Need for synchronous solutions

(Baonghean) -Flooding is a "hot" issue that has been mentioned a lot at recent meetings with voters in Vinh City. With the current complicated weather conditions and continuous storms, this situation could become more serious if Vinh City does not have a solution to overcome it soon.

After only a few heavy rains, many residential areas in the city were partially flooded. Major roads such as Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Le Nin, Nguyen Van Cu, Le Hong Phong, Tran Phu, Dang Thai Than... were deeply submerged in water. Slow water drainage not only caused traffic jams but also affected environmental sanitation and people's lives. The main cause of this situation is that the current drainage system is patchily planned and invested. Some important drainage routes have not been invested in construction. The 80m drainage channel connecting Ke Gai canal in Hung Dong through the wards and communes of Quan Bau, Ha Huy Tap, Nghi Phu, Hung Loc, Hung Hoa to Rao Dung culvert has not been built, leading to slow drainage of the above wards and communes. Drainage system No. 1 (from Phan Boi Chau street to Thanh lake and from Thanh lake to the water tank at Tay Nam pumping station) was partially dredged in 1995 but is now filled with mud, garbage and water hyacinth. When there is heavy rain, the water in the canal flowing into Thanh Lake is blocked, causing flooding in many residential areas. On the other hand, the canal section from Thanh Lake to Tay Nam Pumping Station does not have a cover, and some people lack awareness and dump garbage, causing environmental pollution and blocking the flow, leading to local flooding, especially in Le Loi Ward.

After just a few heavy rains, Dang Thai Than Street (Vinh City)
was submerged in water.

With drainage ditch system No. 2 (the starting point is from Nguyen Sy Sach Street to the end point is the Southern Flood Control Pumping Station), currently, the ditch section from Nguyen Sy Sach Street to Thanh Tra Bridge has not been connected to the secondary ditches, so the drainage efficiency has not been promoted; the section from the regulating lake of Vinh Tan New Urban Area Project to the pumping station has an open ditch built with rubble to lead water into the water tank of the Southern Pumping Station, the cross-section is not guaranteed, the water from the regulating lake cannot enter in time, so there is not enough water to pump. On the other hand, the service road serving the construction of Vinh Tan New Urban Area Project invested by Hanoi Housing Investment and Development Company runs across the middle of the lake, so when it rains heavily, the water cannot drain quickly to the pumping station, causing flooding along the entire route. Therefore, every time it rains for a long time, people living around Vinh Tan New Urban Area are worried about flooding. The drainage system No. 3 has received attention and investment, so the section from Nguyen Van Troi Street to the Lam River Road under the Drainage Project Phase 2 has been completed. However, the connection to the secondary drainage system has not been completed, causing flooding in the downstream residential areas (the canal belongs to Ben Thuy Ward). The drainage system No. 4 has also been basically completed, but the section through Cua Nam Ward has not been invested in, causing frequent flooding in the Cau Duoc Cement Factory area.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thang - Deputy Head of Vinh City Urban Management Department, in addition to the reason that the city's drainage system is not complete and not synchronized, urbanization leading to encroachment and narrowing of canals also partly makes the flooding situation in Vinh City more and more serious. Typically, in the drainage ditches of Hong Bang, Cau Bau, and Kenh Bac..., due to businesses renting land for leveling, construction soil and rocks overflow, the canal bed is narrowed, when it rains heavily, the water cannot drain in time, causing flooding. Most of the secondary canal systems on inner-city roads were mainly built from the 1980s until now, so they are degraded, with accumulated mud and garbage, leading to drainage that does not meet the design requirements. The connection of level 3 systems from households, agencies, and urban areas to level 1 and 2 drainage systems is done arbitrarily... In addition, some investors, while constructing high-rise building projects, have pumped mud and sand into the city's canal system, clogging the drainage system, causing local flooding in areas such as Quang Trung, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Le Loi streets... This is also the cause of obstructing drainage flow, causing flooding in residential and urban areas...

To overcome the problem of stagnant rainwater in residential areas and reduce the risk of flooding during the rainy season, every year, Vinh City has carried out dredging, clearing trees and bushes, maintaining and operating the drainage system and treating wastewater to drain water quickly and prevent deterioration of the drainage system in the city. For the level 1 canal system, the city directed Vinh Urban Infrastructure Management and Development Joint Stock Company and Doi Cung Ward to continue dredging mud and garbage that pollute and obstruct drainage in the level 1 canal system from Thanh Lake to Tay Nam Pumping Station, clearing the flow from downstream to Cua Tien River; Connecting the level 2 and level 3 canal systems to drainage ditch No. 2 from upstream to Thanh Tra Bridge to drain residential areas of Hung Binh Ward; Connecting level 2 and level 3 ditches in Ben Thuy ward to newly built drainage ditch No. 3 to solve flooding in blocks 13, 14, 15, 16 in the ward. Hanoi Housing Investment and Development Corporation has a drainage plan through the service road of the regulating lake in the Vinh Tan New Urban Area Project so that water can drain promptly to the Southern Pumping Station; urgently constructing the regulating lake item and recalculating the cross-section of the drainage ditch from the lake to the pumping station; coordinating with Vinh Tan Ward People's Committee, connecting the drainage ditches of the surrounding residential area to the general drainage system. Complete the drainage project funded by the Federal Republic of Germany (phase 2), the wastewater treatment plant and the wastewater pipeline system will be handed over and put into use in 2011. For the level 2 canal system, this year, the city has used the capital from the city administration and other capital sources to build a new drainage line from Hung Dung market area to the North canal, basically solving flooding in this area; carry out the design and construction of a number of canals in the area from Vinh market to the navigation culvert behind the market; build the discharge gate at Goong lake into the canal system north of Nguyen Viet Xuan street via Phong Dinh Cang street... The People's Committees of wards, communes and residential areas will dredge, renovate and repair the level 3 canal system and organize the connection to the canal system managed by the city; develop procedures and regulations on connection according to Decree 88/CP of the Government on urban and industrial drainage...

However, in the long term, the city needs to choose synchronous solutions, closely monitor construction and investment, and avoid the situation where flood prevention projects are implemented every year, but every rainy season, flooding recurs. In the immediate future, the city needs to focus on establishing an investment project to build an 80m drainage canal and Rao Dung drainage pumping station to completely solve the drainage problem of the wards and communes in the North of Vinh City.