit River. It was also noted during these studies that the species recorded were distinctive for each tributary but the fish fauna found in Chinit and Stung tributaries were identical.
