Reopening the Vu Mau Lake spillway 5 days ahead of schedule

At the inspection of drought prevention for summer-autumn rice on July 18, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu directed: The Vuc Mau reservoir spillway must be reopened on July 20, 5 days earlier than planned to prevent drought for Hoang Mai town and Quynh Luu district, especially Hoang Mai town, in an effort to save the summer-autumn rice areas that are suffering from severe heat and drought in Nghe An province.

Previously, on July 1, the Provincial People's Committee allowed the closure of the Vuc Mau reservoir's spillway to repair the water intake culvert - due to the severe damage to the culvert.

"After more than 40 years of use, the culvert has seriously degraded, water leaks through the culvert body; especially the risk of dam failure during the rainy season. The water intake culvert is being repaired to ensure the safety of the reservoir, protect the lives and property of people in the downstream areas of Quynh Luu district and Hoang Mai town" - Mr. Nguyen Van De - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said.

Construction unit building a dike in the area below the Vuc Mau lake culvert. Photo courtesy of Van Truong

In addition to completing the summer-autumn rice planting before June 30, Quynh Luu district, Hoang Mai town and Bac Irrigation Company Limited have also coordinated and developed a plan to provide water for irrigation as well as domestic water for people during the time the reservoir is closed for sewer repair.

However, due to the extremely severe heat, many rice fields in areas affected by the closure of sluice gates in Quynh Luu and Hoang Mai town have fallen into drought.

Mr. Le Van Cuong - Deputy Director of Bac Irrigation Company Limited said: Currently, the company is concentrating water from the main Do Luong canal and using dozens of mobile pumps for support pumping.

However, at the main pumping stations, only Hoa Tay pumping station (Quynh Hoa commune - Quynh Luu) and the pumping station in Mai Hung commune (Hoang Mai town) are currently operating, the rest have no water to pump.

In the province, many rice fields have fallen into severe drought. Photo: Phu Huong

Because the Do Luong three-way irrigation system was only designed to serve the irrigation of districts in the system, it is very difficult to "carry" Hoang Mai town, the water source is very limited. Meanwhile, the water source of the drainage canals to pump irrigation to the Vuc Mau lake area has basically dried up. If the lake continues to close its gates until July 25, many rice fields will be damaged.

“According to the schedule, on July 25, the Vuc Mau reservoir will reopen to provide irrigation water for summer-autumn production. However, many crop areas in Hoang Mai town are currently in a severe drought and need to quickly supplement irrigation water. The Provincial People's Committee requested the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to direct and assign the investor to be on duty 24/7, urgently speed up construction, shortening the schedule by 5 days to combat drought. The most important thing is to ensure the safety of the project" - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu emphasized.