Urgent repair of dam and water pipeline in Pieng Cu village

Tien Phong Commune is located in the mountainous region of Northwest Nghe An, along National Highway 48, with a border of more than 13 km with Laos. The natural area is more than 319 km², including 18 villages with nearly 14,500 people, many ethnic groups living together. Due to the terrain, every year this place often suffers from natural disasters, storms, and whirlwinds.

On the evening of May 30, 2025, heavy rain and flash floods on the Nam Nien River caused severe damage. Before recovery could be achieved, in early July, major floods continued to come, causing serious deterioration of many infrastructure works.

In Pieng Cu village, the Huoi Muong irrigation dam, the main water supply for domestic use and production, had its dam body, wing walls, and water inlet broken. The water pipeline system to the village was completely washed away, many sections were deformed, and joints were loose.

In early August, when we arrived at Pieng Cu village, we witnessed a heartbreaking scene on the terraced fields. At this time, the rice should be green and swaying in the wind, but now many fields have turned yellow and barren. Cracks spread across the fields, patches of dry soil shriveled up, and the rice roots were choked due to lack of irrigation water.

The water canal system that used to flow smoothly is now just dry ground, the water pipes are lying around, not a drop of water flows to the fields. Mr. Lo Van Thuy, Chief of Pieng Cu village, sadly said: “Since May, after the flash flood, Huoi Muong dam was severely damaged, the water supply pipes were washed away and completely broken. Since then, our people have had no water for daily life or production. 142 households in the village are seriously short of water, 7.5 hectares of rice are at risk of being lost.”

According to Mr. Thuy, the reason why there are still a few green rice fields this season is thanks to the heavy rains at the end of July. But the hot weather that has lasted for the past few days has caused the water to evaporate quickly, leaving the fields dry. “If there is no rain or water from the dam, all the rice will dry up,” he said.

At present, people can only use collected rainwater or small streams for bathing and washing. Drinking water must be transported by can from other places, which is very difficult. If this situation is not resolved soon, next season, people will be forced to abandon wet rice cultivation and switch to dry crops such as corn, peanuts, and cassava. But what worries people most is that the output for these alternative crops is uncertain.

Huoi Muong Dam is an important irrigation project of Tien Phong commune, providing irrigation water for dozens of hectares of rice, crops and domestic water for many households, including Pieng Cu village. However, after two consecutive floods, the dam body, wing walls and water gates were broken and seriously damaged. Water could not be stored and regulated to the fields.

The water pipeline system from the dam to Pieng Cu village was also swept away, many sections were broken and deformed. The joints were loose and scattered along the stream bank. “In the past, water flowed to the fields and to each family’s tank. Now the pipeline is dry and the fields are cracked,” said Ha Van Phong, a villager.

Faced with this situation, the Party Committee, People's Council and People's Committee of Tien Phong commune held a meeting and sent a working group to the village to grasp the situation. Comrade Nguyen Minh Thuan - Deputy Secretary of the Commune Party Committee said: "We have received feedback from the people, directly surveyed the situation and submitted a request for funding to invest in construction and repair of works damaged by natural disasters. However, the funding needed to repair the damage is very large, exceeding the commune's budget capacity. Currently, the dossier has been sent to the province and is waiting for approval."

According to Mr. Thuan, repairing the Huoi Muong dam and the water supply system is not only an immediate need but also an urgent requirement to ensure water security and long-term production stability. If delayed, the risk of economic loss, loss of living safety and decline in people's lives will become increasingly serious.

The dry season is still lasting, and the terraced fields at the foot of the mountain are still cracked. In Pieng Cu, people still look forward to the Huoi Muong dam every day, hoping that one day soon, the project will be repaired, the water pipes will be connected and installed, and the water will flow back to irrigate the fields, serving the daily life of the people.