Binh Son drainage canal silted up, flooding hundreds of hectares of rice

(Baonghean.vn) - Binh Son Canal, which drains water from Quynh Hoa commune to Quynh Hau, Quynh Hong, and Quynh Thach communes (Quynh Luu), is tens of kilometers long and is currently silted up and overgrown with grass, blocking the flow, putting hundreds of hectares of rice fields at risk of flooding in the upcoming rainy and stormy season.

The whole Quynh Hoa commune has two main drainage canal systems, Binh Son and Nam Ha, of which Binh Son drainage canal is the drainage canal system for about 80 hectares of rice fields of Quynh Hoa people. However, after many years of not being renovated or dredged, the canal bed is now silted, with grass and duckweed growing wildly, causing blockage of the flow.

Water fern and grass grow well in the middle of the canal.

Mr. Le Van Luc in Hamlet 3, Quynh Hoa Commune said: His family grows 6 sao of rice. In previous years, when the Binh Son drainage canal drained water in time, production was favorable. However, in recent years, due to sedimentation of the canal bed, the water could not drain fast enough, causing flooding. In the summer-autumn crop of 2015, his family had to replant the entire rice seedlings area because the flood water damaged them.

In the summer-autumn crop of 2015, the whole commune had over 100 hectares of newly planted rice that were damaged by flooding and had to be replanted, affecting productivity and people's lives. In the summer-autumn crop of 2016, in the face of prolonged drought, the locality mobilized machinery to pump water from the drainage canal into the fields to provide water for people to plant, however, it was very difficult because the canal system was overgrown with grass, the bottom of the canal was shallow, so the water source was only supplied to some areas, the rest had to wait for water and pump water from other canal systems.

Every year, localities mobilize machinery and human resources to dredge drainage canals to ensure temporary drainage.

Mr. Tran Van Dung - Chairman of Quynh Hoa Commune People's Committee said: Binh Son canal runs through the area with a length of about 3km, this canal system has the role of draining water for 80 hectares of rice in the area. Not only draining water, in the dry season, Binh Son canal is a place to supply water for people to produce. However, due to not being dredged or renovated for many years, the canal bed is now silted, the flow is obstructed. To overcome the above situation, the locality mobilized cadres and people to participate in the construction of internal irrigation traffic, but because the duckweed and grass are too good, the cost of renting excavators is expensive, the locality only implemented the work in key places to drain water as well as temporarily supply water for production.

Sharing the same Binh Son drainage canal system, because it is located in the middle of the canal, during the rainy season, water flowing from other places to Quynh Hau commune is stagnant, water in the fields cannot drain out of the canal, causing local flooding.

Mr. Ho Van Mai - Director of Phu Thanh Cooperative said: The locality has about 60 hectares of rice located in the area where Binh Son drainage canal runs through. Because the bottom of the drainage canal is shallow and water hyacinth grows wildly, it is very difficult to drain water when it rains and floods. In the summer-autumn crop of 2015, after the people finished planting, there was a heavy rain that caused the water source to stagnate and the water source in Quynh Hoa commune to accumulate, causing more severe flooding and the water could not be drained.

Viet Hung