Lakes and dams in Nghe An are storing water, ready for summer-autumn crop production.

Nghi Van Commune is a highland area of ​​Nghi Loc District, the land is often dry, the water source for production, especially in the summer-autumn crop, is often lacking water, causing poor rice growth, low productivity, some rice areas are forced to switch to growing drought-resistant crops such as corn, peanuts, sesame...

Nghi Van is considered the driest area in Nghi Loc district, with lakes and dams often drying up in previous years. Photo: Quang An

Nghi Van commune currently has 19 large and small lakes and dams, the most in Nghi Loc district. In previous years, these lakes often dried up and had their bottoms exposed when the summer-autumn crop began, making production difficult for the people. However, this year, the water level in the lakes has reached approximately 60-70% of capacity, ready to irrigate crops, making the people very excited.

Mr. Nguyen Van Khanh - Deputy Secretary of Nghi Van Commune Party Committee, said: In previous years, there was little rainfall, along with many lakes and dams being damaged, degraded, and leaking water, so droughts often occurred. However, since the beginning of the year, there has been more rainfall, with heavy rains, and some lakes have been repaired and upgraded, so the water reserve capacity is more stable. For example, Lach - Buoi Lake, with a total capacity of 2.5 million cubic meters, the largest in the commune, has now reached about 70% of its capacity, the highest in many years.

However, in the early summer-autumn crop this year, the dams in Nghi Van commune have stored a significant amount of water. In the photo: Lach - Buoi Lake has reached a capacity of about 70%. Photo: Quang An

According to data from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghi Loc district, the district has a total of 40 large and small lakes and dams, including large lakes such as Khe Nu (Nghi Kieu), Nghi Cong Lake (Nghi Cong Bac), Lach Buoi Lake (Nghi Van), Khe Thi (Nghi Cong Nam)... Mr. Tran Nguyen Hoa - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghi Loc district said: Compared to previous years, this year, lakes and dams in the district have stored more stable water levels, minimizing the risk of drought, ensuring summer-autumn production. However, we still direct localities to regulate water reasonably and economically, to prevent prolonged severe heat in the coming time.

Dien Chau district has 11 large and small lakes and dams concentrated in Dien Lam, Dien Doai and Dien Phu communes, which are mountainous communes of the district, including 3 large lakes: Xuan Duong lake, Dinh Du lake and Bau Da Mat To lake. The remaining 8 small lakes and dams mainly irrigate an area of ​​30 - 50 hectares of rice and various crops. According to the district's survey, the water level in the lakes is currently over 60%, and some lakes are even full. For example, Xuan Duong Lake, Dien Phu commune - the lake with the largest reserve in the district with a capacity of nearly 11 million cubic meters at peak, currently has a capacity of approximately 8 - 9 million cubic meters, ready to serve irrigation for 500 hectares of rice and crops in Dien Phu, Dien Loc, Dien Loi and Dien Tho communes.

Xuan Duong Lake, Dien Phu Commune, Dien Chau District also has a stable water level, ready to provide irrigation water for 4 neighboring communes. Photo: Quang An

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe An, the province currently has 1,061 large and small lakes and dams. Of these, 98 lakes are managed by enterprises and 963 lakes are managed by localities.

Of the 98 lakes and dams managed by enterprises, 13 are currently full (in the same period in 2021, only 4 were full); 71 lakes have a capacity of over 70% (in the same period last year, there were 62 lakes); 10 lakes have a capacity of 50 - 70% and only 4 lakes have a capacity of less than 50%.

Of the 963 lakes and dams managed by localities, 601 lakes have reached over 70% of their design capacity; the remaining lakes have reached about 50 - 70% of their design capacity. Thus, it can be seen that the water level at lakes and dams this year has increased significantly compared to last year, and the situation of dry lake bottoms like previous years is very rare.

Reinforcing and upgrading lakes and dams is a necessary solution to increase water storage capacity and ensure production for people. Photo: Quang An

However, according to forecasts, the severe heat wave may last for a long time, and water sources for irrigation will have to be continuously replenished. Therefore, localities with lakes and dams and lake management enterprises need to develop plans to regulate water in the lakes appropriately, implement measures to upgrade lakes and dams, and avoid leakage and water loss to ensure a stable source of water for production for the people.