Nghe An: Many reservoirs have dried up, summer-autumn rice crops are facing severe water shortages.

The Khe Giang reservoir in Hau Thanh hamlet, Tay Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district) is running out of water (Photo taken on June 22). Photo: Van Truong

Present in the rice fields of Hau Thanh hamlet, Tay Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district), we saw farmers reinforcing and repairing the embankments of their rice paddies. Mr. Tran Nam, a farmer in Hau Thanh hamlet, said: "My family cultivates 2 sao (approximately 0.2 hectares) of summer-autumn rice. Due to the reservoir running low, the rice fields are lacking water. We are planning to bring a mini electric pump to the stream to pump water up and save the rice."

Following the edge of the rice fields, we reached the Khe Giang reservoir in Hau Thanh hamlet. The reservoir was dry, with only a small puddle of water remaining in the middle. We learned that Hau Thanh hamlet has nearly 10 hectares of rice paddies, and if it doesn't rain, irrigation water will be very difficult to obtain.

Some rice fields in Quang Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district) are experiencing water shortages. (Photo taken on June 21). Photo: Van Truong

Mr. Nguyen Cong Trieu, Chairman of the People's Committee of Tay Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district), added: Tay Thanh commune has over 20 medium and small reservoirs serving 150 hectares of summer-autumn rice crops. However, due to the prolonged heatwave, more than 10 reservoirs have run dry, such as Ho Lo and Khe Giang reservoirs…

To cope with the drought, the commune will install diesel pumps at the Khe Chò and Khe Chuối reservoirs to supplement water supply to rice fields in Hậu Thành commune. Hundreds of mini electric pumps will be mobilized to utilize the return water from streams and springs to pump water to save the rice crops.

One of the reservoir basins in Ve Vung, Dong Thanh commune, has dried up, and buffaloes and cows are grazing in the middle of the lake (Photo taken on June 21). Photo: Van Truong

At this time, many areas of the Ve Vung reservoir (Dong Thanh commune) have dried up, and buffaloes and cows are grazing in the middle of the reservoir. Mr. Ngo Xuan Trang - Head of the Southern Reservoir Cluster (Yen Thanh Irrigation Enterprise) said: The reservoirSesame GuardWith a capacity of 22 million cubic meters of water, it irrigates over 500 hectares of rice fields in 7 communes of Yen Thanh district. Due to the prolonged heatwave, the water level in Ve Vung reservoir currently only reaches over 20% of its capacity.

Therefore, the irrigation water supply is very strained. The current solution is to open the sluice gates of the Ve Vung reservoir to conserve water in batches, and advise people to use water rationally. At the same time, in coordination with Phuc Thanh commune, three electric pumping stations are being put into operation to provide supplementary irrigation for over 60 hectares of rice. Mobile pumps are being deployed to pump additional water from the Quan Hai reservoir to irrigate the rice fields in the Ve Vung reservoir.

Don Hung Lake in Hung Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district) has dried up (Photo taken on June 21). Photo: Van Truong

The reservoir in Tien Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district) has been dry for many months (Photo taken on June 21). Photo: Van Truong.

The prolonged hot weather has caused many reservoirs in Nghi Loc district to dry up. Observations at the Khe Xiem reservoir in Nghi Hung commune show that the water level is increasingly low, and many rice fields are facing water shortages. Mr. Nguyen Viet Thanh, Chairman of the Nghi Hung Commune People's Committee, said: The Khe Xiem reservoir irrigates over 120 hectares of rice, but currently only has over 35% of its water capacity. If the hot weather continues, the last resort will be to deploy mobile pumps to pump water from the reservoir to save the rice crops.

This year, Nghi Loc district planted rice on over 6,000 hectares, of which over 3,700 hectares are in reservoir areas. Due to the prolonged heatwave, the 42 reservoirs in Nghi Loc district currently only have 30-50% of their water capacity remaining. Currently, Nghi Loc district is implementing solutions using electric pumping stations and mobile pumps to pump water from the Cam River and other river systems to supplement rice cultivation in Nghi Van, Nghi Kieu, and Nghi Lam communes, reserving reservoir water for the rice heading and flowering stages.

Nghe An province has 1,061 reservoirs, of which 98 are managed by state-owned enterprises, while the rest are managed by district and commune authorities. Water levels are currently at 40-50% of their capacity. Approximately over 50% of reservoirs managed by local authorities have seen their water levels decrease, reaching only 25-30%, with many completely depleted. Given this situation, proactive measures are needed to prevent, combat, and mitigate the consequences of water shortages and drought.

The Khe Xiêm reservoir in Nghi Hưng commune (Nghi Lộc district) has very little water left in the middle. Photo taken on June 20. Photo: Văn Trường

The Nghe An Irrigation Department has advised localities to develop drought prevention plans for each region, strictly manage water resources, prevent leakage and water loss from reservoirs, and have specific plans for irrigation schedules such as rotational irrigation and water conservation; at the same time, it has directed localities to review and adjust production seasons, crop and livestock structures to suit water resources, and guided localities to switch to planting some suitable cash crops in areas with water scarcity.

Proactively stockpile water to prevent drought.

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Severe drought causes fish to die off in Nghe An.

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