An aerial view of Chulalongkorn Centennial Park in Bangkok, Thailand.

(Landprocess)

At a Glance

Rising seas, monsoonal rains and the sheer weight of buildings are causing Bangkok to sink.Experts predict that the city could be underwater by 2030.One solution was the construction of an11-acre park that collects up to 1 million gallons of rainwater.

Bangkok is a sinking city, thanks in partto rising seas. In an effort to prevent flooding, a local universitybuilt a park that collects up to a million gallons of water.

Every year, monsoonal rains coupled with rising seas leaveroadways, homes and even entire neighborhoods underwater.

According to some estimates, the city that is home to 8.2 million people is sinking about0.8 inchesper year.

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Known asby the scientists who study it, the sinking is accelerated by the sheer number, size and weight of all the buildings pressing down on the land all around Bangkok, according to the NRC committee that issued last week's report.

Children play in the wetlands filtration area of the park.

(Landprocess)

According to a study byThailand's National Reform Council, the city could be , the Bangkok Postreported.

A local university came up with a creative solution: the construction of an11-acre park. Builtonproperty owned by Chulalongkorn University, which commissioned the project, the spaceknown as is capable of collecting up to a million gallons of rainwater,equivalent to one and a half Olympic-sized swimming pools.

According to a press release, araised green roof at the park directs runoff water from the city through sloped rain gardens, a wetland filtration system before it arrives at the massive retention pond.

The park also boasts walking and bike paths, herb gardens and reading areas.

Among the council's other recommendations to prevent future flooding is the construction of a seawall to protect the greater Bangkok area from rising seas, estimated to cost about 500 billion Thai baht – or about $14.3 billion in U.S. dollars.